HISTORY OF THE QAFL

Following the formation of the Queensland Football League (QFL) in 1903, the state’s premier club competition has been held every year from 1904, with the exception of the period from 1915 to 1919 when World War I and the influenza epidemic intervened. Originally based solely in Brisbane, the premiership has had several name changes, operated under four different governing bodies and expanded to take in the broader southeast Queensland region and the Northern Territory over its long history.

The competition has generally taken the name of the governing body of the day, as is the case with the AFL nowadays.  For example, from 1964 to 1996 the governing body known as the QAFL oversaw the competition also known as the QAFL. However, in recent times this has not been the case. Nowadays, for example, the QAFL competition is overseen by AFL Queensland.

The years when the respective state governing bodies were established or renamed are as follows:

1903  Queensland Football League (QFL) (new entity)

1927  Queensland Australian National Football League (QANFL) (rename)

1964  Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) (new entity)

1997  Queensland Australian Football Council (QAFC) (new entity)

2000  AFL Queensland (AFLQ) (new entity)

The competition has a rich history. From the Mayne-Windsor rivalry of the 1920s and 30s to the expansion and popularisation of suburban football in the 1950s to the Southport-Morningside rivalry of recent decades, the premiership has been filled with stories, characters, controversies and an unfailing love of the game.