AFL Honours Umpires During Community Umpiring Week

The Australian Football League (AFL), alongside the wider football community, is set to unite during Round 8 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season to pay tribute to its umpires through the celebration of Community Umpiring Week.

This initiative seeks to underscore the significant roles umpires, men, women, girls, and boys, play in Australian Football, promoting respect for these officials while also fostering awareness of umpiring development pathways available across the sport.

Commenting on the upcoming Community Umpiring Week, AFL’s executive general manager of game development, Rob Auld, said: “Community Umpiring Week is a crucial initiative for Australian football, recognising the invaluable contribution of umpires to our game,”

“Throughout the week and on AFL match days, we aim to provide local and junior umpires with experiences that contribute to their development and assist in advancing their umpiring careers through engagement with our elite officiating team,” Auld said.

As the AFL aims towards its ambition of one million participants by 2033, Auld highlighted the necessity to attract more individuals into umpiring.

Despite reaching a landmark figure of over 21,000 umpires last year, he stressed the ongoing need for support and optimal experiences for all umpires involved, noting: “Umpiring offers a fantastic avenue for connecting with football while reaping the social and wellbeing benefits that come with officiating.”

“Our ‘More to Footy’ campaign showcases stories like that of Aka Tseng, a local umpire from the Northern Territory, who embraced umpiring to engage with her community after relocating from Taiwan, ultimately establishing new friendships and acquiring new skills—she loves it,” Auld said.

In appreciation, Auld extended gratitude to the community umpires across the country, whose commitment enables the ongoing success of countless games played each weekend.

He acknowledged the support of the AFL Umpires Association (AFLUA) and the AFL/AFLW-listed umpires for their contributions in fostering umpiring at all levels.

Particularly noteworthy is the 72% increase since 2022 in female and junior participation in umpiring, translating to an addition of nearly 1,200 umpires to the ranks.

In celebration of Community Umpiring Week, which builds on the vital on-field experiences gained by junior umpires during the AFL Gather Round, a range of initiatives have been planned to enhance engagement between AFL and community umpires, foster skills development, and create memorable match-day experiences.

These activities, scheduled across all states and territories, include:

• Over 100 AFL umpires attending local umpiring training sessions and officiating junior football matches.
• Community umpires leading AFL umpires onto the field at each Round 8 match, providing a unique and rewarding game-day experience.
• Junior community umpires officiating half-time NAB AFL Auskick grid games.
• AFL captains engaging with community umpires at the coin toss and posing for photographs.
• AFL umpires officiating community junior matches, creating lasting memories for both umpires and players.
• Recognition through Umpire Service Awards for over 20 umpires who have surpassed 25 and 50 years of service.

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