Gather round to remain in SA for three seasons

THE Gather Round will remain in South Australia for the next three seasons, the AFL has confirmed alongside the SA Government.

The inaugural Gather Round took place during round five of the 2023 season, with the announcement made ahead of the final game of the weekend between Collingwood and St Kilda.

While Adelaide Oval will continue to remain the central venue, the AFL said they plan to take more games to the Barossa and McLaren Vale region across 2024, 2025 and 2026.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan was thrilled that the initial Gather Round was a success and was excited for bigger and better things to come in future years.

“South Australia really turned it on. Gather Round and all the activity across the state, the nine matches, the footy festival and the community football engagement has been some of the best days and events the AFL has ever delivered,” McLachlan said via a statement.

“It has been a success because everyone in football got behind the idea, clubs, players, corporate partners and most importantly our fans, to deliver an extraordinary few days.

“While the concept has real momentum, and we plan on taking it to other states around the country, we also feel in order for it to be as successful in the other states we need to continue to build out the concept in South Australia.

“The reality is we only had a few months to pull this together, and we hope by locking it in now we are giving everyone a longer runway to put together a bigger and even better event, and our fans certainty around booking travel and accommodation.

“The match at Mount Barker was a special afternoon on Saturday and an important part of recommitting to South Australia was to establish the community legacy fund, ensuring local footy clubs’ benefit from bringing the Gather Round to town.”

Future Gather Round fixture dates are set to be finalised in the coming weeks so fans have as much time as possible to make travel plans.

– BY LACHLAN GELEIT/ SEN