1960s

In Australia, Touch Football started sometime in the1960s (or perhaps earlier) as a social or park game and as a training technique for rugby league and rugby union. Instead of a full physical tackle by one or two players, the defensive played simply touched the attacking player to simulate a tackle.

Bill Cameron, one of the founders of touch football in Brisbane remembers:

“I played lower grades for Manly Warringah (rugby league) in 1963-4 and Rex Mossop always organised a game of touch after official training sessions on Brookvale oval.

He also ran a game of touch every Sunday morning on Freshwater Beach – and others played on various Northern Beaches, but not in an organised competition as such.”

1966 / 1967

Recollections by Barry Kennedy

“1966 My memory of the early days of touch in Sydney is that the first competition between teams was held at Redfern Oval in 1966 organised by John Grant, at the time halfback for the South Sydney Rabbitohs (Rugby League).

1967 The second organised competition was in 1967 run by the manager of Glebe Youth RL club in Glebe Point Park who refereed. At the time the park had a tarred road angling through it with streetlights. So the field had an angled sideline, which meant one trying was wider than the other. Players used to complain about it and the ref would respond with “you will have the wide try-line in the second half”. Many of Balmain’s first grade league players played, including Arthur Beetson and Dennis Tutty as well as many young guys like me.”

1968 – Build up to state wide competition in Australia

In the inner suburbs of Sydney, Australia, there exists the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club. In 1908 South Sydney RLFC was the 3^rd club formed in the inaugural rugby league competition in Australia. So, it is perhaps fitting that the sport of Touch Football was started in this district. (As a coincidence, touch football in Brisbane started at the Southern Suburbs Rugby League Football Club.)

Touch was used as it as a method of training for the rugby league team, and as a means of allowing retired players to keep running around in a competitive game.

According to a 2015 article in the Sydney Morning Herald penned by Roy Masters, two South Sydney senior players, Brian James and Jack Thom, organised a charity event on the night of February 9, 1968. Billed as “South Sydney Charity Night”, all proceeds went to the Spastic Centre. Six of the eight Sydney rugby league clubs entered teams. The seven men per side, seven minutes per half competition was not called touch, although the official rules declare: “A player is ‘tackled’ when he is touched with two hands by an opposition player.” The tournament was named, the “Figaro” Football Competition, after a prominent hair tonic whose advertising slogan was: “If there’s a bee in your bonnet, put Figaro on it.”

1968 – South Sydney’s touch competition starts

In mid-1968, touch football in South Sydney was formalised into a regulated association by Bob Dyke and Ray Vawdon of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club.

On 13 July 1968 the “South Sydney Touch Football Association” was formed. Bob Dyke and Ray Vawdon organised the first game for South Sydney, and both these men remained involved in its codification and administration right up until Bob Dyke’s death in 2010. During that time, they watched as its popularity spread beyond their wildest imaginings.

Read more :South Sydney Touch Football Association

1973 – First competition in Queensland

Touch in Queensland owes both Jim Schaumberg, the inaugural president of BTFA, and Bill Cameron, the inaugural secretary, a great deal. Together with Gary Balkin, Des Condon and Vince Morrison, they formed the Brisbane Touch Football Association (BTFA) at a meeting at the Melbourne Hotel in West End, Brisbane on 27th March 1973.

Delegates from prospective teams were present and rules, fields and times were agreed upon. According to the minutes, the competition was limited to 10 teams, games would start at 7:45 am on Sundays and the first games would be on the 8th April 1973. Also, players had to be ex-rugby league players over 25 to play.

As noted above, there was a strong association with the (Brisbane) Southern Suburbs Rugby League Football Club. Many of the founders were ex South’s players and the first games were held at their grounds.

The first interstate match was also played in 1973, between NSW and Queensland.

Through their contacts in rugby league, these founders of touch encouraged the start-up of many regional competitions all over Queensland.

Read more : Brisbane Touch Football Association (BTFA)

1974 – another competition in Brisbane

The BTFA competition which had started in Brisbane in 1973 excluded anyone under 25 and those who has not played rugby league. At the first AGM of the BTFA, a few younger players sought to enter some teams but because of the over 25 rule, they were refused a team entry.

These players made a quick decision to form their own competition, and in 1974 formed the South Queensland Touch Football Association (SQTFA). This association became one of the largest and strongest touch football associations in the late 1970s and 1980s in Australia.

From there, both competitions grew exponentially and ran as separate competitions until their merger in 1984.

Read more: Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association (BMTA)

1976 – National body formed

The establishment of the first national body, the Australian Touch Football Association, came in 1976.

1977 Touch football played in front of 40,000+ rugby league crowd

In 1977, after the drawn rugby league grand final between St George and Parramatta, the replay required a curtain-raiser. Touch football was perfect. The touch association was contacted, and in front of a record SCG crowd of 40,000+, the spectacular prelude was a showcase for the sport.

1978 A Sydney touch team plays Great Britain

Very soon after this, other associations were formed in NSW and inter-district competition began in 1978.

Another profile raiser came in 1978 when the Sydney Metropolitan Touch Football side played the touring Great Britain national rugby league team in a high-scoring match, with the local team winning with a disputed touchdown on the siren. As more people began to play Touch, more organised competitions developed.

1985 International body created

The Federation of International Touch (F.I.T) is the governing body of touch world-wide and was formed in 1985. It organised the first Touch Football World Cup in 1991 and now includes over 50 member countries.