| Victorian Blind Football League | |
| Pixels: | 170px |
| Sport: | Australian rules football |
| Founded: | 2018 |
| Teams: | 3 |
| Country: | Australia |
| Champion: | Hawthorn (2nd premiership) |
| Headquarters: | Action Indoor Sports Tullamarine, Melbourne |
| Administrator: | AFL Victoria |
| Sponsor: | Energy Safe Victoria |
The Victorian Blind Football League (VBFL) is an Australian rules football competition for people with vision impairment. As of 2023, it has 45 players in three different teams.[1]
The competition is mix-gendered, and open to people with different levels of vision.[2]
The VBFL was founded in 2018 with four teams that were not linked to AFL clubs − Bombers, Bulldogs, Hawks and Saints.[2] Hawthorn and St Kilda formally entered the competition in 2019, with Hawthorn winning the grand final in its inaugural season.[3] [4]
The Bulldogs and the Bombers did not compete in the 2023 season, with Hawthorn instead entering two teams − Hawthorn Gold and Hawthorn Brown.
In 2024, joined the VBFL, becoming the first Victorian Football League club to do so. As a result, Hawthorn Gold and Hawthorn Brown ceased to exist as separate teams, and a single Hawthorn team returned to the competition.[5]
The VBFL includes a specifically modified football that features a continuous beeping device to assist players tracking the ball. Signage and flickering lights are centrally placed behind the goals to assist players with accuracy when kicking for goal.[1]
Players fall into three different classifications:
Players wear different-coloured wristbands depending on their classification, which assists umpires to officiate matches.[2]
| Club | Colours | Moniker | First season | Total premierships | Years of premierships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style=text-align:left | Hawthorn | align=centre | Hawks | align=centre | 2019 | align=centre | 2 | align=centre | 2019, 2024 | ||
| style=text-align:left | Port Melbourne | align=centre | Borough | align=centre | 2024 | align=centre | 0 | align=centre | − | ||
| style=text-align:left | St Kilda | align=centre | Saints | align=centre | 2019 | align=centre | 1 | align=centre | 2021 |
| Club | Colours | Moniker | First season | Last season | Total premierships | Years of premierships | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style=text-align:left | Bombers | align=centre | Bombers | align=centre | 2018 | align=centre | 2022 | align=centre | 0 | align=centre | − | ||
| style=text-align:left | Bulldogs | align=centre | Bulldogs | align=centre | 2018 | align=centre | 2022 | align=centre | 1 | align=centre | 2022 | ||
| style=text-align:left | Hawthorn Gold | align=centre | Hawks, Gold | align=centre | 2023 | align=centre | 2023 | align=centre | 0 | align=centre | − | ||
| style=text-align:left | Hawthorn Brown | align=centre | Hawks, Brown | align=centre | 2023 | align=centre | 2023 | align=centre | 1 | align=centre | 2023 | ||
| style=text-align:left | Hawks | align=centre | Hawks | align=centre | 2018 | align=centre | 2018 | align=centre | 0 | align=centre | − | ||
| style=text-align:left | Saints | align=centre | Saints | align=centre | 2018 | align=centre | 2018 | align=centre | 0 | align=centre | − |
| width=1% | Year | width=10% | Premiers | width=10% | Runners-up | width=8% | Score | width=5% | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hawthorn | Bulldogs | 13.8 (86) d. 12.7 (79) | 12 October 2019 | |||||
| 2021 | St Kilda | Bulldogs | 135 d. 71 | 4 December 2021[6] | |||||
| 2022 | Bulldogs | St Kilda | 68 d. 58 | 3 September 2022 | |||||
| 2023 | Hawthorn Brown | Hawthorn Gold | 133 d. 106 | 9 September 2023 | |||||
| 2024 | Hawthorn | 28 July 2024 |