In a country that is often labeled ‘sports mad’, Melbourne has a reputation among Australians for being the national sporting capital.  The city hosts many major sporting events including the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival (featuring the ‘race that stops the nation’, the Melbourne Cup), the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, the Australian round of the MotoGP, the Australian Open Tennis Championship and the AFL Grand Final. Melbourne hosted the first Olympic Games in the southern hemisphere in 1956, as well as the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Melbourne is where Australian rules football originated – the most popular sport in Australia. The city is home to nine of the sixteen teams that constitute the Australian Football League (AFL), whose five Melbourne games per week attract an average 35,000 people per game. The AFL Grand Final, one of the biggest sporting events in Australia, is played on the last Saturday of September at the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).  The city also is home to nine out of the thirteen teams of the professional statewide Victorian Football League.

The city also features one professional rugby league team, Melbourne Storm, who play in the national rugby league competition, professional football (soccer) teams, the Melbourne Victory, who play in the A-League the national soccer competition, and historically Australia’s most successful club South Melbourne FC, who now play in the Victorian Premier League.

AFL World
Cnr Swanston & Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03)  8660 5555
www.aflworld.com.au
AFL World – a unique and diverse range of experiences under one roof – The AFL Adventure; AFL Hall of Fame; AFL Retail Store; Official Home of Mascot Manor; Functions, Corporate Events and Children’s Birthday Parties; Education and Special Interest Groups. Be immersed in the culture and passion of Australian Football and discover why it is an integral part of Australian life.

Australian Open
Melbourne Park Tennis Centre
Melbourne VIC 3002
(03) 9299 9079
www.ausopen.org

Fosters Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park Lake
Melbourne VIC 3206
(03) 9258 7100
www.grandprix.com.au

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Brunton Avenue
Melbourne  VIC 3002
(03) 9657 8667
www.mcg.org.au

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