A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Upcoming season or competition: 2024 WAFL season | |
 | |
| Formerly | West Australian Football Association (1885–1907) Western Australian National Football League (1931–1979) Western Australia State Football League (1990–1996) Westar Rules (1997–2000) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 1885 |
| First season | 1885 |
| Owner(s) | West Australian Football Commission |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Australia |
| Venue(s) | various |
| Most recent champion(s) | East Fremantle (30th premiership) |
| Most titles | East Fremantle (30) |
| TV partner(s) | Seven Network |
| Sponsor(s) | None |
| Official website | wafl.com.au |
The West Australian Football League (WAFL /ˈwɒfəl/ "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from April to September, with the top five teams playing off in a finals series, culminating in a Grand Final. The league also runs reserves, colts (under-19[1]) and women's competitions.
The WAFL was founded in 1885 as the West Australian Football Association (WAFA), and has undergone a variety of name changes since then, re-adopting its current name in 2001. For most of its existence, the league was considered one of the traditional "big three" Australian rules football leagues, along with the Victorian Football League and South Australian National Football League. However, since the introduction of two Western Australia-based clubs into the Victorian Football League (later renamed the Australian Football League) – the West Coast Eagles in 1987 and the Fremantle Dockers in 1995 – the popularity and standard of the league has decreased to the point where it is considered a feeder competition to the Australian Football League.[citation needed]
Although payments are made to players, it is generally considered to be a semi-professional competition, with a salary cap of A$245,000 per club. The league is currently affiliated with the two Western Australia-based AFL clubs. The competition is governed by the West Australian Football Commission, and is based at Subiaco Oval.
WAFL Clubs
The West Australian Football League operates on a single table system, with no divisions, conferences nor promotion and relegation from other leagues. The 10 clubs of the West Australian Football League are located in various suburbs across Fremantle and Peel and Perth.
| Colours | Club Name | Nickname | Location | Home ground(s) | Capacity | First season | WAFL Flags | Recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Claremont* | Tigers | Claremont | Claremont Oval[2] | 5,000 | 1926 | 12 | 2012 |
 |
East Fremantle | Sharks | East Fremantle | East Fremantle Oval | 20,000 | 1898 | 30 | 2023 |
 |
East Perth | Royals | Leederville | Leederville Oval | 18,000 | 1906 | 17 | 2002 |
 |
Peel | Thunder | Mandurah | Rushton Park | 10,000 | 1997 | 2 | 2017 |
 |
Perth | Demons | Lathlain | Lathlain Park[3] | 6,500 | 1899 | 7 | 1977 |
 |
South Fremantle | Bulldogs | Fremantle | Fremantle Oval[4] | 17,000 | 1900 | 14 | 2020 |
 |
Subiaco | Lions | Leederville | Leederville Oval | 18,000 | 1901 | 16 | 2021 |
 |
Swan Districts | Swans | Bassendean | Bassendean Oval | 22,000 | 1934 | 8 | 2010 |
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West Coast (AFL Reserves) |
Eagles | Lathlain | Lathlain Park[3] | 6,500 | 2019 | 0 | |
 |
West Perth | Falcons | Joondalup | Arena Joondalup[5] | 16,000 | 1885 | 20 | 2022 |
- a Claremont played at the Claremont Showground from 1925 to 1927 and again from 2014 until 2016 when Claremont Oval was closed for re-development, and at Subiaco Oval from 1945 to 1947 when Claremont Oval was being rebuilt after a grandstand fire in 1944.
- b East Fremantle played at Fremantle Oval from 1898 to 1952, excluding a period in 1906 where home games were played at East Fremantle Oval; and at the WACA Ground (in 2022 and 2023), Fremantle Oval (2024) and Claremont Oval (2024) whilst East Fremantle Oval is re-developed.
- c East Perth played at Wellington Square from 1902 to 1909, at Perth Oval from 1910 to 1987 and from 1990 to 1999, and at the WACA Ground during 1988 and 1989. East Perth were aligned with West Coast between 2014 and 2018.
- d Perth played at the WACA Ground from 1899 to 1958 and during 1987 and 1988.
- e Subiaco played at Shenton Park between 1901 and 1905, at Mueller Park in 1906 and 1907, and at Subiaco Oval from 1908 to 2003 .
- f West Perth played at Leederville Oval from 1915 to 1993.
- g West Coast mainly play away games, selling their home games to other clubs, when they do play home games it is at their training base at Lathlain Park
Former clubs
Eleven other clubs formerly competed in the competition:
| Colours | Club Name | Nickname(s) | Location | Home ground(s) | Seasons played | Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Centrals | None/Unknown | None/Unknown | None/Unknown | 1891–1891 | 0 |
_Football_Club_colours.jpg) |
East Perth (I) | None/Unknown | East Perth | None/Unknown | 1891–1892 | 0 |
_Football_Club_colours.jpg) |
Fremantle (I) | Fremantleites | Fremantle | Barrack Green | 1885–1886 | 1[6] |
 |
High School | Students | Perth | High School Grounds | 1885–1885 | 0 |
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Imperials | Blue and Whites | Fremantle | Esplanade Park | 1895–1897 | 0 |
 |
Midland Junction | Midlanders, Railways | Midland | Midland Junction Oval | 1905–1910 1914–1917 |
0 |
 |
North Fremantle | Magpies | North Fremantle | North Fremantle Oval | 1901–1915 | 0 |
.jpg) |
Rovers | Rovers, Tigers | None/Unknown | None/Unknown | 1885–1899 | 2[6] |
 |
Unions/Fremantle (II)* | Ports, Fremantleites | Fremantle | Fremantle Park Fremantle Oval |
1886–1899 | 10[6] |
 |
West Australian | Wests[7] | Perth | New Recreation Ground[7] | 1887–1888 | 0 |
- Claremont known as Claremont-Cottesloe from 1926 to 1934.
- Fremantle Football Club (II) was known as Unions Football Club from 1886 to 1889.
- Perth was known as Victoria Park from 1934 to 1935.
- h Up until the turn of the century, there were a limited number of grounds available for use by the clubs, with all clubs sharing the different grounds. As such, the Esplanade Park, Fremantle and Fremantle Park in Fremantle, and the Old Recreation Ground (Wellington Square) and the New Recreation Ground (Esplanade Reserve) in Perth were all used as "home" grounds by the above teams.
- i The High School withdrew from the competition due to lack of players two rounds into the inaugural season.
- j Rovers were a "wandering" team – they had no home ground, and had drawn players from all over the metropolitan area.
- k West Australian merged with Victorians in 1889 to form the Metropolitan Football Club, which in turn became the West Perth Football Club.
- In April 1889, West Perth was Victorians (1885–88) who merged with West Australian Football Club (1886–1888) to form Metropolitan Football Club (1889–90)[8]
Competition timeline
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