<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Sport is an important part of Australian culture dating back to the early colonial period . Cricket, Australian rules football, rugby union and horse racing are among the earliest organized sports in Australia . Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the Ashes, the Melbourne Cup and the America's Cup . </P> <P> There are a number of professional sport leagues in Australia, including the Australian Football League (AFL) (Australian rules football), the Big Bash League (BBL) and Sheffield Shield (cricket), the National Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball League, the A-League and the W - League (soccer), the Australian Baseball League, the National Rugby League (rugby league), Super Rugby (rugby union), the ANZ Championship (netball) and the International V8 Supercars Championship (touring car racing). Attendance for the A-League, AFL and NRL over the course of a single season tops six million . Australian football is the most popular sport in Australia, followed by cricket, association football and rugby league . </P> <P> Major professional sports leagues in Australia are similar to major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada in that they do not practice promotion and relegation, unlike sports leagues in Europe and South America . </P>

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