Sport in Victoria in 2001. The city has hosted FIFA World Cup qualifiers in both 1997 2001 and 2009 Sport in Victoria The state of Victoria, Australia, has a strong sporting culture and includes many popular sports. The most popular sports played in the state are basketball, Australian rules football, cricket, shooting, soccer, and netball. Horse Racing joins that list as the most popular spectator sports. In terms of both attendance and media coverage, Australian rules football is the most popular sport in the state. The participation rate of 4% is the third highest in the country with 223,999 players counted in 2004.
Sport in the United Kingdom Until 2008, automatic promotion and relegation existed between Super League and the Championship when it was replaced by three-year licences for clubs to play in the former. Promotion and relegation returned to Super League and the Championship in 2015. The main knock-out competition is the Challenge Cup, which also includes clubs from France and Canada, and in the past has also included clubs from Russia. Rugby league is also played as an amateur sport, especially in the heartland areas, where the game is administered by BARLA. Since the rugby union authorities ended the discrimination against playing rugby league amateur numbers