Australian Football

Australian Football League, opens in a new tab (AFL). The AFL is committed to embracing diversity and ensuring the sport is welcoming and safe for everyone who wants to participate, including people within the LGBTQI+ community. The AFL has a national partnership with Pride in Sport – a national not-for-profit sporting inclusion program specifically designed to assist with the inclusion of employees, athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators with diverse sexualities and genders.

Policies

• Gender Diversity Policy - Elite Football, opens in a new tab, Australian Football League, (1 October 2020).
• Gender Diversity Policy - Community Football, opens in a new tab, Australian Football League, (1 October 2020).
• LGBTQI+ Inclusion Action Plan, opens in a new tab, AFL, (2025). The AFL is proud to have worked with our colleagues, advisors, and partners to have developed our first LGBTQI+ Inclusion Action Plan, which will run until the end of 2025. This is important work for the AFL and having a structured and clear plan is essential to ensure we are creating a workplace, and game, which is safe and inclusive for everyone. The AFL has been working on LGBTQI+ inclusion for over 10 years. In 2014, then-AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou joined with other sports to endorse the anti-homophobia and inclusion framework, with the AFL an advising sport on ACON’s Pride in Sport index framework. The annual AFL Pride game between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans has been occurring since 2016, and the inaugural AFLW Pride match in 2018 has grown to a celebration of LGBTQI+ inclusion in the annual AFLW Pride Round. Additionally, an employee Pride & Allies Network was formed in 2021 and has grown organically since, driving several significant initiatives across the AFL.

Resources

• Tips for creating a more diverse and inclusive club or program, opens in a new tab, Australian Football League, (2024).
• Gender Diversity Policy - Companion Guide, opens in a new tab, Australian Football League, (1 October 2020).
• Gender Diversity Policies FAQs - Elite and Community Football, opens in a new tab, Australian Football League, (1 October 2020).
• AFL Learning Management System courses, opens in a new tab:
  • LGBTQI+ Inclusion course for community football players, coaches, umpires and volunteers.
  • AFL Vilification and Discrimination module for community football players, coaches, umpires and volunteers.