The
sport of
Australian football has been called by a number of different names throughout its history; but since 1905, after the formation of the Australasian Football Council, the game has been officially called "Australian football"; and the name has been codified by the sport's governing body, the
AFL Commission, as the game's official name, in the "
Laws of Australian football". Historically, the sport has been called "Victorian rules" (referring to its
origins in
Melbourne), the "Victorian game", the "bouncing game", "Australasian rules", the "Australian game" and "national football", as well as several other names. Today, the common names for the sport are "Australian rules football" or "football", and common nicknames for the sport are "footy", "Aussie rules" or sometimes "AFL" (a
genericised abbreviation of
Australian Football League, the sport's largest competition and only fully professional league).