Sentence:  The <WSD>VFL</WSD> began with eight clubs: Carlton; Collingwood; Essendon; Fitzroy; Geelong; Melbourne; St Kilda; and South Melbourne. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (nodot=1) an Australian rules football league formed in Victoria, Australia, in 1896; renamed the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990 after expansion to other states starting in the 1980s. (Formed 1896.)