Culture

The AFLW Just Smashed A Massive Australian Sporting Record

Which idiot said people wouldn't pay to see women play football?

by Tom Clift  11 February 2018
AFLW Dockers Crowd

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Remember when people were saying nobody would be willing to pay to see women play football? Yeah, nah. On Saturday afternoon, a record-shattering crowd flocked to Perth’s brand new Optus stadium to watch Fremantle take on Collingwood in the AFLW. And they were happy to pay for the privilege.

The clash marked the first Australian rules football game to be played at the $1.6 billion arena, and fans were clearly keen to be a part of the historic occasion. 41,975 people streamed through the gates, easily breaking the attendance record for an AFLW match — 24,500 during the opening game of the competition at Melbourne’s IKON Park last year.

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In fact, the roaring crowd was the largest ever attracted to a women’s domestic sporting event in Australian history. That record was set in 1929, when 41,000 people turned out to a women’s football match in Adelaide.

“It’s amazing, you can’t hear a thing out on the field when there’s that many people there,” Fremantle midfielder Dana Hooker told the club website. “When everyone’s cheering it’s a wonderful feeling.”

“It was pretty surreal playing in front of 42,000,” she added.

Saturday’s game was also the first time that fans have been asked to pay to attend an AFLW match. Some commentators saw it as a risky proposition, but in the end their fears proved unnecessary. More than 54,000 tickets were sold at $2 a head, with proceeds going to the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

The question of paid entry is one of the key issues for the AFLW going forward, especially as the league faces growing calls to increase player wages. If yesterday was anything to go by, fans obviously aren’t opposed to handing over their money for a quality game of football.

Certainly, Fremantle supporters would have been happy with the return on their investment, with the Dockers grinding out a hard-fought 13-point win.

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Feature image via Josh Vanderloo/Twitter