Resource 2025 Membership - The year of change - 72,656 as of September 10th AFL Audited

[jakey]

I haven't had a membership since 2022, having maintained one for the entirety of my adult life before that. With the removal of some no hopers from the list, and a near full reset in the footy department, I want to buy back in.

If I can hear a coherent vision for 2026 im sold. Will they have the nuts to articulate one, because it might imply that had it wrong before?

 

[VineValerian]

View attachment 2422771

 

[VineValerian]

10% increase is plenty good enough to keep the boys in a job.
Only one team a year can win a flag, it’s not easy you know.

Only if you don't work hard and incredibly long.

 

[The_Wookie]

at least we get breakdowns across the league

 

[Papa G]

So only significant increases are Reduced Access (which one presumes is a 1 game membership) and AFLW in 2022, you'd assume a lot are double ups with proper memberships.

So proper memberships 11 plus games have grown 9% in 9 years compared to the inflated other figures of a growth rate of 65% over that same period.

Also highlights that 1/3rd of Grand Final tickets are allocated to MCC/AFL members (Victorians).

The whole competition is a sham.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

at least we get breakdowns across the league

View attachment 2427515

The_Wookie where did you get the breakdown of 2025 membership categories from?

In the prior years that you have graphed, the breakdown comes with a graphic in the announcement from the AFL and is on their website article.

As I mentioned on the previous page, the official announcement last week at the link below doesn't have the breakdown. It has some extra info over the clubs' total figure but not the full breakdown eg has no mention of total number of 11 home game memberships or the 15/16/17 home and away game memberships that Vic clubs sell.

All-time club membership record broken again

The AFL has announced an all-time club membership record in 2025

www.afl.com.au

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

So only significant increases are Reduced Access (which one presumes is a 1 game membership) and AFLW in 2022, you'd assume a lot are double ups with proper memberships.

So proper memberships 11 plus games have grown 9% in 9 years compared to the inflated other figures of a growth rate of 65% over that same period.

Also highlights that 1/3rd of Grand Final tickets are allocated to MCC/AFL members (Victorians).

The whole competition is a sham.

The total only went from 1,319,687 to 1,363,437, a 3.26% increase, so most categories will be basically the same as last years.

The clubs under the directive from the AFL, no doubt, the last few years have been flogging freebies and reduced games access late in the year so that most clubs can say, 1) see we have broke our membership record again and 2) in the words of Scott Morrison can say - How good are we, and the AFL can say - How good is footy.

 

[The_Wookie]

The_Wookie where did you get the breakdown of 2025 membership categories from?

In the prior years that you have graphed, the breakdown comes with a graphic in the announcement from the AFL and is on their website article.

As I mentioned on the previous page, the official announcement last week at the link below doesn't have the breakdown. It has some extra info over the clubs' total figure but not the full breakdown eg has no mention of total number of 11 home game memberships or the 15/16/17 home and away game memberships that Vic clubs sell.

All-time club membership record broken again

The AFL has announced an all-time club membership record in 2025

www.afl.com.au

Odd, its in the media release, but ive published it here

State of the Game 2025: The AFL - SportsIndustryAU

This data is up to date to the end of the 2025 Home and Away season.

footyindustry.com

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Thanks to The_Wookie I will put the AFL graphic of the breakdown here for future reference.

I'm surprised the Auskick numbers went backwards by 4,400. This is one area the AFL can really crank up to get to 2 million club members by 2031 for their fat bonuses.

In post #176 I calculated an approx churn rate of 14.9% using 1.363m 2025 total -240k new members per the article = 1.123m, but the graphic below says;

242,589 new members and 1,069,872 new members. Those two added together give 1,312,461 which is neither last years total of 1,319,687 to 1,363,437.

If in fact the correct renewing members total is 1,069,872 from 2024's 1,319,687 (81.1%) then the churn rate is 18.9%, approx 2 in 11 members don't renew.

Most would be those Auskick, and the freebie, cheapies categories.

 

[El_Scorcho]

at least we get breakdowns across the league

View attachment 2427515

This is a great breakdown, thanks, and it lines up exactly with what we've observed. There is some growth but the vast majority is simply the AFL and all it's clubs counting people as members who didn't previously count and wouldn't qualify under any reasonable measure.

I'm guessing reduced access is 1 game members.

 

[240volt]

This is a great breakdown, thanks, and it lines up exactly with what we've observed. There is some growth but the vast majority is simply the AFL and all it's clubs counting people as members who didn't previously count and wouldn't qualify under any reasonable measure.

I'm guessing reduced access is 1 game members.

1 game member how fk’d is that.
It should be as it used to be , members are people that take out membership for the season.
Anyone else doesn’t count in the figures.
Then you get a true reflection where you stand.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

These are the numbers of the breakdown since 2016 which I have been keeping.

There is a transposition error of 90 between the breakdown and the published total of 1,363,437.

The 3 big differences for 2025 over 2024 are Home 11 game memberships up 20k, Reduced access up 44k and 3 game memberships down 14k. This represents 50k increase of the net 44k increase.

 

[El_Scorcho]

1 game member how fk’d is that.
It should be as it used to be , members are people that take out membership for the season.
Anyone else doesn’t count in the figures.
Then you get a true reflection where you stand.

The AFL want to be able to tell sponsors that they have an enormous membership base. "Member" has basically lost meaning.