https://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/pro...ords/101931380
The VFL came after the VFA.
Formally, the beginning of Australia's top football league - the VFL - began in 1896.

But not everyone thinks that.

In his recent book, Football's Forgotten Years, former Geelong Football Club President Colin Carter surmises that it's predecessor, the Victorian Football Association, should be where the AFL records officially start.

The VFA formed in the 1870s and included 11 of today's existing AFL teams, as well as a number of others, before the schism that lead to six clubs forming the breakaway VFL.

He spoke to Alice Zaslavsky about the history that he has uncovered, and why he believes 1870 should be recognised as the top league's augural season.