The AFL today announced the all-time AFLW Club membership record was surpassed to reach 21,319 members.
The new record exceeds the previous figure set last season of 20,849 and marks the fifth straight year an AFLW Club membership milestone has been achieved since the competition was established in 2017.
The Gold Coast SUNS are one of eight clubs to have achieved a record number of AFLW memberships in 2021, along with the Adelaide Crows, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong Cats and Western Bulldogs.
The SUNS currently have 1,085 AFLW members, a 19% increase on the 2020 figure of 912 from last year.
The record number of AFLW Club memberships comes following another week of strong crowd attendance numbers, with four sold-out games in Round Two including the QClash.
Fans have also shown their support for female football at home, with a total average audience of over 1.7million Australians tuning into the broadcasts for Rounds One and Two of the NAB AFLW competition – an increase of nine per cent compared to the same time in 2020.
AFL Head of Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone expressed her thanks to clubs, players and football fans across the country for their continued support of women’s football.
“I want to acknowledge the passion and dedication of everyone in the football community in supporting the 2021 NAB AFL Women’s Competition,” Ms Livingstone said.
“It’s fantastic to see football fans from across the country show their support for the NAB AFLW competition and get behind their teams, whether that be through club membership, attendance at games or tuning in at home, thanks to the continued support of our broadcast partners, Seven, Fox and Telstra.
“The fifth season of AFLW has already experienced a strong start, with high ratings, high scores, sold-out matches and now record AFLW Club membership numbers, so we’re excited to see this energy for female football continue to grow throughout the rest of the 2021 season.”
SUNS AFLW memberships are still available for purchase, starting at $39 for juniors.
