DT Shiva was founded in 2013, the brainchild of Leigh Douthie. Inspired by the TV series ‘The League’, Leigh created the initial DT Shiva competition, a promotion/relegation competition of 84 coaches over 7 leagues on the Ultimate Footy platform. All coaches were seeking the glory of winning Division 1 and claiming the Shiva.

In the subsequent years the DT Shiva has expanded to 348 coaches across 29 divisions in 2023. With the sizeable expansion of the competition, ‘champions leagues’ were introduced to allow coaches to quickly ascend to higher divisions for consistently excellent performance.

For the 2023 season, after the closing of Ultimate Footy the competition moved to AFL Fantasy. In 2024 the commissioner role was handed to Damon Adams to take DT Shiva into a new era.

Since the early years of the competition, an annual draft party has been held in Richmond, Victoria. This event has brought together coaches from around the country to draft together and has continues through to today. Smaller draft gatherings have also taken place in other states.

The Shiva community has thrived through the personality and generosity of its coaches. In 2015 a competition podcast ‘Shiva Blast’ was created by Damon Adams and Ben McDonald. The podcast showcases the coaches of DT Shiva, competition results and revels in the lighter side of fantasy football. In 2016 to overcome the boredom of the bye rounds the ‘Shiva Song Contest’ was born, encouraging coaches to create a song about fantasy football’. The inaugural song contest was won by Coach Mark Santillo, and all successive song contests have fought for the ‘Mark Santillo Trophy of Musical Excellence’ (a well named but otherwise imaginary trophy). The song contest has also led to fundraising, with the community contributing over $5000 to organisations such as Sirens of Silence, Dialysis and Transplant Association of Victoria, National Jockeys Trust, Beyond Blue and more.

First and foremost, this competition is about community. Well, the quest for fantasy football glory, and community. Coaches have created podcasts, video press conferences, guernseys, logos, songs, dances and other unmentionables but more than anything else, have built camaraderie.

Welcome to the DT Shiva community – best of luck on your quest for glory.