Sydney Football League

This article is about the Sydney Football League founded in 2026. For the league known as the Sydney Football League from 1980 to 1998, see AFL Sydney.

Sydney Football League

Founded	12 August 2026;2 months ago (12 August 2026)
No. of teams	9
State	New South Wales
Streaming partner(s)	Kayo Freebies

The Sydney Football League (SFL) is an upcoming Australian rules football competition based in Sydney. It will be the highest-level football competition in New South Wales, sitting one tier above AFL Sydney. In addition to senior competitions for men and women, the SFL will include under-19.5 men's and under-20 women's competitions.

History

The SFL was announced by the Australian Football League (AFL) on 12 August 2026, featuring nine teams that were competing in the AFL Sydney Premier Division during the 2026 season. ^[1] There will not be promotion or relegation from the SFL to AFL Sydney, with the AFL describing them as "separate competitions with different purposes". ^[2]

One match per round ^[3] will be streamed by Kayo Sports through Kayo Freebies. ^[4] The inaugural SFL season will commence in April 2027. ^{[5] [6]}

Clubs

Nine teams will compete in the inaugural SFL season in 2027, with licences awarded after a tender and assessment process. ^[1] The location of each club was considered as part of the licence process in order to represents the main regions across Greater Sydney. ^[1]

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home ground	Former league	Est.
East Coast		Eagles	Kanebridge Oval, Rouse Hill	AFL Sydney	1976
Manly-Warringah		Wolves	Weldon Oval, Curl Curl	AFL Sydney	1969
North Shore		Bombers	Gore Hill Oval, St Leonards	AFL Sydney	1903
Pennant Hills		Demons	Mike Kenny Oval, Cherrybrook	AFL Sydney	1971
South West Sydney		Blues	Bob Prenter Oval, Macquarie Fields and Rosedale Oval, Warwick Farm	AFL Sydney	2022
St George		Dragons	Olds Park, Penshurst	AFL Sydney	1929
Sydney University		Students	University Oval, Camperdown	AFL Sydney	1887
UNSW-Eastern Suburbs		Bulldogs	Henson Park	AFL Sydney	1999
UTS		Bats	Waverley Oval, Bondi Junction	AFL Sydney	2000

References

1. "Sydney Football League established as NSW premier competition in 2027". Play AFL. 12 August 2026. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
2. "Sydney Football League: Frequently Asked Questions". Play AFL. 12 August 2026. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
3. "Sydney Football League (SFL) established as NSW premier competition from 2027". afl.com.au. 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
4. Laughton, Max (12 August 2026). "BREAKING: AFL's Sydney footy revolution as full details of major 2027 changes revealed". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
5. Patterson, Emily (12 August 2026). "'More Dane Rampes': Revamped NSW league to start in 2027". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
6. Cellini, Aidan (12 August 2026). "AFL's big bet on NSW football revealed with new nine-club premier competition". ZeroHanger. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.

External links

• AFL NSW/ACT official website