1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival

The 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival was the 22nd edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football State of Origin competition.

Ten teams were involved, including all the states and territories, making it the most heavily contested competition.

Although, traditionally, Tasmania had enjoyed more success in the interstate arena than New South Wales, the latter had 22 VFL players in its squad compared to the island state's 15, which helped them obtain the final Section One spot.

Finally, the Victorian Association representative team made up the remainder of the group, but selection for this team was not restricted to Victorian Football Association players.

The same rules applied to the other teams, so, if a Tasmanian-born player had started his career at West Perth, he could be selected for either Tasmania or Western Australia.