The United Kingdom has four legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English and Welsh law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, purely Welsh law. Overarching these systems is the law of the United Kingdom, also known as United Kingdom law. UK law arises from laws applying to the United Kingdom and/or its citizens as a whole, most obviously constitutional law, but also other areas - for instance, tax law.
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. In sport, if a sport is governed by a council representing the island of Ireland, such as the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the term can refer to the nations of the constituent countries on the island of Great Britain and the Irish nation.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture. In the infancy of many sports, the Home Nations, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though some continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both the summer and winter Olympic Games, the Youth Olympic Games, the European Youth Olympic Festivals, and at the European Games.
Australian rules football is a sport played in many countries around the world at amateur level only. In 2016, about 106,000 people played in structured competitions outside of Australia and at least 20 leagues that are recognised by the game's governing body, exist outside Australia. In 2007 there was a total of 34,845 players. In contrast, there are over 800,000 players in Australia where the game is at its strongest; overseas players make up less than 2% of the total players worldwide.
The Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team is known as the Great Britain Bulldogs. The team is made up of the best British born players selected from clubs of in England, Wales and Scotland, and occasional appearances from British players playing for clubs in Australia.
Australia has named a senior Australian Football team, known as the All-Australian team team since 1947. This team, however has never officially played an international Australian rules football match. This is primarily because the country is so strong in the sport.
Australian rules football in Canada is played in seven provinces - Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The Ontario league, centred on Toronto but also including sides from cities as far afield as Guelph, Hamilton and Ottawa, is considered the largest league outside Australia. In western Canada, there are clubs in Edmonton, Calgary and a six-team league in the Vancouver area. There is also a number of junior and women's clubs across Canada.
Australian rules football in England is a team sport and spectator sport with a long history. The current competitions originated in 1989 and have grown to a number of local and regional leagues coordinated by AFL England. In 2018, these regional divisions were the AFL London, AFL Central & Northern England and Southern England AFL.
Australian rules football has been played on an organised basis in Wales since 2007, Mae pêl-droed Rheolau Awstralaidd yn cael ei chwarae ar faes hirgrwn. Mae deunaw ddewisol bob ochr. with the league and representative teams run and managed by the Welsh Australian Rules Football League who is the controlling body of the sport in the country. All six senior teams in the WARFL are named after clubs in the South Australian National Football League. Prior to 2007 some clubs played in the BARFL but the rising popularity of Australian Football demanded the creation of a Welsh league.
Note: In order to be recognised as a true national team and not simply expatriates, the list is subject to International Cup eligibility rules.
Australian rules football is played by a six-team league in Scotland, with clubs in Glasgow, Linlithgow, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh and Newcastle. The current Premiers are the Edinburgh Bloods.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, each nation having a number of clubs, organised junior programs and women's football. The British AFL has now dramatically expanded into the Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises four constituent countries: England, Scotland, and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland. The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom, refer to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as "regions". With regard to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales particularly, the descriptive name one uses "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".
Oxford University Australian Rules Football Club is an Australian rules football club representing the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The club operates under the auspices of the Oxford University Sport Federation.
AFL Europe is the regional governing body for Australian rules football in Europe. As of 2018, it organises the AFL Europe Championship and the Euro Cup, and previously managed the European Legion representative team as well being responsible for the organisation of the ANZAC Cup, Fitzpatrick Cup and AFL Europe Champions League.
AFL England is the governing body for Australian Rules Football in England. It was formed in 2012 to succeed AFL Britain with the aim to be more effective in governing the game in England, as both Scotland and Wales had developed their own autonomous bodies.
The Great Britain women's national Australian rules football team is known as the Great Britain Swans. The team is made up of the best British born players selected from clubs of in England, Wales and Scotland, and occasional appearances from British players playing for clubs in Australia.
