Queensland’s love of Australian Football continues, with census figures announced today revealing a six per cent growth in participation for the state in 2016.
229,388 men, women and children pulled on a Guernsey this year, compared to 216,381 in 2015.
AFL Queensland CEO Dean Warren said key findings include a 16.87 per cent increase in competition participants across club, school, and AFL9s.
“The numbers show a significant increase in highly engaged participants; an outstanding result that reflects the quality of our programs and people,” Mr Warren said.
“Community clubs are at the heart of our game and to see growth of 11 per cent is a testament to the hard work of our leagues, clubs and volunteers.”
Mr Warren said the introduction of the AFL Queensland Schools Cup in 2016 sparked an increase of almost 25% in school participants.
“We had an extraordinary response to the AFLQ Schools Cup, with 419 teams entering in this inaugural year,” he said.
Female football continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the game with 87,185 Queensland women and girls playing Australia’s game in 2016 – a jump of 22 per cent in just 12 months.
“Queensland has always been at the forefront of female football and this year was no exception,” Mr Warren said.
“More and more females are trying, and loving, our game and the introduction of the AFL Women’s competition and a Brisbane Lions team will continue to drive this growth.”
The NAB AFL Auskick program continues to shine, recording a 15 per cent increase in club and community run programs.
“Auskick is where the football journey begins for many boys and girls and our committed volunteer network is central to its success,” Mr Warren said.
“AFL Queensland extends heartfelt thanks to our staff, leagues and volunteers for their passion and hard work.”
2016 Queensland Participation Highlights
- Total 229,388 participants (6.1% increase)
- 75,382 competition Participants (16.87% increase)
o 11% increase in club participation – 27,938 overall, 11,762 Junior, 7,447 Youth, 7,230 Senior and 1,499 Vetera
o 44,120 School Competition participants – 24.67% increase (44.7% increase in secondary). 419 teams in AFLQ Schools Cup
o AFL9s – 3,324 participants
- 154,006 Introductory -program participants
o 28,273 NAB Auskick Participants which includes a 15% increase in club NAB Auskick
o 125,048 School Programs
- 678,781 promotional participants (8.1% increase)
- 87,185 female participants (22.2% increase)
o 22% increase in female club participants – 3,666 participants
o 19.21% increase in school competition participants
