In Australian rules football, zoning (originally called district football) refers to a system whereby a given area, either region or lower-level football league, is reserved exclusively for one club.
Zoning has been historically an important part of most major Australian football leagues, being usually justified as necessary to ensure a reasonably equitable competition.
In the early days of Australian rules football, players, though required to be amateurs, were free agents. Because a small number of clubs (such as Norwood in the SAFA and Fremantle in the WAFA) perennially dominated the competition, pressure to eliminate this inequality was always considerable. District football was first introduced in the SANFL in 1897, the year the VFL was formed from the VFA.
Under district football, a player could only play for the club whose district he resided in, and the effect on the competitiveness of the SANFL was noteworthy: whereas previously clubs often had won three premierships in a row or four premierships in five years, neither occurred again until West Adelaide, who had perennially struggled and were close to or at the bottom of the ladder in their first ten years in the competition (1898-1907), won four premierships between 1908 and 1912.
In Australian rules football, zoning (originally called district football) refers to a system whereby a given area, either region or lower-level football league, is reserved exclusively for one club.
Zoning has been historically an important part of most major Australian football leagues, being usually justified as necessary to ensure a reasonably equitable competition.
In the early days of Australian rules football, players, though required to be amateurs, were free agents. Because a small number of clubs (such as Norwood in the SAFA and Fremantle in the WAFA) perennially dominated the competition, pressure to eliminate this inequality was always considerable. District football was first introduced in the SANFL in 1897, the year the VFL was formed from the VFA.
Under district football, a player could only play for the club whose district he resided in, and the effect on the competitiveness of the SANFL was noteworthy: whereas previously clubs often had won three premierships in a row or four premierships in five years, neither occurred again until West Adelaide, who had perennially struggled and were close to or at the bottom of the ladder in their first ten years in the competition (1898-1907), won four premierships between 1908 and 1912.
South China Morning Post | 11 Jun 2019
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South China Morning Post | 11 Jun 2019
The Independent | 11 Jun 2019
WorldNews.com | 11 Jun 2019