He will coach the BFL's senior inter-league side this year.

The BFL plays Bendigo on Saturday, May 2.

Koutoufides fills the vacancy created when Richmond premiership player and Redan's Shaun Grigg joined Geelong as a development coach late last year, not long after being appointed to the position.

Koutoufides agreed to take on the job after an approach from new BFL chairman Adrian Bettio.

Bettio said to have a champion of the game in Anthony Koutoufides willing to commit to leading the BFNL in this campaign spoke highly of the calibre of the competition

"We are thrilled to have Anthony on board for this year," he said.

The Carlton premiership player's appointment fulfills the BFL's desire to have a high profile figure overseeing the representative program, with the objective of getting the best players in the competition to line up for the Navy Blues.

The BFL adopted the strategy after a 74-point loss to Hampden in the AFL Vic Community Championships last year with undermanned side.

The win continued Hampden's resurgence at representative level under the guidance of Brisbane Lions three-time premiership player and former captain Jonathan Brown.

The BFL immediately declared an intention to follow a similar path as Hampden and find a figure-head who would attract the cream of its players to represent the competition.

Ballarat and Bendigo agreed to renew their longstanding rivalry after AFL Victoria decided not run a statewide inter-league competition this year.

Koutoufides played 278 games for Carlton in his hlghly decorated career, which included three years as captain, two best and fairests, two-time All-Australian selection, and AFL and Carlton life membership.

While he has not had a high profile coaching role since retiring as a player, he did coach the AFL's world team in the national under-16 championships in 2013 and 2014.

He also stated last year that he would like a coaching role at Carlton if he was approached.