The AFL has been quietly developing a modified form of Australian Rules that is played on a soccer field, which it trialled in a secret match between two VFL teams last weekend.

With the working name AFL X, the new version of the game allows just seven players from each team on the ground, far fewer than the usual 18-a-side, and is part of a broader plan to become a year-round sport.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, speaking after the Hawks Young Executive Wing grand final breakfast, said the concept had come from a brainstorming session with his staff.

He said the idea behind AFL X had been to attract non-football fans to the game and enable it to be taken to venues where football could not normally be played because they did not have an oval.