AFL meaning in Sports ?

The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent and only fully professional men's competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the game. Originally known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), it was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season commencing the following year. The VFL, aiming to become a national competition, began expanding beyond Victoria to other Australian states in the 1980s, and changed its name to the AFL in 1990.

The league currently consists of 18 teams spread over five of Australia's six states (Tasmania being the exception). Matches have been played in all states, plus the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, as well as in New Zealand and China to promote the sport abroad. The AFL season currently consists of a 23-round regular (or "home-and-away") season, which runs during the Australian winter (March to September). The team with the best record after the home-and-away series is awarded the "minor premiership". The top eight teams then play off in a four-round finals series, culminating in the AFL Grand Final, which is normally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground each year. The grand final winner is termed the "premiers", and is awarded the premiership cup. The current premiers are Melbourne, who won the 2021 AFL Grand Final in what was the second grand final held outside of Victoria, and the first and currently only edition played in Perth.