AFL India
The Australian Football League has announced a long-term strategy to grow Australian Rules Football in India, setting its sights on more than 100,000 registered participants in the country over the coming years.
The announcement, was unveiled as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a symbolic staging that underlines just how closely the AFL is tying its India ambitions to the broader bilateral relationship.
India, the AFL says, is now its fastest-growing international market and, as home to the world’s largest sports fan base, represents what the League calls a significant opportunity to grow the game while deepening cultural and sporting ties between the two nations.
The strategy follows AFL CEO Andrew Dillon’s visit to India earlier this year, where he attended the AFL India National Championships in Ranchi. That trip appears to have shaped much of what has now been formalised: a first phase built around expanding grassroots participation and establishing an end-to-end player pathway.
The plan includes investment in youth and grassroots programs across schools, academies, coaching and umpiring in regional hubs in priority states, alongside a broader goal of seeing Australian Rules Football played in every state and school in India. A new AFL India Talent Academy will be established to develop players, coaches, umpires and officials, while representative pathways will be strengthened through competitions such as the National Championships and future international opportunities. Notably, the strategy carries a dedicated commitment to women’s and girls’ participation and leadership programs, and promises tens of thousands of Sherrins and footy equipment for local communities.
Dillon described the trip to India as formative. “When I visited India earlier this year, I saw firsthand the passion and commitment of the volunteers, players, coaches, umpires who have built Australian Rules Football from the ground up,” he said.
Dillon added that the strategy was also about community, both in India and among the Indian diaspora in Australia. “We want everyone to love and connect with Australia’s game, and this strategy will create lasting benefits as we invest in strengthening our relationship with Indian communities, both here in Australia and in India.”
The numbers underline how far the game has come organically, and how much room the AFL believes remains. Since Australian Rules Football was first introduced in India in 2008, more than 20,000 people have taken it up across 11 states, almost entirely through the efforts of local volunteers and community leaders, without the kind of institutional backing now being promised.
For the Indian diaspora in Australia, the strategy carries a second, closer-to-home dimension. The AFL points to its existing engagement with what it calls the country’s fastest growing diaspora through initiatives including the Cultural Heritage Series, AFL Khel, AFL Hindi broadcasts, the Next Generation Academy and the AFL Community and School Connect program, all of which the League says will be strengthened as part of this push.
The League has described its approach as staged and community-first, working with local partners rather than imposing a top-down model. Whether that patience holds, as the AFL moves from a sport built by volunteers to one carrying national ambition, will be worth watching in the seasons ahead.
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