The AFL has confirmed the fixtures for the 2026 Talent League season.
The Talent League is the premier underage football pathway competition for boys and girls in the eastern states of Australia, with teams comprised mostly of under 18 players.
Both boys and girls competitions feature 12 full-time programs from Victoria, along with the Tasmania Devils.
Academy programs from New South Wales (GWS GIANTS and Sydney Swans), Queensland (Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS) and Northern Territory (NT Academy) will continue to compete in a selection of games in the first half of the season.
The 2026 campaign will for the first time feature the Bachar Houli Foundation’s National Senior Boys Academy, who will play two matches during the Talent League Boys season.
The Academy features promising Islamic footballers aged 18 years and younger and has produced three AFL players across the past two years in Essendon pair Saad El-Hawli and Hussien El Achkar, along with Fremantle’s Adem Sweid.
The 2026 Talent League Boys season will commence on the weekend of March 21-22, with Round 1 to feature six matches featuring the competition’s full-time programs.
Northern Academy teams will begin competing from Round 2.
The 2026 Talent League Girls season will commence with two matches featuring Northern Academy clubs on the weekend of March 28-29.
All 12 Victorian-based teams will start their campaign in Round 2 on the weekend of April 11-12.
The Talent League home and away fixture again includes several community access periods. The community access breaks provide opportunities for players to study and compete in community, school and representative football.
Talent League Boys
The 2026 Talent League Boys home and away season will be played across 23 rounds, commencing the weekend of March 21-22. The final home and away round will be played the weekend of August 22-23.
The four Academy programs from New South Wales and Queensland will each feature in seven matches between Rounds 2-9, while the Northern Territory Academy will play four matches.
The Bachar Houli Academy will take on the GWS Giants Academy in Round 6 and Tasmania Devils in Round 16.
Wildcard Round will be played the weekend of August 29-30, ahead of a three-week knockout finals series which will culminate with the 2026 Talent League Boys Grand Final the weekend of September 19-20.
The Eastern Ranges are the Talent League Boys reigning premiers after last year securing their third premiership with a 10-point Grand Final victory over the Sandringham Dragons. The Ranges also became the first team to win the Talent League Boys and Talent League Girls premierships in the same season.
Please click here to view the 2026 Talent League Boys fixture.
Talent League Girls
The 2026 Talent League Girls home-and-away season will be played across 21 rounds, commencing the weekend of March 28-29.
The four Academy programs from New South Wales and Queensland will each feature in seven matches from Rounds 1-7, while the Northern Territory Academy will play four matches.
The finals series will commence the weekend of August 29-30, with the 2026 Talent League Girls Grand Final to be played the weekend of September 19-20.
The Eastern Ranges last year claimed the Talent League Girls premiership for the first time with a 38-point triumph over the Dandenong Stingrays in the Grand Final.
Please click here to view the 2026 Talent League Girls fixture.
Talent League Match Centre
The Talent League’s match centre is now available on the AFL Live Official App, featuring fixtures, ladders, live streams and player and match stats. Any updates to broadcast arrangements will be confirmed prior to the season commencing.
Under 16 Competition
Talent League Under 16 boys and girls matches will be played across February to April, with the 12 Victorian teams to each play two matches.
The Talent League Girls Under 16 matches will be played from February 28 to March 15, while the Talent League Boys Under 16 matches will be played from March 21 to Friday, April 10.
The Under 16 matches assist with selecting the Victoria Country and Victoria Metro squads to compete at the 2026 Marsh AFL National Development Under 16 Championships.
Please click here to view the 2026 Talent League Boys Under 16 fixture.
Please click here to view the 2026 Talent League Girls Under 16 fixture.
Victorian Diversity All-Stars
The 2026 Victorian Diversity All-Stars matches will be played at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Oval on Thursday, April 9.
First introduced in 2023, the Victorian Diversity All-Stars matches for boys and girls feature Indigenous and Multicultural footballers who are aged 18 years or under.
The showcase matches provide opportunities for talented players, most of whom are not currently listed by a Talent League team, to experience a Talent Pathways program and showcase their ability against talented peers.
Players who feature in the Victorian Diversity All Stars matches may be invited to trial for their Talent League region’s Under 18 squad for the 2027 season or be added to the current squad for the 2026 season.
About the Talent League
The Talent League is unique to the Australian sporting landscape with the overwhelming focus on player development.
The boys competition commenced in 1992 as the Victorian State Football League (VSFL), with the girls competition introduced in 2017.
Over the years the Talent League has produced more AFL and AFLW players than any other competition and is also an important development pathway for emerging coaches, umpires, administrators and support staff.
33 players from the 13 programs who compete full-time in the Talent League were selected by AFL clubs in the 2025 National, Rookie and Mid-Season drafts, while 27 players from full-time Talent League Girls programs were selected in the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft.
