What I Love About the AFL Women's Competition

We asked our members to tell us what they love about the AFLW. Here's our fave response.

There’s a lot to love about AFL: the atmosphere of a crowd thousands strong, the mesmerising ball play and, of course, the bragging rights when your team takes home the Premiership.

But this year, AFL fans have been given a lot more to love with the inaugural AFL Women’s Premiership commencing in February.

Thanks to eight teams, 28 matches and national broadcasting across the country, Australians now have the opportunity to love not just the game, but also the opportunity it brings for women in sport.

Personally, I love the live broadcasting of each and every game, even if I have to pay a bit extra for my Foxtel subscription each month. I love that there are eight diverse teams from across the country in this league (including my hometown of Western Sydney). I love that 24,500 fans were there to see the first match in person, and more than a million watched from the TV at home.

But most of all, I love that Australians are loving it, because it’s about time!

Female players are already becoming inspirations and heroes to the next generation of AFL Women’s champions. Young girls who dream of playing professional AFL now have a myriad of role models stepping into the limelight.

For so long, women’s sport has been underrepresented, underpaid and most of all, underappreciated. With one of Australia’s most popular sports finally launching a national women’s league, women have the opportunity to shine in a sport they love. But there’s still a long way to go.

Yes, women are finally getting coverage. Yes, AFL Women’s is national, and definitely drawing crowds. However, there’s still a lot not to love. While marquee and top-ranked drafted player will earn between $12,000 and $27,000 for the season, a majority of drafted women will only take home $8,500 (not including health insurance).

So, while community attitudes towards women in sports have been rapidly evolving, the hard-working athletes bringing prime sport and publicity to the Australian Football League are being severely undercut. And with public figureheads such as Steve Price declaring the women’s league a “joke and a waste of money,” those who love the sport are left with a little less to love.

For its inaugural season, there’s a lot for fans to love about AFL Women’s. But here’s hoping that in 2018, there’s a lot more loving given to the athletes making this competition happen.

Congratulations to Bethany for winning our weekly writing challenge, answering the question: What I Love About AFL Women’s. Bethany wins a $50 Westfield gift card for her submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!

Photo: Twitter (Collingwood AFLW)