AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has today announced a new all-time AFL Club membership record of 1,264,952 members.

The 1,264,952 number surpasses the all-time record of 1,190,671 that was set last year (+6.2 per cent).

One in 21 Australians is a member of an AFL club.

The 2023 total number consists of 852,678 adults, 103,966 concession members and 308,308 juniors.

AFL club membership has increased 30 times in the past 32 years, with the exceptions being in the year 2000, when the AFL season was moved forward by a month to accommodate the Sydney Olympics, and 2020’s heavily impacted Covid-19 season.

“Quite simply we have the greatest game in the world, and the most loyal and passionate fans in world sport,” AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.

“It has been a record-breaking season on so many levels, and it is club membership that is the marker that signifies our fans deep connection with their clubs.

“The 18 clubs do an unbelievable job in creating a sense of belonging and bringing their fans along for the journey.

“On behalf of the AFL, I’d like to thank all our fans and every club member whose support is the backbone of our game.”

15 clubs broke their all-time records – Adelaide Crows, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fremantle, Geelong Cats, Gold Coast SUNS, GWS Giants, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Sydney Swans, and the Western Bulldogs.

Collingwood (106,470), West Coast Eagles (103,275), and Richmond (101,349) led the 2023 membership tallies with all three clubs surpassing 100,000 members and Collingwood setting a new all-time AFL club record with 106,470 members.

Richmond has now passed 100,000 members for the sixth year running, after becoming the first sporting club in Australian history to pass 100,000 members in 2018. The West Coast Eagles have now exceeded 100,000 members on four occasions. Geelong (82,155), Sydney (65,332), Fremantle (62,064), Western Bulldogs (56,302) and Brisbane (54,676) all had double digit growth (+10 per cent) in member numbers year on year, with Brisbane (+11,357) and Geelong Cats (+10,212) both adding more than 10,000 members to their tally in 2023, from 2022.

Auskick Memberships exploded with more kids playing and participating than ever, 31.9 per cent year on year growth (108,437 in 2023 v 82,234). There was significant growth in first time member sign ups with 330,674 new members signing up to clubs in 2023. This is 59 per cent more than the volume of new members last year (207,761).

Home and Away attendance for the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season also broke the all-time record as 7,475,145 fans attended the season. This was 523,841 more than the previous record set in 2019 (6,951,304).

The average crowd per round was 311,464 fans.

There were more blockbuster crowds in 2023 than any other home and away season, five times a single match had more than 85,000 fans attend, nine times more than 80,000.

The largest single game crowd was 95,179 for ANZAC Day at the MCG.

2023 AFL Club Membership Ladder