During the 1890s, an off-field power struggle occurred between the VFA's stronger and weaker clubs, the former seeking greater administrative control commensurate with their relative financial contribution to the game.

After it was intimated that the proposal would be put to a vote, six of the strongest clubs—Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne—seceded from the VFA and later invited Carlton and St Kilda to join them in founding a new competition, the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Although North Melbourne would become the first of the 1925 expansion sides to reach a grand final in 1950, initially it was Footscray that adapted to the VFL with the most ease of the three clubs and by 1928 were well off the bottom of the ladder.

There were also several attempts at variety programs featuring VFL players, who generally succeeded in demonstrating that their skills were limited to the football ground.

The Night Series was played concurrently with the premiership season and was contested among twelve clubs from the VFL, SANFL and WAFL, invited based on their finishing positions from the previous year.

In 1982, the size of the competition was reduced and, thereafter, only the top two or three teams from the SANFL and WAFL, as well as the winner of the minor states' annual carnival were invited.

Between 1972 and 1987, only six of the league's twelve clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Richmond – played in grand finals.

The VFL was dominant among the Australian football leagues around the country in terms of overall attendance, interest and money and began to look towards expanding its influence directly into other states.

In 1989 financial troubles nearly forced Footscray and Fitzroy to merge but fees paid by the Brisbane Bears and West Coast Eagles, propped up the struggling VFL sides.

In 1999, the league sold VFL Park and used the funds in a joint venture to begin construction of a brand-new stadium situated at Melbourne's Docklands.

In the late 2000s, the AFL looked to establish a permanent presence on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland, which was fast-developing as a major population centre.

On 25 April 2013 the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand hosted the first ever Australian Football League game played for premiership points outside Australia.

[38] On 14 May 2017, Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast played the first-ever AFL match for premiership points in Shanghai, China, attracting a crowd of 10,114 at Jiangwan Stadium.

The grand final was played in October at The Gabba in Brisbane, the first time it was held outside of Victoria since the creation of the league due to the spiking cases in that state.

The current 18 teams are based across five states of Australia; the majority (ten) still remain in Victoria, nine of which are located in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Penalties include fines of up to triple the amount involved ($10,000 for each document late or incorrect lodged or lost), forfeiture of draft picks and/or deduction of premiership points.

[61] There were 12 players recruited from outside Australia on AFL lists in 2011, including 10 from Ireland, all converts from Gaelic football drafted as part of the Irish Experiment and one each from the United States and Canada.

[71] In 2016, the round was named after Sir Doug Nicholls, the only VFL player to have been knighted and who served as a state governor (of South Australia).

However, after the 1999 series, the AFL declared the concept of interstate football "on hold", citing club unwillingness to release star players and a lack of public interest.

The AFL shifted its focus of representative football to the International Rules Series, where at the time in the late 1990s, drew a greater television revenue.

In 2020, the AFL hosted a special one-off State of Origin match, with the money raised from the event going towards affected bushfire communities.

On 28 February, the game took place at Marvel Stadium, with Victoria defeating an All-Stars team and Dustin Martin being declared best on ground.

[80][81] On 17 October 2010, AFL clubs Melbourne Demons and Brisbane Lions played an exhibition game in front of 7,000 people at the Jiangwan Sports Center in Shanghai.

[91] Currently, broadcast rights for the AFL are shared between the Seven Network (free-to-air), Foxtel (pay TV) and Kayo Sports (internet).

After lengthy negotiations, Foxtel agreed to be a broadcast partner and showed four live matches each week, although no longer on a dedicated AFL channel.

Coverage began with the 1980 season with matches airing on late Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes live but usually one or two week tape delayed to up to 2.5 million subscribers.

However, ethnic radio stations broadcast the AFL in a variety of languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hindi and Spanish.

The museum, a licensed offshoot of the AFL, was originally touted for the MCG but the Hall of Fame failed to receive support from the Melbourne Cricket Club.

It featured various honour boards and memorabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immerse visitors in the experience of elite Australian rules football.

[citation needed] Fantasy football competitions based on actual player statistics (number of kicks, marks, goals etc.)