About VFL
The Victorian Football Association (VFA) began in 1877 and was Victoria's top-tier football competition until 1896, when eight of its strongest clubs left the competition to form the Victorian Football League, which in 1990 became the AFL.
The competition operated as the VFA until 1995 before changing its name to the VFL in 1996, which it still operates as today.
AFL reserves teams entered the competition in 2000 to compete against the existing VFA/VFL clubs.
In 2021, a new era for the VFL began, with teams from the NEAFL joining an expanded competition.
Since 2022, the VFL competition has featured 21 teams from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. They include:
VFL standalone clubs: Coburg, Frankston, Northern Bullants, Port Melbourne, Southport Sharks, Werribee and Williamstown
AFL aligned clubs: Box Hill Hawks, Casey Demons and Sandringham
AFL standalone clubs: Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Footscray Bulldogs, Geelong Cats, Gold Coast SUNS, GWS GIANTS, North Melbourne, Richmond and Sydney Swans
