The Age recently reported its insights into a secret project for Australian football.

As part of an internal brainstorming session, the team at the AFL identified several gaps between their traditional game and their AFL 9’s competition – those gaps included the opportunity for smaller groups of people to play, as well as a requirement to play in smaller venues that are not in the oval format.

The project dubbed AFL X is in the important testing phase, with the AFL Management stressing the format is in its infancy, with testing part of the first steps to establishing the basis of the new offering.

Using two VFL teams, that were not participating in the 2016 finals series, the game’s first test format has 7 players rather than 18 on the field. It was played and filmed for review across the AFL’s various departments, ensuing a cross range of input and perspectives.

As part of an overall strategic priority to make football a year round proposition in the Australian sporting landscape, the testing contributes to the continued development of the new product.

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