Australian Football (Aussie Rules) is a sport that is professionally played in Australia under the management of the Australian Football League (AFL). Even though the sport is very advanced in the country in terms of an annual season and a league structure for both men and women, over 70 countries around the world also play Australian Football more on an amateur level. Australian Football International (AFI) was set up to develop the game worldwide and now has up to nine regions actively involved. Australian Football and Ireland’s Gaelic Football have different sets of rules and playing areas. The International Rules Series between Ireland and Australia is a senior men’s international rules football competition played biannually in November after the AFL Grand Final and the All-Ireland Football Final. The matches are played using a set of rules decided by both the governing bodies.  

Australian Football is a contact sport played by two teams on an oval-shaped field, which can also be a cricket field. The teams have 18 players each and points are scored by a player kicking the oval-shaped ball between the middle goal posts (six points) or between a goal situated behind the goal posts (one point). Players can position themselves anywhere on the field and can use any part of their body to move the ball. Primarily this is done through kicking, handballing and running the ball. While running a player must intermittently also bounce the ball. Aussie Rules has the highest television viewership and spectator attendance of any sport in Australia. With such a popularity, sport fans would hope to see other nations embracing a national league structure that will lead to more international teams for an eventual World Championship tournament.