The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club, based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest league in the country. The club was established in 1873 and its name originates from the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda . The club was a foundation team of the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and later, in 1897 became a foundation team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), which was renamed the Australian Football League prior to the start of the 1990 premiership season.