Awesome Football Loving Women - Welcome to AFLW!

This is a dispatch from Kasey Symons,Global Ambassador for Project: Wander Bra, based in Australia. Our ambassadors provide global perspectives on the impact of sports, in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation. Follow Kasey’s adventures @kasey_writes

On Friday August 30, the ninth season of the national women’s Australian rules football league (AFLW) began, and it gives me so much joy to be writing about this league in my first blog as a Wander Bra Ambassador!

Australian rules football is the greatest sport in the world. Am I biased? Yes. Do I know that people outside of Australia have no idea what we’re doing on that massive oval shaped pitch? Also, yes. 

But never fear! Like many amazing women’s sporting communities, you don’t need to know the rules, all the players’ names and stats and facts to belong here. AFLW is ready to embrace you and I think once you dip your toe in, you will love it just as much as I do.

First, some history!

Like most football codes (and women’s sports if we’re being honest!), women have been playing Australian rules football for more than a century.The first recorded match in Australia was held in Western Australia in 1915, but women have only been able to play in a national competition in Australia since 2017.

The Carlton ladies football team, 1933. Leader, August 19, 1933

Now that was a special day. Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. The very first game of AFLW. I tear up thinking about it.

Carlton and Collingwood played in this historic game, two of the biggest clubs in Melbourne for their men’s teams. The AFL (Australian Football League, governing body of the sport) wanted to drive interest by leveraging the existing men’s fanbase, but they were still nervous, so the AFL originally scheduled the match at a small training ground. Also, you couldn’t pre-purchase tickets. The matches in the first few seasons were free to entice fans. There is a discussion to be had here around the importance of accessibility but also demonstrating that women’s sport has value by putting a price on it, but I digress. The issue for this match was, there was no way to measure anticipated attendance, but because of the buzz, the AFL moved the match to a bigger venue.

The venue was Carlton’s headquarters, a boutique stadium mostly used for the second-tier men’s competition at the time. The fans filed in and just after the game got underway, the ground was at capacity and there was a lockout. 24,568 fans had packed the stadium to watch the first ever AFLW match. The AFL CEO at the time even went out the front of the stadium to apologize to fans who  couldn’t get in.

I was lucky enough to make it inside. I was standing shoulder to shoulder with fans on a small patch of grass near the entry, looking around a stadium full of people so excited to see women play the game I have loved my whole life in a national competition. It was the most I have ever felt that I truly belonged in sport, because I was surrounded by friends who felt the same way.

My very talented mate Kirby Fenwick produced an audio documentary about that night. It is a fantastic piece of work to celebrate that moment and the people who were part of it.

Some basics

Okay, here is a little video explainer to explain the rules!

The teams in the AFLW are the same as the men’s competition. So each of the 18 men’s AFL clubs now have an AFLW team. When the competition launched in 2017, there were only eight teams and many clubs missed out on being part of this awesome experience from day one. The AFL then staggered the entry of more clubs until we got all 18 represented in 2022. When my team, the West Coast Eagles entered in 2020, it was probably the most emotional I’ve ever been in my life as a sports fan. To see women wearing my club colors on the field, I can’t explain what that means to me. And as you can see, even though they are still developing and haven’t had much on field success yet, I still have a great time at the game!

 

Photo snapped by the very excellent sports photographer Megan Brewer - follow her on insta for more great Aussie women in sport snaps!

This season teams will play 11 rounds for the first time (as the league slowly builds towards a season where each team will play each other at least once) and then there will be a four-week finals series. The Grand Final will be played on Nov. 30, mark your calendars (and maybe set your alarms for the Aussie time difference!). 

The Brisbane Lions are the reigning Premiers after a thrilling 2023 Grand Final win against the North Melbourne Kangaroos.

Be sure to watch this awesome mini-documentary for a look inside their win and to meet some of their star players.

How to watch and follow

It might be hard to access AFLW matches from the States, but you can follow the AFL YouTube page for highlights like these goals from last season and some super marks. 

Check out this guide to help you with key players and storylines for the season ahead.

There are some great podcasts that will give you all the information like Credit to The Girls, The Outer Sanctum, AFLW Weekly, Chicks Talking Footy, Tagged, The W and AFLW Today to name a few to get you started.

And a few journalists and writers who provide awesome coverage of the league. I’ve listed some below with links to their Twitter/X profiles. I know not everyone is on this but you can also search them on other platforms and Google their name to get their content.

Gemma Bastiani, Sarah Black, Sarah Burt, Brihony Dawson, Nat Edwards, Bobby Macumber, Tara Murray, Kate O’Halloran, Sarah Olle, Eliza Rielly, Meg Saultry, Marnie Vinall, Lucy Watkin, Jess Webster, Lauren Wood.

I’m sure I’ve missed some (I’m so sorry!) but these are just a few awesome women and non-binary folk covering this awesome league in very awesome ways.

Wanna play?

Did you know there is an Australian rules football league in the USA?

The United States Australian Football League's (USAFL) first ever game was played in 1996 and still runs competitions today for everyone to give our great game a go!

Head to their website to find a team near you!