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The AFL has announced that it will field an 18-team NAB AFLW competition from the 2022-2023 season onwards, with four clubs - Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney - all granted AFLW licenses to enter in what will be the seventh season of the competition.

Port Adelaide and Sydney had not previously applied for a licence, while Essendon and Hawthorn first submitted applications ahead of the 2019 intake.

As previously decided by the AFL Commission, the upcoming 2021/22 season will stay at 14 teams, giving the new sides around 16 months to prepare for their debut.

Currently, Hawthorn and Essendon field sides in the VFLW competition (coached by Bec Goddard and Brendan Major respectively), while Port Adelaide and Sydney run junior academy programs (led by Naomi Maidment and Jared Crouch).

The expansion follows the ongoing success of the NAB AFLW competition and other women’s competitions which has seen female participation in the sport grow to over 600,000 nationally.

In Victoria, there are now around 1100 women and girls community football teams compared to 355 in 2016.

The strength of the female football talent pool across Victoria was on show at the recent NAB AFLW Draft, with 28 players drafted from Victoria out of a total of 59 players, and representing community clubs right across the state.

The inclusion of new teams at the elite level, including two from Victoria, is important for community leagues and female footballers, as it creates more opportunities for those aspiring to compete at the elite level.

Advising that allowing all four remaining clubs to enter the NAB AFL Women’s competition by season seven, would provide further opportunities for women in the game,

AFL General Manager Women’s Football, Nicole Livingstone stated “our primary objective is to provide women and girls with an equal opportunity to play elite Australian Football and to increase the female participation and interest in our game,” said Livingstone.

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Image: AFL Chief Executive, Gillon Mclachlan poses with young players Nora Don, Fadilla Taleb, Leni Burgoyne and Layla Rabah at Marvel Stadium. Credit: AFL Media.

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