The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. Founded in 1892, it consists of six senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 3.
In addition, the VAFA Under-19s sections and five Thirds sections, primarily made up of either clubs only able to field one team, or clubs from higher sections that can field a third team after their seniors and reserves. The league operates a double promotion and relegation system between sections with various rules dictating which section clubs can play in.
The league's administration base is at Elsternwick Park, a former Victorian Football Association stadium in suburban Elsternwick, that was home to the now defunct Brighton Football Club and is now the home base for Old Melburnians Football Club and Elsternwick Football Club. It was redeveloped in 2017 and has a capacity for around 15,000 spectators.
The Association comprises private school old boys clubs, university clubs and district clubs. No player payments are permitted, however players can be enticed by offers of employment.
Public Schools and Football.
The question of public school boys playing in senior football has recently been raised.
It has been contended that the entry of prominent schoolboy players into the ranks of the senior football teams would be a boon to the game, and it is also reported that some schoolboys are likely to play with senior teams.
In view of these reports, the attitude of the headmasters is of interest.
They have laid down the rule that no boy while at school shall be permitted to play with any League or Association team, but no ban is placed on a boy who may wish to play with an amateur team, provided such games do not interfere with his duty to the school football team.
Table Talk, 26 April 1923.[1]
The VAFA was founded in 1892 as the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA).[2] The foundation clubs were: Alberton; Brighton; Collegians; Footscray District; St Jude's; St Mary's; Toorak-Grosvenor; YMCA.[3][4]
In 1912, the MJFA became the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA).[5]
Prior to World War I, apart from its core function of delivering a competition for amateur footballers, the MAFA also provided a de facto second-level competition for the VFL.[6]
The VFL Second XVIII competition began in 1919;[7][8] the MAFA competition was not resumed post-war until 1920.
On 22 March 1920, a meeting of the MAFA decided to resume the inter-club competition that it had suspended for the duration of World War I at the end of the 1915 season.[9]
The MAFA announced that the re-formed competition would be between four of the "pre-war" clubs — namely, Collegians Football Club, South Yarra Amateur Football Club, Elsternwick Football Club, and Melbourne University Football Club (later University Blacks) — and four "new clubs" — namely, Old Melburnians, Old Caulfield Grammarians, Melbourne Swimming Club Football Club and the Teachers’ College Football Club.[10]
By 1922, the association was divided into 2 sections of 8. Only four years later, three sections were established: Section A with 10 clubs and Section B and C with 8 clubs each.[3]
In 1933, the MAFA changed its name to the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).[3][11]
Competition was ceased for the Second World War (as it had after the Great War).[12] Restarting in 1946 with 27 clubs in three sections, by 1947 34 clubs were competing over three sections. 1948 saw 35 clubs spread over four sections. In 1954 the MAFA established a fifth section for its 48 senior clubs.[3]
1960 saw 74 clubs over 7 sections, but the association then dwindled and lost two sections. Section F was reintroduced in 1971. Section G was introduced in 1986. By 1987, there were 68 clubs over 8 sections.
Between 1995 until the end of the 1999 season, there was a geographic split in some VAFA divisions with 'E South' (later 'E White'), 'E Central' (later 'E Blue') and 'E East' (later 'F Section').
Starting in 2017, the VAFA has operated a women's competition in addition to the men's.[13]
At the end of the 2023 season, Division 4 was abolished after Ivanhoe and Old Paradians were accepted into the Northern Football Netball League. Starting in 2024, each section has 10 teams with the exception of Division 3, which has 11.[14]
In June 1925 a MAFA Representative XVIII defeated the South Australian 21.22 to 8.10 at the MCG in the first amateur Interstate representative game.[3]
Players in the 1948 Perth Carnival included: R. B. Small, K. N. C. Rollanson, G. V. Byrne, C. P. Daley, J. C. Stock, V. G. Miller, E. Jane, W. J. Backhouse, W. T. Taggart, J. P. Sheehan, R. L. Rouse, K. F. Lewis, J. W. Grainier, W. Reynolds’s, N. P. Airmen, G. W. McTaggart, D. B. White, (Deputy Manager) E. L. Macklin, B. F. Judd, V. W. Paxton, M. J. Davidson, D. W. Arnold, (Capt.) G. T. Moore, (Manager) M. K. Fitcher, (Vice-Capt.) A. H. C. Richard’s, E. M. MacGregor.
The Australian Amateur Jubilee Football Carnival was held in Melbourne in July 1951.
The Victorian team included: J. Kelly (Coach), K. Clarke, G. W. Gibbons, A. T. Shiel, D. Bills, J.D. Anderson, M.T. Hastie, A. D. Morning, G. Harris. G.T. Moore (Manager), A. E. Parley, W. B. Thomas, M. Mathewson, A. Ferguson, J. Stock, J. B. Jolley, J. Likely, B. F. Judd, W. M. Judd, P. McLaughlin, . Bedford, S. Bottles, D. W. Arnold (Capt.), P. M. Cox (V-Capt.), H. A. Meredith, A. F. Mellors, E. Donaldson.
On 14 June 1954, the Queen's Birthday holiday, a Victorian representative team defeated a South Australian team 12.14 (86) to 10.15 (75) at the Junction Oval. The match was preceded by the Grand Final of a "lightning premiership" that involving sixteen teams playing knock-out matches of two 10 minute halves. Four of the first round matches were played at the Junction Oval, and the other four were played (simultaneously) at the Ross Gregory Oval at the other end of Albert Park Lake. The quarter final, semi final, and the Grand Final matches were all played at the Junction Oval. The sixteen teams involved were:[15]
Parkside (the team that would later go on to have its twenty-ninth consecutive win in the 1954 C Section Grand Final), having beaten Balwyn in the first round, Preston in the quarter finals, and Ivanhoe in the Semi-finals, defeated Alphington in the Grand Final to win the lightning premiership.[16]
In 1956 a VAFA XVIII beat the combined VFL/VFA Amateurs in an Olympic demonstration game, 12.9 (81) to 8.7 (55).
Of some considerable historical significance, the VAFA vs. South Australian Amateur Football League interstate match, played at Olympic Park on 17 June 1957 — which Victoria won 15.9 (99) to 8.3 (51)[17] — was the first ever uninterrupted telecast of a complete Australian rules football game (viz., it was a direct broadcast of the entire four quarters of the match, rather than just the last quarter) .[18][19][20][3]
In 1971 a VAFA Representative side beat a VFA XVIII for the inaugural Victorian Football Cup 23.12 to 19.17.[3]
Sources: [21][22]
From a history of the VAFA: [3]