One of the more famous sports activities in Australia is Australian Rules Football (AFL). To those outside the country it is considered a bit strange because they have observed no game like it, however they are in awe of what tremendous athletes that those who play the game with the professional high level are. It's a entirely professional men's competition of Australian rules football and it has been played for over a hundred years. It began in the state of Victoria, but now other states have teams in what is now viewed as a nationwide league. The 18 professional clubs that play in the AFL spend a lot in the sports sciences and sports medicine to get the best from the athletes in each club. The sports medicine staff with each team contains a podiatrist included to help look after the foot injury and footwear needs of the players. The function of Podiatrists in the Australian Football League in Australia is recognized as a model of how podiatrists really should be included in professional clubs all over the world.
For one of the shows of the podiatry relevant livestream, PodChatLive the hosts spoke with 5 of the podiatrists connected with AFL clubs to discuss the world leading model for Podiatry within an professional sports competition and the growing function of the recently formed, AFL Podiatry Association. The Podiatrists which were on this event ended up Ben Holland with the North Melbourne Kangaroos, Emma Poynton with the Western Bulldogs, Nicki Quigley with the Hawthorn Hawks, Todd Brown from the Geelong Cats and Tom May from the Adelaide Crows. They described the needs of AFL and how that impacts the athletes and just what the common injuries seen. There was a great discussion concerning the shoes used and also the issues that can bring. There was also a chat with the preseason screening method that is usually used in the 44-man teams. The show was broadcast live on Facebook, however is also available these days on YouTube.