Bellarine Football Netball League
The Bellarine Football Netball League (BFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia. Established in 1971 as the Bellarine & District Football League, the competition was formed out of the ashes of the Polwarth Football League, which had six of its former teams join.
| Formerly | Bellarine & District Football League (1971–1985) Bellarine Football League (1986–2010) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football Netball |
| Founded | 1971 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Australia |
| Headquarters | Highton, Victoria, Australia |
| Confederation | AFL Barwon |
| Sponsor(s) | Dow Chemical Company |
| Related competitions | Geelong FNL Geelong & District FNL Polwarth FL |
| Official website | aflbarwon.com.au/bfnl |
The competition was renamed the Bellarine Football League in 1986, and finally the Bellarine Football Netball League in 2011 when the local netball competition was administratively aligned with the football competition for the first time. Prior to 2011, netball clubs competed in a competition overseen by the Bellarine District Netball Association.
The BFNL forms the second tier of football in the Geelong area, along with the Geelong Football Netball League (GFNL) and the Geelong & District Football League.
In March 2024, following extensive consultation AFL Barwon detailed a plan for expanding the BFNL to 12 teams from 2025 with a path for a team to accept an invitation for promotion to the GFNL, replacing a club that would then be relegated from the GNFL.