The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional league men’s Australian Rules Football. Founded in 1896 as the Victorian Football League, it didn’t become a national competition until the 1980s. That’s when it started to expand to the other Australian states. Currently, the league has 18 teams spread over five of the six states. The AFL also serves as the sport’s governing body and is responsible for the rules. There are several networks that broadcast these games and several other ways to watch. If you want to watch specific coverage or are traveling, you need to connect to a VPN.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
If you are not familiar with Australian Rules Football, it is different from American football and Association football (soccer). You play the game with 18 people per side, and the game has four 20 minute periods. To score, a player can either score a goal for six points or a behind for one. A player must kick the ball between the two metal posts on each side of a circular field without it touching anyone. If it does, the player scores a “behind”. Of course, there are many more rules but those show a big difference already between the way they play the games.
How to watch the Australian Football League with a VPN
As we mentioned, you can watch different coverage, especially if you have a favorite. These include Fox Sports in the US, TSN in Canada, Claro Sports Mexico in Mexico, and others. For this example, we used Fox Sports.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (includes a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee).
- Download and install the ExpressVPN app on your device.
- Connect to a VPN server in the US so you can get coverage of the Australian Football League.
- Now, you need to open your FoxSportsGo app and enter your credentials. If you don’t have an Fox Sports account, there are several stand-alone streaming services like Sling TV, Hulu, and others.
- Enjoy all of the great matches in this league.
As we mentioned, the league consists of 18 teams. The season consists of a 23-round home and away season, which happens during the Australian winter (March to September). As with most sports, the team with the best record gets awarded the “minor premiership”. The top 8 teams play in playoffs, ending in the AFL Grand Final. The winner of the final gets the premiership cup.
AFL Teams and premiership cups
Of the 18 teams in the league, the youngest one was created in 2012. However, 7 of the current teams started when the league started in 1897. Let’s take a look at the active teams and their premiership cups.
- Essendon – 16
- Collingwood – 15
- Hawthorn – 13
- Geelong – 9
- West Coast – 4
- Brisbane Lions – 3
- Adelaide – 2
- Port Adelaide – 1
- Greater Westerm Sydney – 0
- Carlton – 16
- Richmond – 13
- Melbourne – 13
- South Melbourne/Sydney – 5
- N. Melbourne/Kangaroos – 4
- Footscray/Western Bulldogs –2
- St. Kilda – 1
- Fremantle – 0
- Gold Coast – 0
No matter whether you have a favorite team or you are just discovering the game, the AFL has a lot to offer. Will one of the top six teams be able to capture the premiership cup for this season again? You’ll have to tune in to find out. You can the games anywhere by connecting to a VPN.