Swans, Magpies and Lions have most supporters but fans differ greatly in their AFL commitment

After these top three clubs there is a distinct drop off in supporter numbers with Essendon coming in at number four with 621,000 supporters. Numbers for each club gradually decline to the Gold Coast Suns on 90,000, who were only introduced into the AFL in 2011.


AFL Club Supporters


Source:Roy Morgan Single Source, Australian Population 14+ who support an AFL team. July 10 - June 11, n = 7,800.


However among the top three supported clubs there were significant differences in the professional sporting events they attended. The proportion of Collingwood supporters who had attended an AFL game in the previous 12 months (35%) clearly outweighed that of both Brisbane supporters (20%) and Sydney supporters (18%).

Collingwood supporters were far more likely to attend an AFL match than any other sporting code, whereas Sydney supporters’ loyalty was divided with them being more likely to attend NRL than AFL. Brisbane supporters had almost equally divided loyalty between AFL and NRL in terms of attendance.


Professional Sports Attended


Source:Roy Morgan Single Source, Australian Population 14+, Sydney Swans, Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions supporters, July 10 - June 11, n = 2,643.


When it came to watching sport on television, Magpie supporters again reigned supreme with 74% indicating they “almost always” or “occasionally” watch AFL on TV, compared with 63% of Swans and Lions supporters.


Team Sports Watched on TV


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, Australian Population 14+, Sydney Swans, Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions supporters, July 10 - June 11, n = 2,643.


Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Sydney has the highest number of supporters of any team in the AFL, however this is due to their advantage of being the only team representing Australia’s largest city. Despite this, Collingwood have the largest number of paying members and arguably the most passionate and loyal supporters.

“The high interest of Swans and Lions fans in other sports reflects the general level of AFL support in New South Wales and Queensland which battles against Rugby League as the top winter sport. It will be interesting to see how the Greater Western Sydney Giants affect AFL support in Sydney when they enter the competition next year.

“Although the Gold Coast Suns are ranked last in supporter numbers, they were introduced into the AFL in 2011. Their 90,000 supporters should only be regarded as a start with growth likely, but this will be impacted by their on-field success.”

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AFL Club Supporters – Last 10 Years


Note: Figures in 000’s.


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