Australian rules football in South Australia has long been the most popular sport in the state. Forms of football were played very early in the history of the Colony of South Australia pre-dating the organisation of Australian rules football in Victoria and rivalled football's popularity there. In 1877, the colony officially adopted the code in order to compete in the very first intercolonial representative football match in Australia against Victoria. The first governing body, the South Australian Football Association formed on 13 April 1877, remains the oldest competition in Australia.