Sport | Australian rules football |
---|---|
Founded | 2018 |
Administrator | AFL Victoria |
No. of teams | 3 |
Country | Australia |
Headquarters | Action Indoor Sports Tullamarine, Melbourne |
Most recent champion(s) |
Hawthorn Brown (1st premiership) |
Sponsor(s) | Energy Safe Victoria |
Related competitions |
The Victorian Blind Football League (VBFL) is an Australian rules football competition for people with vision impairment. As of 2023, it has 45 players in three different teams. [1]
The competition is mix-gendered, and open to people with different levels of vision. [2]
The VBFL was founded in 2018 with four teams that were not linked to AFL clubs − Bombers, Bulldogs, Hawks and Saints. [2] Hawthorn and St Kilda formally entered the competition in 2019, with Hawthorn winning the grand final in its inaugural season. [3] [4]
The Bulldogs and the Bombers did not compete in the 2023 season, with Hawthorn instead entering two teams − Hawthorn Gold and Hawthorn Brown.
In 2024, Port Melbourne joined the VBFL, becoming the first Victorian Football League club to do so. As a result, Hawthorn Gold and Hawthorn Brown ceased to exist as separate teams, and a single Hawthorn team returned to the competition. [5]
The VBFL includes a specifically modified football that features a continuous beeping device to assist players tracking the ball. Signage and flickering lights are centrally placed behind the goals to assist players with accuracy when kicking for goal. [1]
Players fall into three different classifications:
Players wear different-coloured wristbands depending on their classification, which assists umpires to officiate matches. [2]
Team | Colours | Moniker | First season | Total premierships | Years of premierships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hawthorn | Hawks | 2019 | 1 | 2019 | |
Port Melbourne | Borough | 2024 | 0 | − | |
St Kilda | Saints | 2019 | 1 | 2021 |
Team | Colours | Moniker | First season | Last season | Total premierships | Years of premierships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bombers | Bombers | 2018 | 2022 | 0 | − | |
Bulldogs | Bulldogs | 2018 | 2022 | 1 | 2022 | |
Hawthorn Gold | Hawks, Gold | 2023 | 2023 | 0 | − | |
Hawthorn Brown | Hawks, Brown | 2023 | 2023 | 1 | 2023 | |
Hawks | Hawks | 2018 | 2018 | 0 | − | |
Saints | Saints | 2018 | 2018 | 0 | − |
No VBFL team has ever won a premiership more than once, while the Bulldogs have made the most grand finals with three.
Season | Premiers | Runners-up | Score | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Hawthorn | Bulldogs | 13.8 (86) d. 12.7 (79) | 12 October 2019 [4] |
2021 | St Kilda | Bulldogs | 135 d. 71 | 4 December 2021 [6] |
2022 | Bulldogs | St Kilda | 68 d. 58 | 3 September 2022 [6] |
2023 | Hawthorn Brown | Hawthorn Gold | 133 d. 106 | 9 September 2023 |