United States Australian Football League

United States Australian Football League
Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	1996
First season	1997
No. of teams	47 (men's) and 25 (women's)
Country	USA
Most recent; champion(s)	Men's: Austin Crows; (9th premiership); Women's: Minnesota Freeze; (1st premiership) ; (2024)
Most titles	Men: Austin Crows; (9 premierships); Women: Golden Gate Iron Maidens; (7 premierships)
TV partner(s)	Youtube
Official website	usafl.com

The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

As of 2011, there were over 1,000 registered USAFL players.^[3]^[4] There are 48 member clubs, of which 47 have men's teams (all except North Star Blue Ox) and 25 have women's teams.^[1] Most of the football clubs in the United States have a traditional 18-a-side team for representative purposes and multiple 9-a-side teams running in a local league.

Each year the USAFL holds a National club championship, a tournament open to all clubs across the nation, the largest of its type in the world for the sport. In addition to the Nationals, the USAFL holds major regional tournaments including the Central, East and West regional tournaments.^[5]

The USAFL selects the national men's (USA Revolution) and women's (USA Freedom) teams for competitions such as the Australian Football International Cup and the 49th Parallel Cup.

History

CRBR Park Stadium is the largest purpose-built cricket/Australian football ground in the United States. It has a capacity of 20,000.

The first match between two local US clubs was played in 1996 between Cincinnati and Louisville.^[6] In the first year the Mid American Australian Football League was formed. Many of the local players had found out about the game in the 1980s on television via the then-nascent ESPN cable network. Although the local game grew, ESPN no longer broadcast AFL matches, and in response the lobby group, Australian Football Association of North America was formed.

In 1997, the first club national championships were held in Cincinnati. Nashville hosted the first Australian Grand Final Festival in the same year. The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) was formed in 1997 to govern the code in the country.

The involvement of many well-known Australians has helped boost the relations between the USAFL and AFL. In the early days, Paul Roos was a key figure.

Robert DiPierdomenico, Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss are official USAFL ambassadors.

National teams

^{[needs update]}

USAFL is responsible for the co-ordination of the National Teams, the USA Revolution men's team and the USA Freedom women's team. The team plays in international tournaments and exhibition matches against other countries. National team players are selected from the best US-born players from the club teams across the country.

With close proximity to Canada, the Revolution & Freedom participate in the annual 49th Parallel Cup against Canada each year except for years of the Australian Football International Cup. As of the last edition in 2023, the Revolution men have won eleven of the twelve meetings against the Canada Northwind, while the Freedom women have fallen to the Canada Northern Lights in five of seven contests.

The Revolution competed in the 2002 Australian Football International Cup, finishing 5th out of 11 countries and in the 2005 Australian Football International Cup finishing 3rd out of 10 countries. They competed in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup, where the Revolution finished 7th out of 16 countries. At the 2011 Australian Football International Cup, the Revolution finished 4th in an increased field of 18 countries. The Revolution finished 8th at the 2014 Australian Football International Cup, again with 18 countries participating. They would come in 4th at the 2017 Australian Football International Cup which, as of 2024, was the last edition.

After completing a tour of Australia in 2009, the Freedom were one of five teams to compete in the first International Cup Women's Division at the 2011 Australian Football International Cup, finishing third. At the 2014 Australian Football International Cup, the Freedom finished in third place again while a reserves team, the USA Liberty, came in last of the seven competing teams. Three years later, the Freedom finished fourth at the 2017 Australian Football International Cup while the Liberty went 3-2 in five matches against teams from various leagues in and around Melbourne.

After the postponement and subsequent cancellation of the International Cup in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, both the Revolution and Freedom took part in the 2024 AFL Transatlantic Cup, one of three regional tournaments scheduled by the AFL to sustain the international Aussie Rules game until the International Cup could be restored. Both American teams would advance to the Grand Final, and both would lose to Ireland.

Domestic tournaments and competitions

USAFL clubs and representative sides

Football Map

Birmingham New York Boston Wasatch WarGulls Denver Austin San Diego Chicago Kansas City Arizona Cincinnati Los Angeles Golden Gate Dallas Houston Baton Rouge Rome Atlanta Grovetown Baltimore DC Eagles Columbus Cleveland Des Moines Savannah Fort Lauderdale North Texas Jacksonville Indianapolis Sacramento Suns Louisville Las Vegas Milwaukee Wisconsin Minnesota North Star Blue Ox Nashville North Carolina Orange County Philadelphia Portland Seattle Quebec Calgary St. Louis Oklahoma Virginia Tampa Bay

USAFL Senior Teams^[7]

Club	Nickname	City	State	Region	Est.	Titles (M)	Titles (F)	Website
Arizona	Hawks	Phoenix	Arizona	West	1999			Link
Atlanta	Kookaburras	Atlanta	Georgia	East	1998		3	Link
Austin	Crows	Austin	Texas	Central	2002	9		Link
Baltimore	Dockers	Baltimore	Maryland	East	2017			Link
Baton Rouge	Tigers	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	Central	2004			Link
Birmingham	Bushrangers	Birmingham	Alabama	East	2020			Link
Boston	Demons	Boston	Massachusetts	East	1997	2		Link
Chicago	Swans	Chicago	Illinois	Central	1998			Link
Cincinnati	Dockers	Cincinnati	Ohio	Central	1996	1		Link
Cleveland	Cannons	Cleveland	Ohio	Central	2014			Link
Columbus	Cats	Columbus	Ohio	Central	2008			Link
Dallas	Dingoes	Dallas	Texas	Central	1998			Link
DC Eagles	Eagles	Washington	District of Columbia	East	2017			Link
Denver	Bulldogs	Denver	Colorado	Central	1998	8	6	Link
Des Moines	Roosters	Des Moines	Iowa	Central	2010			Link
Fort Lauderdale	Fighting Squids	Fort Lauderdale	Florida	East	2005			Link
Golden Gate	Roos/Iron Maidens	San Francisco	California	West	1998	1	7	Link
Grovetown	Pirates	Grovetown	Georgia	East	2021			Link
Hawai'i	Eagles	Honolulu	Hawaii	West	2019			Link
Houston	Lonestars	Houston	Texas	Central	2005			Link
Indianapolis	Giants	Indianapolis	Indiana	Central	2013			Link
Jacksonville	Saints	Jacksonville	Florida	East	2018			Link
Kansas City	Power	Kansas City	Missouri	Central	1998			Link
Las Vegas	Gamblers	Las Vegas	Nevada	West	2005			Link
Los Angeles	Dragons	Los Angeles	California	West	2010			Link
Louisville	Kings	Louisville	Kentucky	Central	1996			Link
Maine	Cats	Portland	Maine	East	2018			Link
Milwaukee	Bombers	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	Central	1998		1	Link
Minnesota	Freeze	Minneapolis	Minnesota	Central	2005		1	Link
Nashville	Kangaroos	Nashville	Tennessee	Central	1997			Link
New York	Magpies	New York	New York	East	1998	2		Link
North Carolina	Tigers	Raleigh	North Carolina	East	1997			Link
North Star Blue Ox	Blue Ox	Minneapolis–Saint Paul	Minnesota	Central	2017			Link
North Texas	Devils	Plano	Texas	Central	2020			Link
Oklahoma	Buffaloes	Oklahoma City /Tulsa	Oklahoma	Central	2010			Link
Orange County	Giants	Orange County	California	West	1998			Link
Philadelphia	Hawks	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	East	1998			Link
Portland	Steelheads/Sockeyes	Portland	Oregon	West	1998			Link
Rome	Redbacks	Rome	Georgia	East	2018			Link
Sacramento	Suns	Sacramento	California	West	2009			Link
San Diego	Lions	San Diego	California	West	1997	2		Link
Savannah	Hurricane	Savannah	Georgia	East	2017			Link
Seattle	Grizzlies	Seattle	Washington	West	1998			Link
St Louis	Blues	St. Louis	Missouri	Central	1997			Link
Tampa Bay	Tiger Sharks	Tampa Bay	Florida	East	2017			Link
Virginia	Lions	Richmond	Virginia	East	2018			Link
Wasatch	WarGulls	Wasatch County	Utah	West	2019			Link
Wisconsin	Wombats	Madison	Wisconsin	Central	2017			Link

Associate Members (via AFL Canada)


Colours	Club	Nickname	City	State	Region	Est.	Titles (M)	Titles (F)	Website
	Calgary	Kangaroos	Calgary	Alberta	AFL Canada	2002		1	Link
	Quebec	Saints	Montreal	Quebec	AFL Canada	2008			Link

USAFL Collegiate Teams


Club	Nickname	City	State	Region	Est.	Senior Club Affiliate
Cincinnati	Bearcats	Cincinnati	Ohio	Central	2024	Cincinnati Dockers
William & Mary	Tribe	Williamsburg	Virginia	East	2025	Virginia Lions
Wright State	Raiders	Dayton	Ohio	Central	2025	Cincinnati Dockers

Previous clubs

Club	Nickname	Years in competition	Reason for Disbandment
Arizona	Outlaws	2018 - 2021	Absorbed back into Arizona Hawks
Baltimore Washington	Eagles	1998 - 2017	Split to form Baltimore Dockers and DC Eagles
Charleston	Saints	2011 - 2015	Folded
Centennial	Tigers	2020 - 2022	Withdrew from league
Detroit	Overdrive	1999 - 2006	Folded
Florida	Redbacks	1999 - 2013	Folded
Illinois	Ironmen	2000 - 2004	Merged with Chicago Swans
Inland Empire	Eagles	1997 - 2002	Folded
Lehigh Valley	Crocs	1999 - 2003	Absorbed by Philadelphia Hawks
Little Rock	Coyotes	2017 - 2021	Folded
Los Angeles	Crows	1996 - 2003	Folded
Mojave	Greens	2003 - 2006	Folded
Oklahoma City	Flyers	2016 - 2017	Absorbed into Oklahoma Buffaloes
Pittsburgh	Wallabies	2004 - 2006	Absorbed by Philadelphia Hawks
South Carolina	Hawks	1999 - 2001	Folded
St. Petersburg	Swans	2014 - 2017	Left to create Major League Footy, both folded in 2019
Tri Cities	Saints	1999 - 2004	Folded
Tucson	Javelinas	1999 - 2004	Folded