Touch Football Australia

The Australian Touch Association (ATA) was founded in 1978, following the formation of several state-level organisations, as the national governing body of the sport. The ATA was responsible for the coordination of the sport at a national level, which included the creation of a national championships and the release of the first official rule book, in 1980.[1]

In 2004, following the a review into the sport by David Shilbury and Pamm Kellett,[2] the ATA adopted a new national structure, absorbing the operations of all member states and territories (with the exception of the Queensland and New South Wales association) and began trading as Touch Football Australia.

There are now over 600,000 registered members and 500,000 children who participate in Touch Football and according to Australian Sports Commission statistics, it is among the top participation based, organised sports in Australia.

NRL Touch Football logo

On August 13, 2013, Touch Football Australia and the National Rugby League announced a joint-venture partnership between the two organisations to work together and form the largest sporting community in Australia.[3] The partnership resulted in a major boost to funding and promotion of touch football across the country, with an aim to boost participation rates of both sports. As part of the partnership, the "NRL Touch Football" brand was created to align the marketing of the sport to the NRL brand profile.

Founded in 1997, the National Touch League was the only domestic competition for touch football in Australia, until the formation of the sport's first national home and away competition, the NRL Touch Premiership, in 2018.[4]

In May 2018, in partnership with the National Rugby League, Touch Football Australia launched the NRL Touch Premiership. The competition features six touch football teams aligned to NRL teams.

The inaugural teams include:[5]

• QLD Cowboys (North Queensland Cowboys)
• QLD Titans (Gold Coast Titans)
• QLD Broncos (Brisbane Broncos)
• Newcastle Knights (Newcastle Knights)
• Parramatta Eels (Parramatta Eels)
• Wests Tigers (Wests Tigers)

The competition is divided into two conferences - Queensland (Cowboys, Broncos, Titans) and New South Wales (Knights, Eels, Tigers) - during the regular season, and culminates in the first placed teams from each conference competing in the grand final.

All matches are played prior to NRL matches with coverage being provided by broadcast partners Fox Sports Australia.[4]

Elite Indigenous and Maori Touch Football teams have regularly taken part in the NRL Indigenous Australian vs Maori All-Stars event, playing the curtain-raiser to the men's and women's NRL games.