Great Britain

The league was formed in 1989, with efforts from John Jelley and others seeing the formation of eight clubs for an inaugural season in 1990. The founding clubs were the London Hawks, West London Wildcats, North London Lions, Earls Court Kangaroos, Lea Valley Saints, Thames Valley Magpies and Wandsworth Demons, all of whom were based in or around London.  There was also a club based in Leicester, the East Midland Eagles. Of the foundation teams, four still survive in West London, North London, Wimbledon (former London Hawks) and Wandsworth.

Over the years these clubs would be joined by others, with some clubs unfortunately folding but new ones forming from the ashes, meaning that club numbers fluctuated between six and ten.  In an environment where large numbers of Australians could be both a blessing (in terms of experience and teaching ability) and a curse (in terms of new clubs outside London finding it difficult to compete against the Australian expat-based London clubs), the league in 2001 divided teams into two leagues.

The first league was the London Premiership, where the powerful London clubs would continue under the same local-content regulations as previously (i.e. a minimum number of EU players who must be on the field at any time). Beneath the London Premiership the London Conference was established, where the teams could field their ‘reserve’ sides. The London Conference has greatly relaxed ‘local content’ rules, meaning that backpackers and other Australians can compete at a social level.

In 2003, with new clubs being formed outside the capital and regional clubs still struggling against the larger numbers of Australians playing for the London sides, it was decided that clubs outside London would compete in a Regional Premiership. This included the Bristol Dockers, St Helens Miners and the two new sides in the Doncaster Saints and Reading Kangaroos. In 2004, a fourth division of the BARFL appeared, with the Scottish Australian Rules Football League forming. In the inaugural season, three clubs played each other for the premiership, the Edinburgh Old Town Bloods, the Edinburgh Uni Body Snatchers and the Glasgow Sharks.

2006 was a big year for Aussie Rules in England, with the admission of new BARFL clubs in Manchester, Middlesbrough and Thanet. On September 17, 2006 history was made in Denmark when the England Dragonslayers took on the Denmark Vikings in Europe’s first fully-fledged international junior Aussie Rules match. England claimed the King Canute Cup, with England 6.10(46) defeating Denmark 0.6(6).

2008 saw a new organisation formed, AFL Britain, which has the remit of coordinating the efforts of all those working to promote or run Aussie Rules in the country.

Following a model which allows clubs flexibility to use available resources
such as player numbers and pitches, the sport has enjoyed considerable
growth.

Leagues

• AFL London (Premiership, Conference and Social divisions)
• Southern
• Central
• Northern
• Wales
• Scotland
• Kernow (Cornwall – developing)
• Universities

There are more than 40 clubs playing regular fixture matches, with up to 25
more in development or playing occasional fixtures. Formats range from 9-a-side
on rugby pitches, to full oval 18-a-side. This flexibility has made the sport
much more accessible and continues to support growth of the game.

International Football

The home countries also have a thriving international schedule. From the
start in the early 90s as part of the Atlantic Alliance Cup, the GB Bulldogs
have played numerous fixtures and have attended all three International Cups, as
well as the 2010 inaugural European Championships.

There are annual home and away fixtures between the English Dragonslayers,
Welsh Dragons and Scottish Clansmen.

Junior Development

Junior development is gradually gaining pace in Britain with clubs aligning
with local schools to encourage participation. This remains an ongoing priority
and is hoped to develop into a solid pathway for junior players to advance into
senior teams at the appropriate age.