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AFL London

Formerly	British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL)
Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	1989
First season	1990
President	Sarah Howell and Marianna Graham
No. of teams	9
Country	England
Most recent champion(s)	West London Wildcats (13th premiership flag)
Most titles	West London Wildcats (13 premiership flags)
International cup(s)	AFL Europe Champions League
Related competitions	AFL England AFL Europe
Official website	afllondon.com

AFL London is one of the largest organised Australian rules football leagues outside Australia. The league organises multiple grades of full 18-a-side games across London, United Kingdom.

The competition provides a competitive and fun game of football to the many Australians that live and work in London, as well as spreading the game to residents of non-AFL playing nations resident in the capital city including British, Irish, South African, American, Canadian, Italian and other Europeans.

The league is currently made up of eight clubs, across three levels of competition (Premiership, Conference and Social) that participate in a competition running from April to August.

History

First formed in 1989, AFL London was formerly known as the British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL). The inaugural season was held in 1990 and featured eight teams; the London Hawks, West London Wildcats, North London Lions, Earls Court Kangaroos, Lea Valley Saints, Thames Valley Magpies, Wandsworth Demons and the Leicester-based East Midland Eagles. Of these eight foundation teams, West London, North London, Wimbledon (formerly the London Hawks) and Wandsworth continue to compete in the league.

In 2001 AFL London was expanded to incorporate two levels of competition, known as the Premiership and Conference competitions. In addition, due to growing interest and numbers, a Social grade competition was added in 2007.

2008 saw an organisational restructure of Australian Rules Football in the UK, with the BARFL redeveloped to become AFL Britain. This change came about as a way of focusing the efforts of the organisation on supporting the growth of the game both in and outside the capital. It was at this time that the London competition was rebranded as AFL London.

In 2015 a women's competition was introduced, including three of the foundation teams; Wandsworth Demons, North London Lions and Wimbledon Hawks, and the Peckham-based South East London Giants. This was expanded in 2017 into two divisions of four women's teams, with the addition of teams from the West London Wildcats, London Swans, Putney Magpies, and a second side from Wandsworth.

Teams

Colours	Club	Competed	Ground	Premierships
	North London Lions	1990-	Albert Road Recreation Ground	4
	Wandsworth Demons	1990-	Clapham Common	9
	West London Wildcats	1990-	Dukes Meadows	11
	Wimbledon Hawks	1990-	Motspur Park	4
	London Swans	1991-	Hackney Marshes	0
	Reading Kangaroos	2003-	King's Meadow	0
	South East London Giants	2008-	Peckham Rye	0
	Sussex Swans	2020-	University of Brighton Sports Centre	0

• ^a North London Lions's 2nd and 3rd grade teams are known as the Regents Park Lions and Bounds Green Lions, respectively.
• ^b Wandsworth Demon's 2nd and 3rd grade teams are known as Clapham Demons and South London Demons, respectively.
• ^c West London Wildcats's 2nd and 3rd grade teams are known as the Shepherds Bush Raiders and Ealing Emus, respectively.
• ^d Club based in Reading, outside Greater London.
• ^e Club does not currently enter a Men's Premiership team.
• ^f Club based in Portsmouth, outside Greater London.

Sussex Swans began in 1991, London Swans emerged from a split.

Former Clubs

Colours	Club	Competed	Ground	Premierships
	Bristol Bears/Dockers	1991-2003	Bristol	0
	Portsmouth Pirates	2019-	Warblington School	0
	Putney Magpies	1999-2020	Putney Vale	0

Premiership Winners

The following teams have won the competition:

Pre-divisional structure

• 1990 Wandsworth 10.10 (70) d. Earls Court 9.14 (68)
• 1991 Earls Court 18.15 (123) d. Wandsworth 12.15 (87)
• 1992 Wandsworth 12.5 (77) d. West London 11.9 (75)
• 1993 London Hawks 12.13 (85) d. Lea Valley 6.5 (41)
• 1994 London Hawks 15.8 (98) d. West London 8.11 (59)
• 1995 Wandsworth d. West London
• 1996 Wimbledon d. West London
• 1997 Wandsworth 7.11 (53) d. Wimbledon 7.10 (52)
• 1998 Wimbledon 11.8 (74) d. Wandsworth 7.2 (44)
• 1999 Wandsworth 14.10 (94) d. West London 14.5 (89)
• 2000 West London 11.12 (78) d. Wandsworth 5.2 (32)

Divisional structure

Best and Fairest

The Best & Fairest awards in each division celebrate outstanding players each season, as voted on by umpires at the conclusion of each game.

See also

• AFL Europe
• AFL England
• Australian Rules Football in England

References

1. "The story of the British Footy League". Australian Football. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
2. "East London school embarks on AFL Program". Australian Times. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
3. Kirby, Chloe (12 March 2015). "Women's AFL making its mark in London, and they want you". Australian Times. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
4. "It's all kicking off: the rise of a new Aussie rules women's league | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
5. "AFL London Premiers | AFL London, Season 2017". Afllondon.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
6. "Grand Final Winners | AFL London". afllondon.com. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
7. "AFL London Best & Fairest Winners | AFL London, Season 2017". Afllondon.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017.

• Australian rules football in London