2025 Attendances

[The_Wookie]

11.12.2024

Gather Round tickets snapped up in record time


The AFL is pleased to announce that more than 195,000 Gather Round…Festival of Footy tickets have sold… with five of the nine games sold out, 20,000 more than this time last year.

Member on sale on Tuesday saw a significant uplift in demand for tickets this year, selling more than 100,000 tickets in the first four hours, in comparison to the same amount in 24 hours last year.

This year there are an extra 47,000 tickets on offer for fans with the two Saturday matches being ticketed separately.

Tickets still remain for Collingwood vs Sydney Swans on Friday night, Carlton vs West Coast on Saturday afternoon, Melbourne vs Essendon on Saturday night and a very limited number of restricted view tickets and tickets for the Pepsi Collective for Port Adelaide vs Hawthorn on Sunday evening.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said it was clear Gather Round momentum was not slowly down.

“The demand for tickets this year was significantly higher than the first two Gather Rounds, with more than 195,000 tickets being purchased in the first two days,” said Mr Dillon.

“A ticket to the matches at the Barossa Park was always going to be one of the hottest tickets in town and the fans have certainly illustrated that by selling out both matches so quickly.”

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said: “Gather Round continues to exceed all expectations.

“We are honoured that so many footy fans from around the country are making the commitment to travel to our beautiful state to experience this event like no other.

“They’ll be truly welcome.

“If you haven’t got a ticket already – get in quick!”

Tickets for the remaining matches can be found here.

 

[Cmarsh]

I'm detecting a trend here...

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Sure, but its coming off such a low base, these increases aren't very meaningful.

 

[Cmarsh]

First paragraph is spot on, but its too late to unscramble the egg now. The AFL have to live with it. Promotion and relegation is probably the only answer but that won't happen.

New teams with new identities would be a disaster.

P & R the answer is it? Who is going to watch their side in the VFLW when they barely come out for the AFLW?

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[Canberra Pear]

I'm detecting a trend here...

View attachment 2469717

I'm a fan of W, and I think the standard is trending well, but this is misleading.

Both the numbers of teams and games grew during this. The 2025 season had 4.5x as many games as the 2017.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Sure, but its coming off such a low base, these increases aren't very meaningful.

Yeah going from 0 to 300k+ is easy. That's why so many other women's competitions in Australia have done it recently...

I'm a fan of W, and I think the standard is trending well, but this is misleading.

Both the numbers of teams and games grew during this. The 2025 season had 4.5x as many games as the 2017.

Nothing misleading about it. Clearly shows matchday revenue has grown massively.

It also highlights the stability of the AFLW supporter base. Plenty of competitions in this country (such as the BBL, A-League, Super Rugby) have added more teams and games without managing to sustain growth in total attendance.

 

[Bjo187]

P & R the answer is it? Who is going to watch their side in the VFLW when they barely come out for the AFLW?

This argument that it isn't a loss because it generates participation like auskick is an interesting one. Yes AFLW is important and a loss leader, however that doesn't mean you just incur massive losses you don't need to for the sake of it, just because we ****ed up expanding too fast years ago.

A more effective model would be a 10 team Division 1, featuring the best players and coaches filtered into less teams, to improve the standard, which will result in more eyeballs. It wouldn't only lift the quality of the competition, but it would save tens of millions of dollars that could instead be reinvested directly into grassroots and junior women’s football so the talent coming through gets better and better.

Also, it wouldn’t be “dropping back to the VFL.” It would be AFLW Division 2, with promotion and relegation adding interest, closer games and therefore likely more investment from fans. Personally, I’d be far more engaged watching Essendon fight for promotion to the top division than watching us sit mid to lower table every year in a diluted low standard competition.

Taking action to improve the quality and sustainability of the AFLW isn’t a step backward, it’s a necessary correction.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Nothing misleading about it. Clearly shows matchday revenue has grown massively.

It also highlights the stability of the AFLW supporter base. Plenty of competitions in this country (such as the BBL, A-League, Super Rugby) have added more teams and games without managing to sustain growth in total attendance.

Ahh sorry, I thought you were implying a correlation between increasing ticket prices and increasing crowds.

 

[Cmarsh]

This argument that it isn't a loss because it generates participation like auskick is an interesting one. Yes AFLW is important and a loss leader, however that doesn't mean you just incur massive losses you don't need to for the sake of it, just because we ****ed up expanding too fast years ago.

A more effective model would be a 10 team Division 1, featuring the best players and coaches filtered into less teams, to improve the standard, which will result in more eyeballs. It wouldn't only lift the quality of the competition, but it would save tens of millions of dollars that could instead be reinvested directly into grassroots and junior women’s football so the talent coming through gets better and better.

Also, it wouldn’t be “dropping back to the VFL.” It would be AFLW Division 2, with promotion and relegation adding interest, closer games and therefore likely more investment from fans. Personally, I’d be far more engaged watching Essendon fight for promotion to the top division than watching us sit mid to lower table every year in a diluted low standard competition.

Taking action to improve the quality and sustainability of the AFLW isn’t a step backward, it’s a necessary correction.

Well speak for yourself with regards to your own interest with your team with regards to their promotion or relegation, but geez I can't see how the general footy public would be interested in something like that. Most AFL fans don't pay attention to the fortunes of their W team as it is, whether they make finals or not.

 

[Bjo187]

Well speak for yourself with regards to your own interest with your team with regards to their promotion or relegation, but geez I can't see how the general footy public would be interested in something like that. Most AFL fans don't pay attention to the fortunes of their W team as it is, whether they make finals or not.

Exactly, so they're not losing anything anyway. But when they do watch the games will be more competitive and there is a carrot of actually winning something and promotion at the end of it all. Plus the top division displays a much higher standard and watchable product to draw in viewers.

 

[Rob]

P & R the answer is it? Who is going to watch their side in the VFLW when they barely come out for the AFLW?

Not saying they should do it, but how else do you immediately improve the standard without cutting teams? Only way is P&R. Every decent player would immediately go to a Div 1 club.

 

[Tackle Bag]

Nothing misleading about it. Clearly shows matchday revenue has grown massively.

It also highlights the stability of the AFLW supporter base. Plenty of competitions in this country (such as the BBL, A-League, Super Rugby) have added more teams and games without managing to sustain growth in total attendance.

I like your positivity but increasing overall revenue through more games when each game is running at a loss is not a great recipe.

The costs of this competition have skyrocketed and the marginal increase (at best) in attendance is a concern when you consider the promotion and marketing being put into it.

Behind closed doors The afl wouldn’t be happy with the completely stalled growth of the comp and fact they really haven’t gotten much traction in terms of drawing more eyeballs and attendance.

Reality is that it’s lost the momentum and public interest that was driving growth pre covid.

 

[TimZoo]

I like your positivity but increasing overall revenue through more games when each game is running at a loss is not a great recipe.

The costs of this competition have skyrocketed and the marginal increase (at best) in attendance is a concern when you consider the promotion and marketing being put into it.

Behind closed doors The afl wouldn’t be happy with the completely stalled growth of the comp and fact they really haven’t gotten much traction in terms of drawing more eyeballs and attendance.

Reality is that it’s lost the momentum and public interest that was driving growth pre covid.

And a big concern would the almost rusted-on aflw supporters might eventually get worn down by the negativity and mockery on places like FB and pack it in,You mention Aflw in the workplace and often the comeback is something along the lines of 'I'd rather watch grass grow,etc',That stuff could have a knock-on effect in workplaces,schools,social settings,wherever.
Sad but a possibility

 

[Teen Wolf]

The costs of this competition have skyrocketed

That's incorrect. In relation to overall AFL revenue, costs for the AFLW have hardly risen at all. Hence the not-for-profit AFL made a $45m profit last year.

and the marginal increase (at best) in attendance is a concern when you consider the promotion and marketing being put into it.

Behind closed doors The afl wouldn’t be happy with the completely stalled growth of the comp and fact they really haven’t gotten much traction in terms of drawing more eyeballs and attendance.

Reality is that it’s lost the momentum and public interest that was driving growth pre covid.

The numbers don't support your frowning characterisation of the league's growth.

Moreover, it's obvious vital markets like Sydney and Brisbane are bringing in new fans (see attendances for games with tie-in Pride and Diwali celebrations, for example) who like what they see and then start following the men's comp.

5,000 people turning up (and paying) solely for women's games in NSW & QLD is a dream for the AFL, which they would've killed for 10 years ago.

 

[The_Wookie]

That's incorrect. In relation to overall AFL revenue, costs for the AFLW have hardly risen at all. Hence the not-for-profit AFL made a $45m profit last year.

But the costs have risen relative to AFLW expenditure. Thats not even debatable.

 

[Teen Wolf]

But the costs have risen relative to AFLW expenditure. Thats not even debatable.

The term "skyrocketed" is the contentious part, particularly in the context of what the AFL can increasingly afford.

 

[Tackle Bag]

That's incorrect. In relation to overall AFL revenue, costs for the AFLW have hardly risen at all. Hence the not-for-profit AFL made a $45m profit last year.


The numbers don't support your frowning characterisation of the league's growth.

Moreover, it's obvious vital markets like Sydney and Brisbane are bringing in new fans (see attendances for games with tie-in Pride and Diwali celebrations, for example) who like what they see and then start following the men's comp.

5,000 people turning up (and paying) solely for women's games in NSW & QLD is a dream for the AFL, which they would've killed for 10 years ago.

I’m not talking about AFL revenue , I’m talking about AFLW in particular and costs have skyrocketed. No point hiding AFLW figures in the AFLs numbers. We know the men’s game is a cash cow and will continue to be a raging success. The women’s game is making significant losses and it’s a concern.

I’m not sure how anyone looking at the numbers without bias can say otherwise.


While there are a couple of bright spots, as a whole, for the amount of money, promotion and resources going towards it, the crowd and TV numbers are very low and haven’t reached the levels most would have hoped for by this stage.

There are some changes I’d like to see made like playing games before the men’s games which would reduce costs and importantly, grow the profile of the women’s players to the broader club fanbase, but there is resistance towards that idea from the women’s players and some others around the game.

It will be very interesting to see how head office handles the comp in the next 5-10 years as the problem will only grow as the fixture looks to expand. Igniting further growth and perhaps tempering the expectations of the women’s playing group a little will be challenging.

 

[dave10]

Sure, but its coming off such a low base, these increases aren't very meaningful.

Correct. It’s like trying to celebrate growth going from 2,500 to 2,700. It’s still really poor and clearly below what the league and all stakeholders would be hoping and expecting.

 

[Teen Wolf]

I’m not talking about AFL revenue , I’m talking about AFLW in particular and costs have skyrocketed. No point hiding AFLW figures in the AFLs numbers. We know the men’s game is a cash cow and will continue to be a raging success. The women’s game is making significant losses and it’s a concern.

The AFL continues to reach new audiences and increase revenue. They haven't done this just by investing in men's footy in heartland states.

Also, the only way to justify the "significant losses" line is by ignoring the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding secured via women's football, which has gone to building state-of-the-art training facilities primarily used by men's football.

If we want to be transparent about the figures, and talk about cash cows, why don't we start there.

 

[MelbourneGWS]

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The crowd for our match against Port was 1,172

AFLW: GWS Giants v Port Adelaide • Henson Park • 2025

GWS Giants v Port Adelaide at Henson Park in Sydney in 2025. Buy tickets, view the seating map, get directions, book nearby accommodation, find flights and live stream.

www.austadiums.com

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[The_Wookie]

#AFLW Finals Wk 1 Crowds



Roos/Hawks 4,392 at Ikon Park (35% capacity)

Blues/Eagles 3,420 at Ikon Park (27% cap)

Dees/Lions 3,711 at Ikon Park (29% cap)

Crows/Saints 3,228 at Norwood Oval (33% cap)



Total: 14,751 (ave 3,687) 31% capacity



Data: womens.afl

 

[Hawkk]

#AFLW Finals Wk 1 Crowds



Roos/Hawks 4,392 at Ikon Park (35% capacity)

Blues/Eagles 3,420 at Ikon Park (27% cap)

Dees/Lions 3,711 at Ikon Park (29% cap)

Crows/Saints 3,228 at Norwood Oval (33% cap)



Total: 14,751 (ave 3,687) 31% capacity



Data: womens.afl

All things considered an extremely underwhelming (and downright embarrassing) round for finals attendance…

Essentially the W could have played all three Melbourne finals at Ikon b2b2b and still failed to fill the ground. Surely a case of one step forward and three steps backward.

No doubt the dominance of North Melbourne - the smallest club, with the least scope for growth - makes it much harder to grow…

 

[hampton]

Some terrible games too.

 

[The_Wookie]

both games next week on saturday at Ikon. should have just done a double header.