AFL Under-19 Championships

rdf:langString AFL Under-19 Championships

rdf:langString Western Australia

rdf:langString Tasmania

rdf:langString Vic Metro

rdf:langString Australian rules football

rdf:langString AFL Under-19 Championships

rdf:langString The AFL Under-19 Championships (for sponsorship reasons, the NAB AFL Under-19 Championships) is an annual Australian national underage representative championship in Australian rules football tournament. It is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). 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 teams from each Australian state and mainland territory, rotated between host cities. In the absence of a national league, and less regular senior competition, it grew into one of the most important competitions in the country. Early on it was an Under-17 competition, however the age limit has been progressively increased and separate junior championships added for Under-15 level (commencing as the "Shell Cup" now AFL Under-16 National Championships) from the 1970s onwards. It was a major talent pathway for underage players outside of Victoria to the VFL. As part of the AFL Commission's role as national governing body the Victorian TAC Cup competition was restructured in 1992 to become the primary pathway to the AFL. As a result representative development sides from NSW/ACT and Tasmania for a time have played in that competition instead. 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. The current competition is contested as a hybrid representative format. The best players from the Academy competitions (AFL club feeder teams) combine to form an 'Allies' team in conjunction with South Australia, Western Australia and two Victoria teams, Metro (Melbourne Metropolitan Area) and Country to contest the division 1 tournament.

rdf:langString Teal Cup

rdf:langString AFL Under-19 Championships