Touch Football Australia
SportTouch Football
JurisdictionNational
Membership8 States/Territories
AbbreviationTFA
Founded2005
AffiliationFIT
HeadquartersMoore Park, Sydney
ChairmanAnita Hagarty
CEOJamie O'Connor
ReplacedAustralian Touch Association
(founded)1978 as Australian Touch Football Association, renamed to Australian Touch Association in 1981
Official website
touchfootball.com.au
Australia

Touch Football Australia (TFA) is the governing body of touch football in Australia. It is a member of the Federation of International Touch (FIT), the sport's international governing body.

History

Origins

The Australian Touch Association (ATA) was founded in 1978, following the formation of several state-level organisations, as the national governing body of the sport. The ATA was responsible for the coordination of the sport at a national level, which included the creation of a national championships and the release of the first official rule book, in 1980.[1]

In 2004, following the a review into the sport by David Shilbury and Pamm Kellett,[2] the ATA adopted a new national structure, absorbing the operations of all member states and territories (with the exception of the Queensland and New South Wales association) and began trading as Touch Football Australia.

There are now over 600,000 registered members and 500,000 children who participate in Touch Football and according to Australian Sports Commission statistics, it is among the top participation based, organised sports in Australia.

NRL Touch Football

NRL Touch Football logo

On August 13, 2013, Touch Football Australia and the National Rugby League announced a joint-venture partnership between the two organisations to work together and form the largest sporting community in Australia.[3] The partnership resulted in a major boost to funding and promotion of touch football across the country, with an aim to boost participation rates of both sports. As part of the partnership, the "NRL Touch Football" brand was created to align the marketing of the sport to the NRL brand profile.

National Teams

Australia's national touch football teams are known as the Emus.

  • Men's Open
  • Women's Open
  • Mixed Open
  • Women's Over 27 Years
  • Senior Mixed
  • Men's Over 30 Years
  • Men's Over 35 Years
  • Men's Over 40 Years
  • Men's Over 50 Years

Domestic Competitions

National Touch League

Founded in 1997, the National Touch League was the only domestic competition for touch football in Australia, until the formation of the sport's first national home and away competition, the NRL Touch Premiership, in 2018.[4]

NRL Touch Premiership

In May 2018, in partnership with the National Rugby League, Touch Football Australia launched the NRL Touch Premiership. The competition features six touch football teams aligned to NRL teams.

The inaugural teams include:[5]

The competition is divided into two conferences - Queensland (Cowboys, Broncos, Titans) and New South Wales (Knights, Eels, Tigers) - during the regular season, and culminates in the first placed teams from each conference competing in the grand final.

All matches are played prior to NRL matches with coverage being provided by broadcast partners Fox Sports Australia.[4]

Indigenous Australian vs Māori All-Stars

Elite Indigenous and Maori Touch Football teams have regularly taken part in the NRL Indigenous Australian vs Maori All-Stars event, playing the curtain-raiser to the men's and women's NRL games.

International Competitions

Australia participates in the Touch Football World Cup at an international level. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1988 they have won 332 games out of the 362 they have played.

At the recent World Cup that was hosted at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium in Coffs Harbour Australia won eight of the nine categories they competed in.[6][7]

Australia's national touch football teams compete against New Zealand in Trans-Tasman Test Series.

Membership

There are eight member associations in each state:

Hall of Fame

Australian touch football Hall of Famers:[8]

References

  1. ↑ "A brief history of Touch Football – Touch Football Australia". touchfootball.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  2. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN TOUCH- DELIVERING A BETTER PRODUCT – Touch Football Australia". touchfootball.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  3. ↑ "An Historic Day for Touch Football! – Touch Football Australia". touchfootball.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  4. 1 2 "NRL announces historic Touch football premiership competition". National Rugby League. 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  5. ↑ "The NRL Touch Premiership clubs have been announced! – Touch Football Australia". touchfootball.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  6. ↑ touchfootball.com.au (7 May 2015). "Australia wins the 2015 World Cup!". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Ben Harris (3 May 2015). "Aussies dominate gold medals at Touch World Cup". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  8. ↑ touchfootball.com.au (2015). "Hall of Fame". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
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