The AFL has announced an all-time club membership record of 1,363,437 members in 2025, with one in every 20 Australians now signed up to an AFL club.
The figure marks a 3.26% increase on last year’s record, including more than 240,000 new members across the 18 clubs.
A Season Defined by Record Crowds
14 clubs broke their all-time membership records, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, Gold Coast SUNS, GWS GIANTS, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Sydney, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs.
The women’s competition also continued its rapid rise, with AFLW memberships reaching 79,309 — up 15% year-on-year and with memberships still on sale until the end of the NAB AFLW season.
Thanking the supporters for their passion and loyalty, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, said: “We have the greatest fans in the world, supporting the game week in and week out and backing their clubs by becoming members in record numbers.”
Club Membership Records
Three clubs once again surpassed the 100,000-member milestone — Collingwood, Carlton and West Coast. Collingwood set a new all-time VFL/AFL record with 112,491 members, while Carlton reached six figures for the second time and West Coast extended its streak to six consecutive years above 100,000.
Other standout results included reigning premiers Brisbane Lions, who posted an 18.7% increase, and Port Adelaide, North Melbourne and the Gold Coast SUNS, who each recorded membership growth above 10%. Six clubs — Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Collingwood, Sydney and Port Adelaide — welcomed more than 15,000 new members each in 2025.
| 1 | Collingwood | 112,491 |
| 2 | West Coast | 107,079 |
| 3 | Carlton | 100,743 |
| 4 | Richmond | 92,531 |
| 5 | Geelong | 92,379 |
| 6 | Hawthorn | 87,204 |
| 7 | Essendon | 85,568 |
| 8 | Adelaide | 81,067 |
| 9 | Sydney | 76,674 |
| 10 | Brisbane | 75,115 |
| 11 | Port Adelaide | 72,656 |
| 12 | Fremantle | 66,179 |
| 13 | Western Bulldogs | 65,584 |
| 14 | St Kilda | 65,509 |
| 15 | Melbourne | 58,563 |
| 16 | North Melbourne | 56,283 |
| 17 | GWS GIANTS | 37,705 |
| 18 | Gold Coast SUNS | 30,107 |
Crowds also flocked to games in record numbers, with 7,652,682 fans attending the Toyota AFL Premiership Home and Away season, only the third time in history attendance has exceeded seven million.
With record memberships, surging AFLW growth, and Finals football set to begin, 2025 is shaping as one of the AFL’s greatest seasons on and off the field.
Don’t miss out on the latest in sports business – Subscribe today to the free Ministry of Sport newsletter and stay ahead of the game. For even more exclusive insights, event tickets, professional development and networking events, become a MoS Member today!.
Genius Sports and Publicis Sports have announced a global partnership aimed at fundamentally...
The Brisbane Broncos have launched a bold new Club identity and logo, marking...
The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee has launched a fundraising initiative...
Join the most engaged community in the Sports Business World.
Get all the latest news, insights, data, education and event updates.