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AFLW Confirms Longest Season to Date Amid Major Professionalisation Push The Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) competition is entering a new era of professionalisation, driven by a landmark collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that confirms a season expansion to 12 home-and-away rounds for 2025 and enshrines long-term salary growth for athletes. The AFL has announced key structural and financial changes that signal a significant maturation of the women’s competition, nearly a decade after its establishment. The focus has shifted toward solidifying competitive balance, enhancing player welfare, and aligning employment standards with the men’s AFL competition. These changes, primarily stemming from the joint 2023-2027 CBA, include substantial wage increases, the implementation of 12-month contracts, and the introduction of mechanisms to facilitate greater player movement and list management sophistication across the 18-team league. The move to a 12-round home-and-away fixture is the longest confirmed season length in the competition’s history, establishing a clear pathway for further growth contingent on audience and attendance targets. The decision to expand the regular season to 12 games in 2025, an increase on previous seasons, reflects the league’s commitment to growing the competition’s profile and generating greater revenue streams. When the AFLW was first launched in 2017 with just eight teams, the season comprised only seven rounds. Following the addition of the final four expansion clubs—Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, and Sydney—in 2022, the need for a longer, more equitable fixture became paramount. Under the terms of the joint CBA, the women’s competition has a projected trajectory to reach 14 regular season matches by 2027, a target which is reportedly tied to achieving specific "key audience metrics.
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" These metrics are modelled on historical benchmarks, including reaching an average of 6,000 fans per game and consistent broadcast viewership figures. This conditional growth structure places a mandate on the league and its clubs to actively market and promote the competition to sustain the current investment level. Financial Uplift and Employment Security Perhaps the most impactful development is the financial security now afforded to AFLW athletes. The 2023-2027 CBA, the first to collectively cover both male and female players under a single agreement, laid the foundation for an immediate pay rise and a clear wage scale. Under the agreement, the average AFLW player salary is set to rise significantly, reaching approximately $82,000 per annum by 2027. Crucially, the new structure introduces 12-month contracts for all players, a departure from the previous part-time employment model which often forced athletes to seek secondary employment during the off-season. Furthermore, newly drafted players are now guaranteed a minimum two-year contract, providing stability to athletes relocating interstate or transitioning from state-level competitions. AFL Executive General Manager of Football, Laura Kane, described the changes as essential steps in the evolution of the professional game. "As the league continues to evolve, we’re seeing more draftees willing to chase their football dreams by moving interstate," Ms Kane noted, adding that the increase in pay and relocation allowances means "all drafted players will have greater capacity to establish themselves in their new club's community.
" The AFL Players’ Association (AFLPA) has championed the move, highlighting the importance of the non-monetary aspects of the agreement. AFLPA CEO, Paul Marsh, stated that "this was much more than a pay deal," emphasising that the agreement "provided an opportunity for the AFL industry to significantly advance the AFLW competition" in areas of player welfare, health, and safety. He also stressed the importance of the newly introduced Human Rights Framework and the improved Pregnancy and Parental Management Policy for female athletes, stating these provisions formalise the league’s commitment to supporting players through major life events. Driving Competitive Balance through Draft Reform In a further move toward professional parity with the men's game, the league has officially transitioned to a fully national draft model. This change abolishes the previous state-based nomination system, meaning all draft nominees are now available for selection by any of the 18 clubs regardless of their home state. This reform is expected to be a major catalyst for strengthening competitive balance across the league, particularly for developing clubs outside of traditional football strongholds. Alongside the national draft, significant list management levers have been introduced for the first time. Clubs are now permitted to trade future draft picks, although this is restricted to either their future first-round or second-round selection, but not both, to prevent the erosion of future list health. A new Pre-Season Draft is also set to replace the former Supplemental Selection Period (SSP), providing a more formalised system for recruiting overlooked talent.
On-Field Adjustments for Flow and Scoring Beyond the administrative and financial changes, the AFL has also implemented a targeted on-field rule modification aimed at increasing the flow of play and mitigating the rising density around the ball. For stoppages occurring within 10 metres of the boundary line between the 50-metre arcs, the ensuing ball-up will now take place 10 metres inside the boundary. Ms Kane explained that this technical adjustment was data-driven: "Data shows us that secondary stoppage rates are higher when the ball up is close to the boundary and scoring rates are lower, so the introduction of the on-field rule change is aimed at opening up space. " Analysts suggest this change, alongside stricter umpiring interpretations around the 'Holding the Ball' rule, will encourage faster ball movement and generate more offensive opportunities in a competition where tackling pressure is exceptionally high. In summary, the AFLW competition is continuing its rapid trajectory from a semi-professional foundation to a fully professional, national league. The confirmed 12-round season for 2025, coupled with the security of 12-month contracts and substantially increased pay, marks a watershed moment for the athletes. While the expansion to a full-length 14-match season by 2027 remains conditional, the framework is now firmly in place, placing the onus on clubs and the league to deliver a product that meets the increasing expectations of a rapidly growing audience.
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