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Australian Football in the Northern Territory has a history dating back to the 1910s and is the most popular sport in the territory, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands. 7% of all Northern Territorians in 2007 participated in Australian Football, the highest participation in Australia (and second worldwide only to Australian Football in Nauru). The sport also produces more professional Australian Footballers per capita in the Australian Football League than any other state or territory. The Northern Territory is home to several representative teams, most notably the Aboriginal All-Stars, but also the Northern Territory Thunder, the Northern Territory Football Club (that plays in the QAFL) and now in the NEAFL, an elite competition on the Eastern seaboard of Australia. Also the Flying Boomerangs represent Australia internationally and the Northern territory has a strong local competition, the Northern Territory Football League. ==History== The first recorded match of Australian Football in Darwin was played in February 1916 on Darwin Town Oval. The Northern Territory Football League chose to play in the Northern Territory's 'wet season', primarily due to hard playing surfaces during the 'dry season'. Games were played on the Esplanade or Town Oval. Most other leagues in Australia operate during the winter, but since the Territory does not have a winter, it is played at different times. The Wanderers Football Club were the founding members of the league in 1916. John Pye and Andy Howley introduced Australian rules football to the Tiwi Islands in 1941, which grew to become the most popular sport on the islands. The Tiwi Islands Football League is a strong competition which feeds players into the NTFL. Skills of the TIFL players are widely celebrated. The TIFL Grand Final is the largest event on the island and a major tourist drawcard. In 1991, Marrara Oval was increased in capacity, and became the new home for the NTFL and AFL matches. In 1991, Darwin hosted the first Arafura Games, the first international competition to include the sport of Australian Rules, and local teams have competed against nations from around the world. The city has hosted the games since. Since the late 1990s, the Aboriginal All-Stars have captured the imagination of indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory, and have gained a huge amount of support. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Australian rules football in the Northern Territory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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