Australian rules football originates in Melbourne in 1858. the AFL now governs the code nationally. Australian rules football in Australia popular culture- football is the most highly attended spectator sports in Australia. Government figures show that more than 2.5 million people attended games in 1999. in 2005,
a cumulative 6,283,788 people attended the Australian football league. premiership matches, a record for the competition. A further 307,181 attended nab cup pre-season matches and 117,552 attended regional challenge pre-season practice matches around the country. as 2010 the AFL is one of only five professional sports leagues with an average attendance of over 30,000 per game. as well as the AFL attendance, strong semi-professional state and local competitions also draw crowds. western Australia drew an attendance of 219,205 with an average of 2,332 per game. in recent years, the grand final has reached the top five programs across the five bigger cities in 2002,2003,2004,2005 and 2006. Australian rules football has achieved a #1 rating in the sports category in both 2004 and 2005. participation- A total of 1,404,176 registered participants are playing Australian football in 2016, placing it ahead of cricket(1,311,184) total participants and soccer ( 1,188,911) attending . the ma in the green shirt is a central field umpire. the most powerful organization and competition within the game is the elite professional Australian football league(AFL). the AFL is recognized by the Australian sports commission as being the national sporting organization for Australian rules football.there are also seven states/ territory-based organizations in Australia, most of which are affiliated to the AFL.
