If you call Australia home, you'll understand just how much the locals love their sport. In fact, four out of five (80%) Australians agree that sport is a significant part of their culture - so knowing a thing or two about it certainly helps when it comes to meeting people and making connections.
Whether it's conversations by the water cooler, trivia nights with friends, or catch ups over a cold one, you're going to want to know what's what, in the world of Aussie sport.
In this article we’re sharing everything you need to know about sport in Australia. We’re talking about the most popular sports, top sports by region, sports teams, top sports people of all time, and so much more.
Save this article, print off this page, this is going to be your go-to guide for everything sports down under.
It has been said that Aussies are more religious about sport, than religion itself. The average Australian spends roughly 2.5 hours per week watching sport at home and 2.5 hours per week actively participating in sport, compared to just 35 minutes of religious or spiritual activities.
It's not surprising then, that Australians have made their mark around the world as top competitors across a wide range of sports. They’re world championship winners in cricket, rugby league, union, hockey, and basketball, to name just a few. Not to mention they’re in the top 20 for medals won at the Olympics.
Cricket, surfing, swimming. rugby, AFL and more. Here’s the rundown on the top sports in Australia.
AFL (Australian Football League) is an Australian sport originating in the state of Victoria. Since its inception in 1860, the game has expanded across the country to a total of 18 AFL clubs.
Commonly referred to as ‘Aussie rules’ or ‘the footy’, AFL is played on a large field equal to the size of 2 regular football fields.
The National Rugby League (NRL) began in Australia in 1908 as a rebel football competition against the New South Wales Rugby Union. Nowadays, the NRL runs the world’s premier Rugby League competition made up of 17 teams (16 from Australia and one from New Zealand).
Australia’s cricketing history goes back some 200 years. The first reports of the game were published in newspapers in 1804. Since then, cricket has become one of Australia’s favourite summer sports. But, unless you’ve grown up playing the game, it can be a little confusing to understand. Here’s the basics.
Australia is home to some of the best beaches and waves in the world, so it’s no wonder that surfing is ingrained as a core part of the Aussie way of life. In fact, Australia has between 2.5 and 3.5 million active surfers who enjoy the waters on a regular basis.
Although there is a long history of surfing across many parts of the country, it’s actually unclear exactly when the sport landed officially. However, the first manual for swimming featured a chapter on surfboards and that was published in 1867 by Charles Steedman. In any case, it’s clear, surfing has been around for a long time.
When scoring, judges take into consideration:
Netball was first introduced to Australia in the late 1890’s and back then it was known as ‘Women’s Basketball’. The sport has come a long way since then and the Australian team is now ranked as number one in the world.
Horses were first brought over to Australia in 1788 marking the beginning of horse racing across the country. In 1810 Australia held the first recorded thoroughbred race meeting and by 1861 the first ever Melbourne Cup was held.
This race is such a big event that most businesses stop to watch each year - hence the nickname ‘the race that stops the nation’. The hype is so big in the State of Victoria that locals have a public holiday for the race each year.
If there’s one thing that will get Aussies going, it's debating the significance and popularity of their favourite sport - and it can vary greatly depending on where you are in the country.
There are also differences between the most popular sports to attend, most popular sports to watch and most popular sports to participate in. Let’s break it down.
The most attended sport in Australia is AFL - and it takes the top spot by a landslide. The annual attendance rate is 16% of the population, that’s compared to its closest rivals NRL (Rugby League) at just 9%.
5,187,214 fans attended games throughout the 2023 season with an average crowd size of roughly 40,000, and the season grand final attracted 100,024 spectators.
The two major contenders for most popular sport to watch are the AFL and the NRL. Both sports rack up large tv followings each year, particularly around grand final time.
In the 2023 season NRL TV ratings totaled almost 107.5 million, while the AFL reached roughly 85 million viewers. This makes NRL the most popular tv sport in Australia at this time.
While the most popular participation sports in Australia are running, swimming and cycling, soccer is Australia’s most widely played team sport with 570,000 Australians aged 14+ playing regularly.
Given the sheer size of Australia, it’s no wonder there are differences from state to state when it comes to how popular a sport is.
Sports fans from NSW and QLD tend to be more focussed on the NRL than any other game. In fact, the two states are so passionate about the sport that there is an annual competition between the two representative teams known as the State of Origin.
In contrast, Victorians tend to be rather fanatical about AFL and horse racing. The other states and territories are a little more neutral.
The State of Origin dates back to one of the earliest interstate battles back in 1908. The game ended with NSW beating QLD 43-0 and launched one of the longest rivalries in Aussie sports.
Since that game 70 years ago, the Blues (NSW) and Maroons ( QLD) battle it out for a series of three games a year in an effort to gain bragging rights for their state.
NRL: The Penrith Panthers won the 2023 season, however the South Sydney Rabbitohs are the most successful team to date with 21 premiership wins under their belt.
AFL: Collingwood won the 2023 season, however Collingwood, Carlton and Essendon have won the most AFL premierships with 16 wins each.
Soccer: Melbourne city FC are ranked as the top performing soccer team in Australia followed by Sydney FC and Gold Coast United.
47% of children [aged 0-14] participate in organised outside-of-school hours sport-related activity at least once a week.
The most popular sports for children in Australia are soccer, with a participation rate of 48.7%, and swimming. These sports are followed in popularity by cycling, basketball and athletics.
Schools in Australia have a diverse sports curriculum that covers a wide range of physical activities including:
By now it should be clear just how dedicated Aussies are to their sports. Aside from all the banter and rivalries, sports offers an easy way for you to connect with others and plug in to your local community. Keep this guide on hand for those times you need a bit of background, a quick fact check or a conversation starter on one of Australia’s hottest topics.
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