Huruball in New Ingrea

Huruball
Football, Huru rules
A huruball match in play
Governing body	NIFA
First played	1872 (1872) Hillsborough, CENT
Country of origin	New Ingrea
Registered players	25,000 (adult) 60,000 (junior)
Clubs	~300 (senior)
Characteristics
Contact	Full contact
Team members	20 (18 onfield)
Mixed gender	Single (at senior level)
Categorisation	Outdoor
Equipment	Huruball style football
Venue	Football/cricket oval

Huruball is a major sport in New Ingrea. The game has a history dating back to the early 1870s, and has long been the most popular sport in the country. The game has a high participation rate, with over 60,000 juniors and 25,000 adults taking part in competitions all over the country. The premier competition is the NIFA Superleague 1 played by twelve teams from April to October each year. After a slow beginning, Huruball has grown to become the most popular winter sport for men, far outstripping any other professional sport in terms of spectator numbers, television ratings, and revenue.

History

Background of the game

The origins of the game are thought to lie with the indigenous Ngati Mōri people, who were observed playing a contact sport with a stuffed possum fur ball when the Ulethan settlers first arrived in the archipelago. The exact date the game was first played is not known, but since the possum is not native to the Asperic islands where the ancestors of the Ngati Mōri hail, it is likely that the game was first played after New Ingrea was settled in AD 1350.

It is from the Ngati Mōri that the game draws it's name. Huruhuru in the local dialect means "fur", and in a simplified form was adopted as the name of the burgeoning sport when it was first codified by the Ulethans in the 1870s.

Governing body and administration

The New Ingrean Football Association is the governing body of huruball in New Ingrea. The association was founded in 1892, and is a founding member of the International Huruball Council, the world governing body for the sport. It organises the NIFA Superleague 1, NIFA Superleague 2, and the conferences of the National League (Incorporating the tier-3 Conference Championship, and the teir-4 Conference North, Conference East, and Conference South), the Challenge Cup, Amateur Cup, and the New Ingrean national football team.

The association is based at Football House in the Sandon Parklands of Kingsbury.

Competitions

League system

The football league system is currently structured in to a system of hierarchical divisions, which are connected together by the principle of promotion and relegation. For each division, there is an official name, a sponsorship name (which differs from its historic name), and number of clubs competing each year. At all levels, each division promotes to the division(s) that lie directly above it and relegates to the division(s) that lie directly below it.

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
Semi-Professional Leagues
1	NIFA Superleague 1 12 clubs – 2 relegations
2	NIFA Superleague 2 12 clubs – 2 promotions, 2 relegations
3	National League Conference Championship 12 clubs – 2 promotions, 3 relegations
4	National League Conference North 12 clubs – 1 promotion, 2 relegations			National League Conference East 12 clubs – 1 promotion, 2 relegations			National League Conference South 12 clubs – 1 promotion, 2 relegations
Amateur Leagues
5	Lunen Island Premier League	Northern Premier League		Albanyshire Premier League	Capital Premier League		Western Premier League		Southern Premier League
6	Lunen Island League 1	Beaufortshire League 1	Fitzroyshire League 1	Albanyshire League 1	Kingsbury League 1	Vernonshire League 1	Central and West League 1 12 clubs - 1 promotion	Westerland League 1 12 clubs - 1 promotion	Deverauxshire League 1 12 clubs - 1 promotion	Waylandshire League 1 12 clubs - 1 promotion
7	Lunen Island League 2	Beaufortshire League 2	Fitzroyshire League 2	Albanyshire League 2	Kingsbury League 2	—	—	—	—	—

External links

About the game

• Introduction to Australian Football
• Australian Football Explained

History

• australianfootball.com