Victorian Blind Football League

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, Port Melbourne 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:

• Classification A: Players who are totally blind
• Classification B: Players who have limited vision but use hearing as their primary tracking sense
• Classification C: Players who have limited vision but use vision as their primary tracking sense

Players wear different-coloured wristbands depending on their classification, which assists umpires to officiate matches.^[2]