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Asian Australian Football Championships

Current season, competition or edition: 2023 Asian Australian Football Championships
Sport	Australian rules football
First season	2000
Country	Host: Bangkok, Thailand
Most recent champion(s)	PNG Muruks (men) Singapore Wombettes (women)
Most titles	Hong Kong Dragons (men; 6 titles) Vietnam Swans (women; 2 titles)
TV partner(s)	YouTube
Official website	AFL Asia Australian Football Championships

The Asian Australian Football Championships, also known as the AFL Asian Championships or Asian Champs is an annual tournament of Australian rules football between AFL Asia member clubs.

The tournament is considered the pinnacle of Asian Australian football calendar and is challenged by a growing number of teams from over a dozen Asian countries.

The competition consists of 3 open men's divisions, 1 women's division and a juniors division. A record 21 teams from 13 countries competed in 2018.

The 2023 event will be contested in Bangkok, Thailand on 9 September at the Thai Polo and Equestrian Club, Chon Buri.

Format

The tournament is played over one day with all teams playing shortened games between 20 and 24 minutes duration, with reduced numbers and smaller field sizes. In each division, each team plays each other once then there is a knock-out finals series including Semi-Finals, Preliminary Final and Grand Final.

First division is played as a 16-a-side format. Second division is played in a 12-a-side format.

There are 3 Men's Divisions, Women's Division and an All-Asia Cup (only local players allowed).

Teams

Team	Home/city	Province/Country	Debut	Men's Div 1 Titles	Women's Div 1 Titles
Bali Geckos	Bali	Indonesia	2006
Cambodian Eagles	Phnom Penh	Cambodia	2015
China Blues		China	2002
China Reds		China	2000
Dubai Heat	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2007	3
Hong Kong Dragons	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	2000	6
Indonesian Bintangs	Jakarta	Indonesia	2000	2
Indonesian Volcanoes	Jakarta	Indonesia	2018	1
Jakarta Bintangs	Jakarta	Indonesia	2005
Japan Goannas	Tokyo	Japan	2005
Lao Elephants	Vientiane	Laos	2008
Macau Lightning	Macau	Macau	2010
Malaysian Warriors	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	2009	1	1
Myanmar Fighting Cocks	Yangon	Myanmar	2015
Pakistan Markhoors		Pakistan	2022
Philippine Eagles	Manila	Philippines	2013	1
PNG Muruks	Port Moresby	Papua New Guinea	2018	4
Singapore Wombats	Singapore	Singapore	2000	4	2
Thailand Tigers	Bangkok	Thailand	2007
Vietnam Swans		Vietnam	2000		2

History

The Asian Australian Football Championships were first held in 2000, although a precursor tournament named the Four Nations Cup was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1999.

There was an offer in 2005 to make the championships part of the Arafura Games, in Darwin, Australia, but this was turned down by Asian clubs.

In 2008 a junior division was introduced, however this was short-lived.

While traditionally the tournament has been dominated by expat-Australian players, local players are becoming more prominent with 40 local players from China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam competing in an East Asia vs South East Asia local player exhibition game in 2015. In 2016 an All-Asian Cup was held the day before the Asian Championships with three all-local player teams. In 2017 a local player quota of 2-players per team was introduced. In 2015 the tournament was expanded to two divisions, with a 16-a-side first division and a 12-a-side second division.

In 2018 the tournament also included a women's division, with a record 21 teams from 13 countries competing.

Tournament Details

• All-Asia Cup - 2016: All-local player tournament played between Indonesia, China and Indo-China, 2017 and 2018: China vs AFL Asia Lions all-local player match played at the Shanghai AFL game.

See also

• Australian rules football in Asia
• AFL Asia

References

1. https://www.youtube.com/@aflasia473/featured AFL Asian Championships (Live and on-demand coverage)
2. "Home". afl-asia.com.
3. ^ "HK Dragons win their 6th Asian Champs". 19 October 2015.
4. "Under 16s Asian Championships - Bulldogs maul Wombats, slay Dragons and club Cubs - World Footy News". www.worldfootynews.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
5. "2009 Asian Championships - Full Results - World Footy News". www.worldfootynews.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
6. "Singapore Wombats win 2014 Asian Championships". 29 October 2014.
7. "Phillipine [sic] Eagles win 'Best Ever' Asian Championship - World Footy News".
8. "Awards & Champions of Asia -". 10 September 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
9. Statement: 2020 Asian Championships cancelled September 3, 2020
10. Statement: 2021 Asian Championships cancelled August 16, 2021
11. Play HQ results AFL Asia Championships 2022
12. Asian Championships locked in for 2023 AFL Asia 9 March 2023
13. ^ Asian Championships locked in for 2024 AFL Asia 27 February 2024
14. All-Asia title deferred until AFL's Asia Cup in December 2024
15. Asian Championships 2024 PlayHQ

• Australian rules football competitions
• Australian rules football in Asia