AFL Announces National Women's Competition Clubs

Chris Kowald reporting for AFANA

In May of 2015, the AFL surprised many by announcing that it would be operating a national competition for women. Then on June 15^th, 2016, the eight teams that will compete in the initial national competition were named. This will be the first professional league for female Australian football players. 

The teams are:
Adelaide
Brisbane Lions
Carlton
Collingwood
Fremantle
Greater Western Sydney
Melbourne
Western Bulldogs

Four teams will be based in the greater city of Melbourne. There will be one team each from South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales. Five clubs also submitted bids that were not sccepted for the first year but are expected to be admitted in the following years. These included West Coast, Geelong, North Melbourne, Richmond, and St Kilda. Female participation in Australian football has grown significantly in the last few years in Australia. In 2003 across all age groups, there were 19,326 female players. AFL figures show that in 2015 there were 49,087 active female players. In secondary schools, where students are from 12 to 18 years old, the number has jumped from 6,575 to 11,631. There will be a steady stream of new players hoping to make it big in the national competition.

This year the AFL has played nine women’s games, using a modified format of two teams from each State and one each from Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Players participating in this trial format will have the opportunity to join one of the eight clubs to play each week in 2017. The final game scheduled for this this year will be played on September 3, when the Western Bulldogs will play Melbourne for the Hampson-Hardeman Cup. AFANA has listed all of the matches available via the internet on our TV Schedules page.

AFANA To Add Coverage for Women

AFANA has announced that going forward into 2017, the organization will recognize the new top level women's competition in several ways:

• We will include the Women’s AFL schedules on our TV listings when the games are available by online or broadcast to North American fans.
• The schedule will be added to the existing fixtures we list.
• Our Footy FAQ for new fans will have a new section added on the women’s competition.
• We will assign a reporter, based in Australia, to cover the league on an on-going basis. Candidates will be sought immediately and applicants should contact us via this web site using the contact page under "Feedback" in the top menu.
• Additional actions will be taken and announced as the AFL releases information and planning proceeds downunder.