Australian Football League To Enter Esports, Want Tournaments in 53,000 Capacity Stadium

The Australian Football League plans to enter the esports industry, wanting it’s member teams to sponsor or create esports teams of their own, according to a report from The Age.

The AFL will use the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne as the venue for it’s events. The stadium has a capacity of 53,000 for AFL games, but can reach as high as 77,000 for other events, such as music concerts. Etihad Stadium is the headquarters of the AFL, who have had exclusive ownership of the venue since October 2016.

The league wants to target the millennial audience, and broaden the appeal for the clubs, increasing sponsorships, revenue, and brand consumption.

The AFL is the wealthiest sports body in Australia. In recent years it has sought to increase it’s appeal to various markets, most notably with the introduction of a female national league in 2017, and with exhibition matches in China. Esports is just another one of the ways the AFL plans to reach a broader audience.

Darren Birch, the AFL’s growth, digital and audiences general manager said:

“eSports is very strong in the millennial area, so for us it is about diverse exposure to that audience. That’s no different to AFLW where we became more relevant to a female audience.”

“Whether that translates into football is somewhat relevant but also not totally relevant. We want AFL, through eSports, to have the ability to generate a broader appeal for clubs and be able to bring more sponsors, revenue and consumption of your brand – whether that’s a live footy event or a live eSports event.”

Australian rules football is the largest sport in Australia, with dedicated pay TV channels, and various talk shows on television and radio. The league’s grand final in 2016 had 99,981 people attend at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and it was reported 91.2 percent of television sets on during the final were tuned into the game.