Talking Footy

Thanks a million: New membership benchmark
Travis King
Aug 2, 2018 7:00AM

AFL CLUB membership has cracked one million for the first time, with 13 teams breaking their all-time records this season.

The final tally for 2018 stood at 1,008,494 members by the July 31 deadline.

It was an 11 per cent increase on last season and the 18th consecutive year of growth.

Reigning premier Richmond led the way after becoming the first club to sign up 100,000 members – an increase of nearly 39 per cent following last year's drought-breaking flag.

Hawthorn and high-flying West Coast rounded out the top three, with both clubs exceeding 80,000 members for the first time.

Only Collingwood (-372) and the Western Bulldogs (-4407) failed to grow their membership bases.

"One in every 24 Australians is now a member of an AFL club, a sign that the national reach of Australian football has never been greater," League CEO Gillon McLachlan said.

"Whether you have been a member for decades or just signed up this year, on behalf of the AFL I want to thank every single one of you.

"The commitment members make to their clubs is the key reason why our game continues to prosper.

"Our clubs give us a connection. Our games fill us with hope, despair and joy, and today it makes us proud."

AFLW memberships also climbed in the competition's second season, up more than 30 per cent to 9,406.



http://m.afl.com.au/news/2018-08-02/tha ... -benchmark

AFLcrap1 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:43 am

King-Eliagh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:27 am

What I want to know is how many litters of kittens are there that were signed up as members by bogan melbournians and are now dead in the bush somewhere after they dumped em? These dead kitten members should be rebuked and the numbers reassessed at once!!

My estimate is the actual numbers are about 469,355 actual living human members out there.

It’s great propaganda tho and something Gil desperately needs to keep his job at the mo

The_Wookie wrote: ↑Fri Aug 03, 2018 4:48 am

Pet memberships are very specifically not counted by the league.

More than a quarter of the one million members of AFL clubs in 2018 hold memberships that give them access to fewer than 11 games during the season.

Most of the growth in the number is understood to have been due to an increase in sales of three and five game membership packages, while Richmond’s barnstorming run has also propelled membership numbers with the Tigers attracting 28,000 more members this season.

pussycat wrote: ↑Fri Aug 03, 2018 9:30 am

I note this is the first year that any juniors, who play Auskick are included in the membership numbers Sounds pretty desperate. Even if the news has been just window dressing I guess they did need something positive in whats been a very bad year.

SportCapital wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:16 pm

King-Eliagh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:27 am

What I want to know is how many litters of kittens are there that were signed up as members by bogan melbournians and are now dead in the bush somewhere after they dumped em? These dead kitten members should be rebuked and the numbers reassessed at once!!

My estimate is the actual numbers are about 469,355 actual living human members out there.

It’s great propaganda tho and something Gil desperately needs to keep his job at the mo

I read that only memberships above $50 were to be counted.
The only pet memberships I could find in either league were all less than that.

But I must say, I'm curious to know the pet numbers.
No doubt in my mind it would be another win for the AFL.
I'll add it to the very long list once confirmed.