After Cricket's BBL, Another Australian League Wants To Host Matches In India: Report
After Cricket's BBL, Another Australian League Wants To Host Matches In India: Report Published By, Last Updated: June 16, 2026, 18:16 IST The Australian Football
After Cricket's BBL, Another Australian League Wants To Host Matches In India: Report Published By, Last Updated: June 16, 2026, 18:16 IST The Australian Football League (AFL) is reportedly exploring staging a premiership match in India to grow Australian Rules Football and engage Indian and Indian-origin fans. Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), kicks a ball with Western Bulldogs Australian Football League (AFL) players Tom Liberatore (L) and Adam Treloar (R) during a visit to a Movember event at Whitten Oval in Melbourne on April 15, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Brady / POOL / AFP) India could soon become the latest destination for a top-tier international sporting event, with Australia’s Australian Football League (AFL) exploring the possibility of staging a regular-season match in the country. This comes amid the popular cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL), making serious headway in its attempt to host the 2026 season opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
According to a report by CODE Sports, the proposal has received strong backing from the Western Bulldogs, one of the AFL’s most prominent clubs, whose chief executive, Ameet Bains, is leading efforts to help bring Australian Rules Football to India. The Bulldogs seem eager to become the first AFL team to play a premiership match — a regular-season fixture that counts towards the league standings — on Indian soil. Australian Rules Football, commonly known as AFL, is one of Australia’s most popular sports. Played on a large oval ground, often a cricket stadium, the game combines elements of football, rugby and basketball and attracts some of the highest sporting attendances in the country. Speaking on Fox Footy‘s Midweek Tackle programme, journalist Jon Ralph revealed that both the Bulldogs and the AFL see India as a major opportunity for the sport’s future growth.
“The Dogs have thrust their hand very high — they are adamant that they would love to be the first team to play in India for premiership points," Ralph said. The push comes as the AFL considers expanding its international presence. League chief executive Andrew Dillon recently encouraged clubs to engage more actively with multicultural communities and broaden the sport’s appeal beyond its traditional audience. A key factor behind the interest in India is the country’s enormous population, along with its deep sporting culture and widespread availability of cricket venues. The Western Bulldogs are also looking to strengthen ties with Australia’s large Indian-origin community. Ralph noted that nearly one million Indian-born people currently live in Australia, making them an important demographic for the league’s long-term growth plans. The AFL has previously taken regular-season matches abroad, staging games in Wellington, New Zealand, between 2013 and 2015 and later in Shanghai, China, from 2017 to 2019.
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