The North West Australian Football League was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 league in north-western New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, featuring teams from towns such as Tamworth

Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...

, Narrabri

Narrabri, New South Wales

Narrabri is a town and seat of Narrabri Shire Council Local Government Area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia. Narrabri is situated on the Namoi River and lies northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway...

, Moree

Moree, New South Wales

Moree is a large town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River in the centre of the rich black-soil plains....

, Gunnedah

Gunnedah, New South Wales

Gunnedah is a town and Local government area in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. 7,542 people lived in the town of Gunnedah in 2006, including 931 indigenous people ....

, Wee Waa

Wee Waa, New South Wales

Wee Waa is a town with a population of 1,689 people located on the north-western slopes of the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is 41 m north-west of Narrabri and 571  km...

, Inverell

Inverell, New South Wales

Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate...

 and Coonabarabran

Coonabarabran, New South Wales

Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 2,609.-History and description:...

.

The league disbanded after the 1993 season, although Australian rules football was restarted in the area in the late 90s in the form of the Tamworth Australian Football League

Tamworth Australian Football League

The Tamworth Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Tamworth and New England region of New South Wales, Australia...

.

History

The North West AFL was formed in the late 1970s by the clubs from Tamworth, Moree and Gunnedah, who had played in the New England AFL up until this point. In 1985, the New England AFL, based around the University of New England

University of New England (Australia)

The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....

 in Armidale, folded. The remaining NEAFL clubs joined the North West Association.

Due to declines in the local economy, coupled with the large distances between clubs, the league folded in 1993. The resumption of a 12-a-side league in Tamworth, the forerunner of today's Tamworth Australian Football League

Tamworth Australian Football League

The Tamworth Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Tamworth and New England region of New South Wales, Australia...

, saw Australian rules restart in the region two years later in 1995.