The AFL’s commitment to supporting women athletes off the field has been strengthened, with the launch of a brand-new suite of learning and development offerings in 2025.
Delivered as part of the AFL’s Workplay platform, the development programs aim to nurture the growth of women athletes in the elite football systems and in transition from professional sport to the workplace. The programs will encompass a range of learning subjects, focusing on uplifting skills and capabilities and assisting with the connection to off-field employment pathways.
More than 18 AFLW players gathered in Melbourne this week for the first iteration of the initiative, undertaking a two-day intensive Media and Broadcast Career Pathways Program.
In partnership with media organisation Making the Call, athletes undertook a variety of training sessions covering key media trends, essential skills in writing, content creation, public speaking, broadcasting and media production and developed their career strategies to help take the next step in their sports media journey.
In addition, athletes were provided with the opportunity to go behind the scenes at the new Seven Network studios in Melbourne and AFL Media studios and gained valuable insights from industry experts on the evolving sports media landscape.
AFL Executive General Manager People, Sarah Fair said the evolution of Workplay demonstrates the AFL’s commitment to supporting women in football off the field.
“Workplay - the AFL’s career and development platform - has been a key driver for empowering women athletes to pursue their off-field career aspirations in a flexible and sustainable way. The evolution of Workplay from a careers platform to a broader learning and development offering, provides enhanced opportunities to further support athletes’ abilities to forge successful careers off-field,” Ms Fair said.
“The AFL is proud to be leaders in this space, providing women in football with the tools to thrive at every stage of their sporting and professional careers.”
AFL Executive General Manager Customer and Commercial, Bec Haagsma said the Media and Broadcast Career Pathways Program will support the growth of women’s representation and voices in sports media.
“The inaugural Media and Broadcast Careers Program is a fabulous Workplay initiative, and I’m proud our team at the AFL have conceived, initiated and brought this to life,” Ms Haagsma said.
“We saw an amazing athlete uptake for the program and I’m excited to see the development of this talented cohort and the influence they’ll have on our fans and audiences – they’re importantly driving an increase in women contributing to our sports media landscape.”
Making the Call facilitators Emma Race and Lucy Race said they were proud to join forces with the AFL to bring the first iteration of the learning and development program to life.
"The AFL and the Seven Network’s commitment to supporting innovative pathways for emerging voices in sports media reflects a deep understanding of the evolving landscape of sports coverage worldwide. Aligning this talented cohort with the forward-thinking vision of these organisations is at the heart of what we do, and we’re proud to be on this journey together."
Seven Network Director of Sport, Chris Jones said Seven was thrilled to work with the AFL and Making the Call to support the Media and Broadcast Career Pathways Program.
“We’ve had a long-term relationship with Lucy and Emma Race and have had a front row seat to the wonderful work they do with Making the Call.
“Our Sport team has welcomed many graduates from their course, and we have no doubt that this great program with the AFL will produce the same results.”
Former AFLW player and popular AFL analyst for AFL.COM.AU, Triple M, and Seven Network, Kate McCarthy said the future of sports media was bright.
“To see a strong number of participants engaged in this year’s program reaffirms the future across all aspects of media is going to be far more diverse than when I started. As someone who had to carve my own path as a female football analyst, I am so excited to play a small role in delivering this program and be someone for them to lean on and hopefully one day soon, work alongside.”
Fremantle AFLW All-Australian defender, Emma O’Driscoll said the program provided an invaluable experience for participants.
“Programs like this are so important because it’s teaching women athletes the skills needed to pursue a successful media career and provide them with exposure in the industry that has traditionally been very male dominated. We’ve learnt a lot over the last two days and look forward to putting these skills and experience into practice as we pursue our aspirations to be involved in the media and broadcasting landscape.”
Since its launch in 2021, Workplay has grown to more than 250 registered athletes and has connected more than 140 athletes to flexible work opportunities.
Workplay is available to all current and former women players and umpires in the elite system in a bid to provide ongoing support as they balance their professional and sporting commitments.
For more information, visit workplay.com.au.
