Soccer in Australia is officially know as Australian Football and was introduced in the 19th century. Particulars of the games foundation are obscure and often the subject of much dispute.
History of Australian Soccer
Soccer in Australia is officially know as Australian Football and was introduced in the 19th century. Particulars of the games foundation are obscure and often the subject of much dispute. Australian rules became structured in Melbourne in May 1859, when the first laws of the game were published by Melbourne Football Club.
The game
Australian Football is played between two teams of 22 players having 18 on the turf and 4 to use as exchange. The rules remain about the same as American Soccer with the aim being to pass the ball through the opponent's goal. However, a unique attribute of the match is the mark. This is where any player on the playing field who catches a ball from a kick is granted a free kick.
Australian Soccer is also a contact sport. Unlike American Soccer, players can tackle using their hands or their entire body to thwart opponents. In this Australian Football is more like American Football but without all the extra rules. Still precarious physical contact or intentionally decelerating the play are discouraged with a free kick for the rival team.
Umpires are present through out the game as in most sports to make calls. Umpires also are in charge of the flagpoles during scoring. Two flagpoles are waved to indicate a goal score (six points) and one flag pole is waved to indicate a behind (one point). Umpires also keep the game honest as well as scoring.
Popularity of Australian Football
Australian Football is a key involved and observed sport in Australia. The sport is also participated in recreational stages in a number of countries and in quite a few adaptations. The most prominent competitions is the Australian Football League. This event concludes the yearly AFF Grand Final, which is the premier attended organization championship affair in the world. Australian Football is regulated by the AFL commission, who also determines the rules of the game.
Major Annual Awards
Every year several major annual awards are giving out in honor of special accomplishments in the Australian Football League. The Awards range from best player to team efforts and many other categories. The following is list of the annual awards:
*Brownlow Medal
*Coleman Medal
*AFL Rising Star
*Leigh Matthews Trophy
*AFLPA Awards
*AFLCA Awards
*Norm Smith Medal
*Jock McHale Medal
*Michael Tuck Medal
*Mark of the Year
*Goal of the Year
*AFL Army Award
*All Australian Team
*Club Best and Fairest Awards
*Herald Sun Player of the Year
*Lou Richards Medal
Australian Football Now
Today in Australian Football teams go from national to amateur. Both men's and women's teams are established in all areas as well as children's in the amateur division. This sport brings in wonderful revenue for Australia as well as giving the sports fans something to cheer about. Australian Football isn't going anywhere as long as you have wonderful teams like the Socceroos to watch.