The Australian Football League (AFL) and Reddit have announced the world’s first sports partnership for Reddit Avatars, launching a limited series of AFL-themed Avatar gear on Reddit.

In partnership with Reddit, Fans will be able to personalise their Avatar with AFL-themed gear from every club in the 2022 men’s season. 

The deal makes the AFL the first-ever sports league to partner with Reddit, while Reddit has previously partnered with gaming companies Riot and Bungie for the creation of Avatar gear.

AFL executive general manager customer & commercial, Kylie Rogers, said: “The AFL community on Reddit is one of the most active and vibrant online homes for footy fans, so we’re excited to collaborate on a sporting world-first that allows fans to represent their club proudly.”

“Our primary focus is to build an emotional connection between our fans and the game, and partnering with Reddit allows us to do this in a totally new way with some of our most passionate fans,” said Rodgers. 

Reddit Australia’s market director, David Ray, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with the AFL as one of the world’s premier sports leagues.”

“The clubs hold a special place in the hearts of millions of Aussies and they were a natural partner for this initiative.”

“This will give all AFL club fans the chance to customise their own Reddit Avatar while showing passion for their favourite teams on Reddit,” said Rodgers. 

Once a Reddit user has customised an Avatar for their profile image, they will see it on their profile page, profile hovercard, in comments they leave, and in posts they create. 

The AFL says Avatars “enable Redditors to closely align with their favourite communities, while also giving themselves individuality, distinction, and prestige,” as stated in a media release.