AFL welcomes 100 per cent capacity

THE AFL will welcome back Victorian fans with no caps on crowds for Round 1.

With the past two years interrupted by COVID and an absence of fans for the majority of that period, the AFL has received approval for 100 per cent capacity crowds in Victoria in 2022.

Club members will again be able to scan their membership at the gate, while general public walk-up tickets will also be available in games not already sold out.

Masks will be required when moving around in stadiums above 30,000 in capacity, while those under that mark – including GMHBA stadium and MARS Stadium – do not require approval to host capacity crowds.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan expressed his joy at being able to host capacity crowds in Victoria once again.

“We want to get big crowds back to the footy, the weekly ritual of being able to go to a game and the sense of community it creates, connecting families and friends is something we have missed in the state,” he said.

“On behalf of the AFL I would like to thank the Victorian State Government, specifically Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula and Minister for Health Martin Foley for continuing to work with us and safely get as many fans back to the footy as possible.

“We have a big finish to our AFLW home and away season which again has been warmly embraced by fans and supporters across the state, rolling straight into our AFL season and the grand final rematch on the Wednesday night at the MCG.

“Our AFLW finals series and start of our AFL Season is an exciting time for fans, we look forward to seeing crowds return to our venues in huge numbers as well as to all the surrounding business and venues that rely on footy and big events being staged across the city.

“Footy can hopefully help bring the heartbeat of the city back to Melbourne and back to the state of Victoria.”

Five games will be played in Victoria in Round 1. Melbourne plays the Western Bulldogs to open the season on Wednesday, before Richmond and Carlton play their annual Thursday night game.

St Kilda and Collingwood play on Friday night, before clashes of Geelong vs Essendon and Hawthorn vs North Melbourne play out on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Ticketing information will be released in the coming weeks.

– BY SEB MOTTRAM/ SEN