The National Championships grew out of the Teal Cup which began in 1953 as a junior representative competition between the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales.

It was rebranded in 1976 to reflect its expansion to include representative teams from each Australian state and mainland territory, rotated between host cities.

Members of the Australian National Football Council, most notably Victorian representative Bruce Andrew, assisted in the establishment the competition in its early days.

However, in recent years, the National Championships has regained its status as a primary AFL recruitment pathway as the growth of the sport outside Victoria has accelerated.

With the AFL Commission phasing out representative football at senior level since 1994, the National Championships are one of the few opportunities for players to play for their state or territory.

It is named in honour of a junior footballer, Michael Larke, who was killed in a bus crash while attending a trial match for New South Wales.