First AFL Women’s Match Drew Seriously Massive Crowds; The Venue Wasn’t Even Big Enough

Safe to say: The first weekend of Women’s Football (AFLW) was a huge success.

The first game of the women’s competition attracted a 24,500-strong crowd, catching the league completely by surprise.

At its peak, around 1.1 million people tuned in at home to watch the landmark match unfold on their screens.

Fans packed into Princes Park to watch the showdown between Carlton and Collingwood. Not everyone was lucky enough to snag a spot inside to watch Carlton triumph by 35 points. Those who were locked outside of the grounds (because it was over-capacity) were asking why on Earth the match wasn’t held at Etihad, a much larger venue. (Yeah, what's with that?)

From the atmosphere of the night, it’s clear there’s a growing appetite for women’s footy. Simon Lethlean, the league’s general manager of game and market development, was over the moon with how popular the new competition is. “It’s a pretty phenomenal success for women’s sport,” he bellowed.

“What it shows is this competition has great legs, great momentum, the summer campaign and the promotion the athletes have done for us has resonated with the community.”

Without a doubt, the free entry would have been a contributing factor in the demand for seats, but there was also—clearly—a thirst for women’s football. AFL chief Gillon McLachlan personally apologized to fans outside the ground who couldn’t get in.

The AFL will consider expanding its women’s league, given the massive success. It might not happen anytime soon, but.

“I don’t think we will be rushing into expansion until we get the talent pool below. That dictates the number of teams we can have,” said Lethlean. “We are pretty steadfast in having the right amount of teams at the moment, which is eight teams, but hopefully [Friday night] means girls and boys are registered for Auskick and our talent pool will grow and our coaching is better in community football and we build from there.”

Seeing as though women’s footy is such a hit, perhaps it’s also time to start paying them fairly? A report last year found female players are paid 125 times less than their male counterparts. Not cool.

Photo: Twitter (@carltonFC)