AFLX
Shortened variation of Australian rules football / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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AFLX is a variation of Australian rules football designed in 2017 to be played on a soccer field (significantly smaller than the Australian rules oval). Unlike the full 18-a-side game (or the already-established variant for rectangular fields, nine-a-side footy including the AFL's own variant AFL 9s)—AFLX required less players (initially 7, but increased to 8) with some modified rules aimed at generating higher scores, including increased scoring points. It is most notable for its use in official Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season competitions in 2018 and 2019. Post COVID-19 Pandemic the AFL merged it with AFL 9s and retained only the X brand, co-branding AFL 9s as Junior X, Youth X and Senior X and aligning it with the more widely established 9-a-side format.
Highest governing body | AFL Commission |
---|---|
First played | March, 2017; Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria |
Characteristics | |
Team members | originally 7 per side + 5 interchange (differs to men's 18 per side + 4 interchange) |
Type | |
Venue | Football pitch (soccer field) |
It was founded in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience outside of its origin country of Australia.[1] The AFL billed AFLX as its answer to Twenty20 or Rugby Sevens.[2]
The format of the AFL's AFLX events varied – the 2019 tournament consisted of four teams each captained by a high-profile AFL footballer. In August 2019, the AFL confirmed AFLX would not return in 2020.[3] Despite being designed for play on a rectangular field, the AFL used two dedicated rectangular stadiums, Hindmarsh Stadium and Sydney Football Stadium, as a venue for its AFLX competitions (the other rectangular venue used for a spectated AFLX match was AAMI Park for the 2019 E. J. Whitten Legends Game). The record attendance for an AFLX match is 23,828, set in 2019 at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.
Despite its lack of popularity with spectators and the AFL's short-lived experiment with it, the variation continues to be promoted by the AFL Commission as a participation sport in development regions and areas where full-sized cricket grounds are not available.