Gridiron Australia

Gridiron Australia
SportGridiron
JurisdictionAustralia
AbbreviationGA
Founded1994(1983)
AffiliationInternational Federation of American Football
Regional affiliationOceania Federation of American Football
Official website
www.gridiron.org.au
Australia

Gridiron Australia is the governing body of American football in Australia. It is an approved sporting association under federal government regulations and is a member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). The organisation was formed in 1994 and organized leagues have played since 1983.[1]

Gridiron Australia oversees the country's national team, which has competed in the IFAF World Cup. It is a governing body of the state-level leagues and does not manage a national-level league itself. Seven out of the eight Australian states and territories run leagues; a total of 70 teams consisting of approximately 3000 players.[2] Only six of the eight state leagues are currently registered under Gridiron Australia. Leagues also provide state-level teams to the Gridiron Australia National Championships.[3] In 2012, the Australian Gridiron League was established by Gridiron Australia.

Organised gridiron has been played in Australia since 1983 and is always referred to as gridiron or American football rather than football to distinguish it from the other football codes such as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football or soccer. There is no uniform gridiron season in Australia, with the leagues playing at different times of the year.

  1. ^ "IFAF - OFAF - Australia". 3 August 2009. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 2016-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Gridiron Australia | Governing body of American Football in Australia". gridironaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ ABC Sport Online (7 February 2005). "Aussie Super Bowl coming to Adelaide". ABC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2007.