Courtesy: articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Published: 1st December, 2012.

KOZHIKODE: About five teams will be seen in action in the first ever inter-city Australian rules football, officiallly known as Australian football, and in some regions marketed as Australian Football League (AFL), at the Malabar Christian College grounds from Sunday.

Talking to reporters on Saturday, Sudeep Chakrabarthy, secretary general, AFL India, said the sport is played between two teams of 18 players each on the field. The game’s objective is to move the ball downfield and kick the ball through the team’s goal, he said.

The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the two tall goal posts and the team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins, he said.

Players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and runnig with the ball, he said.

Earlier, at meeting presided over by Tom Calder, Australian Trade Commissioner in India, it was decided to form a national body for the sport.

Two teams from Mumbai, two teams from here and one from Madurai would play in a round-robin league format.

Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh, is the patron of this tournmanet, he said.