Current season, competition or edition: 2025 AFL Women's season | |
 | |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 15 September 2016; 9 years ago (15 September 2016) |
| First season | 2017 |
| CEO | Emma Moore |
| No. of teams | 18 |
| Country | Australia |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Current premiers | North Melbourne (1st premiership) |
| Most premiers | Adelaide (3 premierships) |
| Broadcasters | Seven Network Fox Footy |
| Streaming partners | 7plus (Australia) Kayo Sports (Australia) WatchAFL (Overseas) |
| Sponsor | NAB |
| Related competitions | AFL AFLW Under 18 Championships QAFL Women's SANFL Women's VFL Women's WAFL Women's |
| Official website | womens |
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national professionalAustralian rules football competition forfemale players. Thefirst season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020 and 18 teams in 2022. The league is run by theAustralian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are the North Melbourne Kangaroos.
The AFLW is the second most attended women's football competition in Australia (behindA-League Women) and one of the most popular women's football competitions in the world. Its average attendance in 2019 of 6,262 per game made it the second-highest of any domestic women's football competition. Its record attendance of 53,034 for the2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was until 2020 the highest match attendance for women's sport in Australia.
Since launch, the AFLW has attracted an audience of more than 1 million attendees[1] and 2 million viewers[2] and has managed to maintain high interest while moving to primarily ticketed and subscription broadcasting models since the 2021 season. It consistently ranks in the top three (alongside cricket and netball) most-watched women's sporting competitions in Australia.[3] The league receives international interest, particularly inIreland, where it has begun to attract a significant television audience due to the ongoing recruitment of IrishGaelic football stars.[4]However, it was reported in mid-2023 that data revealed a significant drop in attendances for the seventh season of the women's league compared to the first season.[5]
While men playing Australian rules football is documented back to 1858, women's games have only been documented back to 1917, and the first lasting women's league was formed in 1981. Women's participation in the sport and the prevalence of women's leagues continued to grow into the 21st century.[6]
In 2010, the AFL commissioned a report into the state of women's football around the country.[7] Following the report, the AFL Commission began working toward the establishment of a national women's league, choosing to establish women's teams in AFL clubs rather than form separate clubs.[8]
The first on-field step towards the competition took place in early 2013, when the AFL announced an exhibition match to be played between women's teams representingMelbourne andWestern Bulldogs in June of that year. On 15 May 2013, the first women's draft was held, establishing the playing lists for the two clubs in the forthcoming exhibition match.[9] The match played on 29 June 2013 marked the first time two women's sides had competed under the banners of AFL clubs. A crowd of 7,518 watched the historic match, which Melbourne won by 35 points.[10] The exhibition match became a series between the clubs, with another game played in 2014 and two played in 2015, the last of which – on 16 August 2015 – was the first women's AFL game to be broadcast on free-to-air television. It attracted an average audience of 175,000, surpassing the 114,000 average audience for the AFL men's clash of the previous day, between Adelaide and Essendon.[11]
The success of these exhibition matches prompted the AFL to accelerate its plans for a nationwide women's competition, announcing a preferred start date of 2017.[12] Prior to this, the league had announced only aspirational plans to have the women's competition established by 2020.[13] The already-planned 2016 exhibition series was expanded at this time, with a total of ten matches to be played in venues across the country and featuring a range of new temporary representative teams.[14]
In 2016, the AFL opened a process for existing clubs to tender applications to join the new competition. The 18 clubs in the men's league had until 29 April 2016 to place a bid for a licence, with 13 clubs making bids: Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, West Coast, and Western Bulldogs.[15] The AFL's preferred distribution of clubs was four clubs fromVictoria and one each fromNew South Wales,Queensland,South Australia, andWestern Australia.[16]
The inaugural teams were announced on 8 June 2016.Adelaide,Brisbane, andGreater Western Sydney were the only teams to bid in their respective states and were granted licences to compete in 2017.[17] Both Western Australian clubs made bids, withFremantle's bid chosen ahead of the bid fromWest Coast. Eight Victorian clubs made bids:Melbourne,Western Bulldogs,Carlton andCollingwood were successful, withGeelong,North Melbourne,Richmond andSt Kilda being unsuccessful but granted provisional licences.[18]
Details about the branding of the league were released in the second half of 2016. On 15 September 2016, the AFL announced that the league would be named "AFL Women's" or AFLW for short, with the logo being unveiled on 19 September 2016.[19][20] The logo is a stylised rendition of anAustralian rules football ground goal square and goal posts, drawn from a perspective that resembles a "W".[20] On 10 October 2016, theNational Australia Bank was named as the league's naming rights sponsor.[21]
The first premiership game was played at Ikon Park on Friday, 3 February 2017.[22] The AFL had initially planned to host the game at Melbourne's Olympic Park Oval, with a capacity of just 7,000, but was forced to change to Ikon Park due to overwhelming interest and a need for more seating.[23] The match was deemed a "lockout" with a capacity crowd of 24,568 in attendance, with estimates of a few thousand left outside.[24] Gillon McLachlan, the AFL's CEO, personally apologised to those who missed out. The game was also a great success on TV, attracting a national audience of 896,000, including 593,000 metropolitan free-to-air viewers, 180,000 regional free-to-air viewers, and 123,000 on Fox Footy.[25] The Melbourne metropolitan audience of 424,000 was on par with that of Friday-night AFL men's matches.[25]
The inaugural season concluded with the Grand Final held on Saturday, 25 March 2017. TheAdelaide Crows were crowned the league's first premiers after defeating the minor premiers, the Brisbane Lions. The scoreline read Adelaide 4.11 (35) def. Brisbane 4.5 (29).[26]
The remaining AFL clubs would join the league in the follow years, with two clubs added in the 2019 season, four in 2020, and the last four in 2022.
The 10 AFL clubs not originally participating in the competition were invited to bid for inclusion, with priority given to the five clubs that had submitted unsuccessful bids to participate in the inaugural season.[27] The deadline to lodge submissions was 16 June 2017. The only clubs not to bid werePort Adelaide andSydney.[28]North Melbourne worked with AFL Tasmania to craft its bid, with the club aiming to play home matches inMelbourne,Hobart, andLaunceston, and also to select half of its playing list fromTasmania.[29][30]
A final decision on which clubs would be admitted to the competition was expected by the end of July 2017, but was delayed several times.[28][31][32] On 27 September 2017, the AFL announced thatGeelong and North Melbourne had been selected to enter the competition in 2019.[33] North Melbourne retained its commitment to playing matches in Tasmania.[34] The league then added four teams in 2020, with the AFL selectingGold Coast,Richmond,St Kilda andWest Coast to join the competition.[33][34] The growth in clubs for the 2019 season was accompanied by the introduction of an American-styleconference structure, which was abandoned after the 2020 season in favour of the traditional single ladder.[35] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the2020 season was curtailed and eventually cancelled without a premiership awarded.[36]
On 12 August 2021, the final four AFL clubs (Essendon,Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney) were granted licenses,[37] and the league'sseventh season in 2022 was the first to feature all 18 AFL clubs.[38]
North Melbourne became the first expansion team, founded after the inaugural season, to win a premiership, when the Kangaroos defeated Brisbane by 30 points in the2024 decider.[39]
| Club | Entry in 2017 | Entry in 2019/20 | Entry in 2022 (S7) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placed bid | Granted entry | Placed bid | Granted entry | Placed bid | Granted entry | ||
| 2019 | 2020 | ||||||
| Adelaide | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| Brisbane | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| Carlton | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| Collingwood | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| Essendon | No | — | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fremantle | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| Geelong | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | — | ||
| Gold Coast | No | — | Yes | No | Yes | — | |
| Greater Western Sydney | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| Hawthorn | No | — | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Melbourne | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
| North Melbourne | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | — | ||
| Port Adelaide | No | — | No | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Richmond | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | — | |
| St Kilda | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | — | |
| Sydney | No | — | No | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| West Coast | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | — | |
| Western Bulldogs | Yes | Yes | — | ||||
The competition's 18 teams are based across five states of Australia. Ten are based in Victoria (nine in the Melbourne metropolitan area), andNew South Wales,Queensland,South Australia andWestern Australia have two teams each, while a team fromTasmania will enter the AFLW at a date to be confirmed.[a] TheAustralian Capital Territory and theNorthern Territory are the only states or territories not to have AFLW teams.
Notes
| Club | Colours | Moniker | State | Home venue | Joining league |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tasmania | .svg) | Devils | Tasmania | Macquarie Point Stadium | 2027 |
Below are the venues that hosted during the2025 season.[40]
The club's playing lists were constructed from scratch through thelater stages of 2016. All participants in the 2017 season were required to be over the age of 17.
Initially, clubs were asked to nominate a list of desired players, with the AFL assigning two of these"marquee" players to each club. In addition, clubs were able to sign a number of players with existing connections to the club, or with arrangements for club-sponsored work or study.[41][42][43] This number varied for each club, in an attempt to equitably spread talent across the teams. In addition, clubs were required to recruit two "rookies" – people with no Australian rules football experience in the previous three-year period.The majority of players were later recruited through the2016 AFL Women's draft.[44] The remaining list spots were filled with free-agent signings in the week following the draft. In total, clubs have 27 active listed players in addition to injury replacements signed to take the spot of long-term injury-affected players.
Player salaries are determined bycollective bargaining agreement with each club's total payments being determined by a salary cap. A significantgender pay gap exists between AFL and the AFLW, with the average wage in the women's league being only 16% of that in the men's league as of 2023.[45]
Players are split into four tiers as follows:
| Tier[46][47] | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $29,856 | $32,077 | $37,155 | $71,935 | ||||
| 2 | $23,059 | $24,775 | $28,697 | $55,559 | ||||
| 3 | $19,661 | $21,124 | $24,468 | $47,372 | ||||
| 4 | $16,623 | $17,473 | $20,239 | $39,184 | ||||
| Total Player Payments (TPP) (per club)[48] | $474,800 | $576,240 | $619,109 | $717,122 | ||||
| Total Player Payments (TPP) (league)[48] | $2,300,000 | $2,752,000 | $4,748,000 | $8,121,000 | $8,722,000 | $25,000,000[49] | $32,300,000 |
The rules are mostly the same as those used in the AFL, with a few exceptions:
Prior to the commencement of the home-and-away season teams are paired off to play an exhibition trial match. In 2017, these matches took place during varying weeks of January.
For the first two seasons of competition, the home-and-away season was operated on a single table, and seven matches were played by each of the eight teams. The two highest-placed teams at the conclusion of the home-and-away season qualified for the Grand Final match, in the absence of a longer finals series.
With the addition of two extra teams in 2019, the AFL Women's home-and-away season introducedconferences, a concept not common inAustralian sports.[52][53] The top-two teams from the respective conferences qualified to the preliminary finals, with the first-ranked team in Conference A meeting the second-ranked team in Conference B and the opposite employed for the other preliminary final. The winners of those matches then met in the Grand Final.[53]
The use of conferences was retained in 2020, along with the inclusion of four additional teams. The 14 teams were split into two conferences of seven, with teams playing each other team in their conference once. The top-four teams in each conference qualified for the finals series. The first round of the finals consisted of four knockout finals, with teams from opposite conferences playing against each other, first in Conference A versus fourth in Conference B, and so on. This left a final four of North Melbourne, Fremantle, Carlton, and Melbourne, with two rounds of finals to be played. At this point, the season was abandoned due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, with no 2020 premier.
In 2021, the league reverted to a single 14-team ladder. Each team played 9 matches, with the top six qualifying for a three-week finals series. All finals are knockouts, with the top-two teams having a bye in the first round of the finals.[35] Since 2022 (S7) the competition has been contested by 18 teams, and the finals series has expanded to eight teams and is played under theAFL final eight system that has been in use in the men's competition since the2000 season.
On 21 August 2023, incoming AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon announced that the AFLW will receive equal prize money to the AFL. The prize money for AFLW players will almost double, going from $623,922 to $1.1 million to split between the top 8 teams.[54]
In 2018, theWestern Bulldogs andCarlton women's teams held the first Pride game, to celebrategender diversity, promote inclusion forLGBTIQA+ players, and to help stamp outhomophobia.St Kilda andMelbourne held a Pride Match in 2020, and the first full AFLW Pride Round was held in 2021.[55][56]
AnIndigenous Round was established in 2021.[57] This round acknowledges the significant contribution ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls to Australian football and the broader community.[58][59] Each team wears a guernsey especially designed to celebrateAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture,[58] and the Dreamtime match is played betweenRichmond andEssendon.[60] An AFLW Indigenous Round Honouree is announced for each season.[57]
These major individual awards and accolades are presented each season:[61]
The league peaked at an average attendance of 6,828 in its inaugural season and a record 53,034 attended the 2019 Grand Final. Admission was free prior to 2022, when the AFLW introduced reserved ticketing at $10 admission per match, which was later increased. In mid-2023, data revealed a significant drop in average attendances for the seventh season compared to the first season.[5] Taking into account the greater number of games played, total attendance was still growing, just spread over three times as many matches.[citation needed] The league's choice of venues has been criticised, with many of the AFL's premium venues, such as Victoria'sMelbourne Cricket Ground andDocklands Stadium, not used for blockbuster AFLW matches. The league has been cited as preferring the atmosphere of fuller smaller venues rather than emptier larger venues, particularly for its television broadcasting.
The following are the most recent season attendances (record figures are bolded):
| Year | Matches Played | H&A Total | Average | Highest H&A | Grand final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 99 | 284,122 | 2,870 | 8,722 | 12,616 |
| 2022 (S7) | 99 | 265,950 | 2,686 | 20,652 | 7,412 |
| 2022 | 75 | 144,271 | 1,924 | 5,533 | 16,712 |
| 2021 | 68 | 155,908 | 2,293 | 9,552 | 22,934 |
| 2020 | 46 | 205,050 | 4,458 | 35,185 | N/A[62] |
| 2019 | 38 | 251,792 | 6,626 | 18,429 | 53,034 |
| 2018 | 38 | 174,012 | 6,000 | 41,975 | 7,083 |
| 2017 | 29 | 198,020 | 6,828 | 24,568 | 9,400 |
In its inaugural 2017 season, all matches were televised live by affiliate partners theSeven Network and Fox Footy.[63] As part of the initial broadcast deal, the free-to-air carrier Seven broadcast one Saturday-night game per week as standard, in addition to the league's opening match and Grand Final. Pay TV network Fox Footy televised all premiership season matches, including simulcasts of the Seven-hosted matches other than the Grand Final.[64] The two television networks covered the costs of broadcasting these matches, with no licensing fee payable to the league in exchange.[65]Fearless: The Inside Story of the AFLW debuted onDisney+ in 2022, the docu-series followed several AFLW clubs through the course of the 2022 season.[66] In July 2023The Age reported that AFLW viewer numbers were down 70% from the debut season, blaming a combination of scheduling, poor quality venues and broadcast quality, and "football fatigue".[67]
The AFLW has attracted an audience of more than 1 million attendees[1] and 2 million viewers[2] and has managed to maintain high interest despite moving to primarily ticketed and subscription broadcasting models from the 2021 season. It consistently ranks in the top three (alongside cricket and netball) most watched women's sporting competitions in Australia.[3] The league receives international interest, particularly inIreland where it has begun to attract a significant television audience due to the ongoing recruitment ofGaelic football stars.[4]
The official internet/mobile broadcast partner of the AFL isBigPond, part ofTelstra. The company hosts the league website and those of each of the eight participation clubs. The AFL has retained digital broadcast rights to matches in the league's inaugural season and will stream all matches live and free on the league website and mobile app.[65] Since 2021,Kayo Sports has streamed all AFLW matches live and on demand in Australia.[68] Outside Australia, the inaugural season is available on Watch AFL.[69]
TheNational Australia Bank is the league's inaugural and (as of 2022) current naming-rights partner.[70]All playing and training equipment, as well as all licensed apparel and hats for the league's clubs, are manufactured byCotton On.[71] Other 2017 league sponsors includedWolf Blass,Chemist Warehouse, andKellogg's.[72][73][74] The official ball supplier isSherrin.[75]
Official match-day attire, together with other club merchandise, is sold through the AFL's stores and website, as well through the clubs and some retailers.
Prior to the creation of the league, the AFL ran four years of exhibition matches between sides representingMelbourne andWestern Bulldogs. In 2016, the series was expanded to multiple teams from around the country.
| 2013 exhibition game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 30 June | Melbourne 8.5 (53) | def. | Western Bulldogs 3.3 (21) | MCG (crowd: 7,500) | Match report |
| |||||
| 2014 exhibition game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 29 June | Western Bulldogs 4.2 (26) | def. by | Melbourne 10.12 (72) | Etihad Stadium (crowd: 24,953(D/H)) | Match report |
| |||||
| 2015 exhibition series | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 24 May | Melbourne 4.13 (37) | def. | Western Bulldogs 4.5 (29) | MCG (crowd: 29,381(D/H)) | Match report |
| Sunday, 16 August | Western Bulldogs 5.6 (36) | def. by | Melbourne 6.4 (40) | Etihad Stadium (crowd: 27,805(D/H)) | Match report |
| |||||
| 2016 exhibition series | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 2 March | Melbourne 3.3 (21) | def. by | Western Bulldogs 6.5 (41) | Highgate Recreational Reserve | Match report |
| Saturday, 2 April | SANFL Blue 5.4 (34) | def. | SANFL Red 5.2 (32) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 51,585(D/H)) | Match report |
| Saturday, 9 April | Sydney 9.8 (62) | def. | Greater Western Sydney 5.3 (33) | SCG (crowd: 37,045(D/H)) | Match report |
| Saturday, 9 April | West Coast 13.10 (88) | def. | Fremantle 3.5 (23) | Domain Stadium (crowd: 40,555(D/H)) | Match report |
| Sunday, 10 April | Northern Territory 13.11 (89) | def. | Tasmania 7.11 (53) | Peanut Reserve | Match report |
| Saturday, 16 April | Brisbane 5.8 (38) | def. | Gold Coast 3.6 (24) | Gabba (crowd: 20,041(D/H)) | Match report |
| Sunday, 22 May | Melbourne 14.7 (91) | def. | Brisbane 3.2 (20) | MCG (crowd: 26,892(D/H)) | Match report |
| Sunday, 5 June | Western Bulldogs 8.5 (53) | def. | Western Australia 5.10 (40) | Etihad Stadium (crowd: 28,769(D/H)) | Match report |
| Sunday, 5 June | South Australia 4.3 (27) | def. | NSW/ACT 3.7 (25) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 40,896(D/H)) | Match report |
| Saturday, 3 September | Western Bulldogs 14.6 (90) | def. | Melbourne 7.9 (51) | Whitten Oval (crowd: 6,365) | Match report |
| |||||
| Club | Seasons in competition | Premierships | Runners up | Premiership seasons | Runner-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 2017–present | 3 | 1 | 2017, 2019, 2022 (S6) | 2021 |
| Brisbane | 2017–present | 2 | 4 | 2021, 2023 | 2017, 2018, 2022 (S7), 2024 |
| Western Bulldogs | 2017–present | 1 | 0 | 2018 | |
| Melbourne | 2017–present | 1 | 1 | 2022 (S7) | 2022 (S6) |
| North Melbourne | 2019–present | 1 | 1 | 2024 | 2023 |
| Carlton | 2017–present | 0 | 1 | 2019 | |
| Collingwood | 2017–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fremantle | 2017–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Greater Western | 2017–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Geelong | 2019–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Richmond | 2020–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| St Kilda | 2020–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Gold Coast | 2020–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| West Coast | 2020–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Essendon | 2022 (S7)–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Hawthorn | 2022 (S7)–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Port Adelaide | 2022 (S7)–present | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sydney Swans | 2022 (S7)–present | 0 | 0 |
The best and fairest award determined in the same way as theBrownlow Medal for men, with umpires awarding three, two, and one votes to the best three players in each game, and suspended players are ineligible.
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide |
| 2018 | Emma Kearney | Western Bulldogs |
| 2019 | Erin Phillips[78] | Adelaide |
| 2020 | Maddy Prespakis[79] | Carlton |
| 2021 | Brianna Davey | Collingwood |
| Kiara Bowers[80] | Fremantle | |
| 2022 (S6) | Emily Bates | Brisbane |
| 2022 (S7) | Ally Anderson[81] | Brisbane |
| 2023 | Monique Conti[82] | Richmond |
| 2024 | Ebony Marinoff[83] | Adelaide |
The MVP award is voted on by the players' peers, in a similar method to theLeigh Matthews Trophy for men.
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide |
| 2018 | Courtney Gum | GWS Giants |
| 2019 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide |
| 2020 | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne |
| 2021 | Brianna Davey | Collingwood |
| 2022 (S6) | Emily Bates | Brisbane |
| 2022 (S7) | Monique Conti | Richmond |
| 2023 | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne |
| 2024 | Ebony Marinoff | Adelaide |
Each week, the senior coach of each club gives five votes to the player they consider to be best on ground in the game in which their team plays, four to the second-best, and so on to one for the fifth-best.
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Not awarded | |
| 2018 | Chelsea Randall | Adelaide |
| Emma Kearney | Western Bulldogs | |
| 2019 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide |
| 2020 | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne |
| 2021 | Kiara Bowers | Fremantle |
| 2022 (S6) | Emily Bates | Brisbane |
| 2022 (S7) | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne |
| 2023 | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne |
| 2024 | Ebony Marinoff | Adelaide |
| Season | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Darcy Vescio | Carlton | 14 |
| 2018 | Brooke Lochland | Western Bulldogs | 12 |
| 2019 | Stevie-Lee Thompson | Adelaide | 13 |
| 2020 | Caitlin Greiser | St Kilda | 10 |
| 2021 | Darcy Vescio (2) | Carlton | 16 |
| 2022 (S6) | Ashleigh Woodland | Adelaide | 19 |
| 2022 (S7) | Jesse Wardlaw | Brisbane | 22 |
| 2023 | Kate Hore | Melbourne | 20 |
| Eden Zanker | Melbourne | ||
| 2024 | Aishling Moloney | Geelong | 21 |
| Taylor Smith | Brisbane |
| Individual sports | |
|---|---|
| Team sports | |
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