Australian rules football in Germany

Australian rules football in Germany is currently played by six clubs within the Australian Football League of Germany (AFLG) the governing body. Three clubs run metro leagues. The Dresden Wolves compete in the CAAFL of the Czech Republic and some other formitive clubs play on an ad hoc basis within Germany.

The Frankfurt Redbacks and Munich Kangaroos were founded in 1995 and had been playing since 1996. The AFLG was officially created in 1999, but the two clubs only played occasional matches against each other for the first few years until the formation of the Berlin Crocodiles and the Hamburg Dockers made the possibility of a national league a reality. The German home and away season began in 2003 with these four clubs, Munich winning the premiership.

In 2004 the Düsseldorf Lions (formed in 2002) joined the AFLG, the league having a five-club structure for the following two seasons.

In 2006, a new French side from Strasbourg, the Kangaroos, entered the German league to experience regular league play. The Strasbourg club played under the nickname the "Black Devils" in the German league to avoid a name clash with Munich. At roughly the same time, the Düsseldorf club rebranded to become the Rheinland Lions to reflect a shared home between Düsseldorf and nearby Köln (Cologne).

In 2007 the French team, Strasbourg Kangaroos withdrew from the league to regain strength, leaving five clubs and a 10-game league season plus additional tournaments.

In 2008 a sixth team was formed in Stuttgart, nicknamed the Emus. They joined regular league play in division two in 2009.

At the end of the 2008 season, the playing standard of the league had progressed to a stage where it was difficult for a new or developing club to compete against the established sides. This was particularly evident in the struggles of the Berlin Crocodiles to remain competitive. Conversely, the larger clubs were seeing an increase in players numbers and were in need of a venue for their reserve players. These factors, combined with the entrance of the Stuttgart Emus into the AFLG, saw the creation of a second division to the league in 2009.

During this season, the league's six clubs fielded eight teams in total across both divisions. Division 1 featured the Frankfurt Redbacks, Hamburg Dockers and the firsts from Munich Roos and Rheinland Lions. Division 2 featured the Berlin Crocodiles, Stuttgart Emus, and the seconds from Rheinland and Munich.

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