The 2026 NAB AFLW Season is officially the highest-attended season in competition history, surpassing the previous attendance record during Round 10.

With two rounds of the home-and-away season still to play, 283,281 fans have already attended AFLW matches this season, eclipsing the previous record of 268,349 set in 2025.

Young Carlton fan Raffy was the 268,350th fan through the gates in 2026, scanning into IKON Park for Carlton’s Round 10 clash with the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.

To mark the milestone, Raffy was surprised by Carlton forward Tara Bohanna with an AFLW prize pack.

The record-breaking season follows a strong start to 2026, with attendance across the opening two rounds almost double the figure recorded across Rounds 1 and 2 in 2025.

Round 1 attracted more fans than the first two rounds combined last season, with the two AFL/AFLW double-headers at Marvel Stadium drawing crowds of 20,455 and 14,573 respectively.

The momentum continued in Round 2, with the Sydney Swans attracting the largest crowd in their AFLW history, as 16,672 fans attended the club’s AFL/AFLW double-header at the SCG.

Attendance records have also been set at three of the competition’s heartland venues in 2026.

In Round 5, 7,340 fans attended the Sydney Derby at Henson Park, while 4,048 watched North Melbourne take on Carlton at Arden Street Oval, establishing new benchmarks for AFLW matches at both venues.

In Round 8, a record 5,411 fans also attended Alberton Oval for the Showdown between Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows.

Total attendance has now grown year-on-year since AFLW became an 18-team competition in 2022 (Season 7).
 

Note: AFLW expanded to a 12-round home-and-away season in 2025, up from 11 rounds in 2024 and 10 rounds in both 2023 and 2022 (Season 7).

The strong growth in crowds has also been reflected in broadcast audiences, with viewership up on 2025 at the same stage of the season and streaming audiences continuing to grow across both Seven and Foxtel.

The bookends of the round have performed particularly strongly, with Friday night and late Sunday viewership growing by more than 30 per cent.

The AFL Grand Final Eve match also delivered significant audience growth, with the clash between then top-of-the-table North Melbourne and Melbourne up 186 per cent on the corresponding match in 2025.

Across the full Grand Final Eve Friday, viewership was up 105 per cent compared to the same day of AFLW in 2025.

AFL Executive General Manager of AFLW, Health and Football Operations Laura Kane said:

“Our matchday experience brings fans closer to the players, clubs and game they love, so to have more fans attend this season than ever before is a fantastic milestone for the competition.
 
“The growth isn’t just in the stands. We’re seeing it on the field too, with teams playing a more attacking brand of football and the competition producing some of the highest-scoring, most free-flowing and competitive football in AFLW history.
 
“With two rounds to go and several teams still in the hunt for a finals spot, we’re set for a thrilling finish to the home-and-away season, and we’d love to see as many fans as possible get along and be part of it.”
 
Round 11 of the 2026 NAB AFLW Season will begin in Adelaide on Friday, 23 October, with Port Adelaide hosting Collingwood as the club closes in on welcoming its 100,000th fan through the gates at regular-season home games since joining the competition in 2022 (Season 7).