FOOTBALL luminary Kevin Sheedy has backed the AFL's planned expansion into new markets and has urged Tasmania to continue its push to get its own AFL team.

Sheedy said the Apple Isle’s tourism potential gave it an advantage over other Australian states.

“I’ve never met and seen a state of Australia that wants footy as much as Tasmania,” Sheedy told afl.com.au.

“The thing about Tasmania is it is probably Australia’s most beautiful state.

“It would be one of the best tourist pulls, to have an AFL team there, because a lot of Australia hasn’t been to Tasmania. So from that point of view I think it’d be exciting.

“I think Tasmania have got to be the most volatile, exciting state if they want a game and a club in the AFL. And that’s about the only way they’re going to get it. And they’re doing that.”

Sheedy said it was up to the government and 500,000 people of Tasmania to make the idea succeed.

“I don’t see Tasmania as any sort of lesser opportunity than what the Green Bay Packers are in America in the NFL,” he said.

“They’ve got about 170,000 people in Green Bay. I went to Green Bay four years ago, had a good look at the situation just from an overall view of the city, the ground, the population.

“They have 70,000 [members], the home games are sold out every year, you can hardly ever get a membership because they said ‘We’re going to be in the NFL’. And we’re going back to (Packers’ coach) Vince Lombardi’s time in the middle of the '60s.

“So there’s an opportunity there. You know, the people that own Green Bay are the people of Green Bay. So it needs a real different situation to have Tasmania really want to come in.”

Sheedy said establishing an AFL side in Western Sydney was also an exciting prospect because of its cultural mix.

“You can actually build bridges from West Sydney to other parts of the world,” he said.

“Migrants come to live in Sydney and move to that area. It also gives you a belt right into the Riverina, which is a very powerful AFL area according to history, and right down to Canberra.

“If you’re talking about 2050 ... then I would say that from a landmark decision you’ve got to keep going at the Gold Coast and Sydney.