2021 AFLW Pride Round
The inaugural AFLW Pride Round is upon us!
This initiative has come after an extensive piece of work internally at the AFL, to promote the sporting codes stance on LGBTQ inclusion, while also raising much needed awareness to the disproportionate effects of the LGBTQ community more broadly.
The 2021 AFLW Pride Round also comes after research was released in 2020 that ‘only 38% of Pride Cup players witnessed their teammates use homophobic language in the past two weeks, compared to 73% at non-Pride Cup clubs.
While much more is needed to be done in the space of LGBTQ inclusion in sport, the AFLW Pride Rounds sets a new standard for any elite competition delivering an all of competition pride initiative at the elite level.
What does it mean?
The previous three seasons have seen Carlton and the Western Bulldogs celebrate an annual Pride Game – with St Kilda and Melbourne joining last year – but 2021 marks the first time it has been extended to an entire round.
Carlton’s Darcy Vescio told AFL that the round will bring to light an important cause while also allowing for a celebration.
“The Pride Round is always such a special occasion for us girls. Bonnie (Toogood, Dogs forward) and I have been lucky enough to be part of the clubs who have had a Pride Game for four years now,” Vescio said.
“Every time it comes, it’s so lovely to see the shift in crowd as well. It’s certainly the best game to come to in terms of the people who feel comfortable attending. We’re able to represent ourselves, represent the women who built women’s footy and celebrate people from all different backgrounds.”
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What clubs are wearing a Pride Guernsey?
The inaugural AFLW Pride Round has given an opportunity to every player in the competition to celebrate inclusiveness in football. This year will see several teams don a Proud Round Guernsey, with many other wearing rainbow socks, laces and more. Below are links to some clubs and their guernsey announcements:
AFLW Round 2 Pride Round a sell out!
What adds to the excitement, is AFL’s recent announcement that “three matches for Round Two (Pride Round) of the 2021 NAB AFL Women’s Competition have officially sold out with no further tickets to be released to Friday night’s match between the Western Bulldogs and Carlton, Sunday’s match between North Melbourne and St Kilda and Sunday’s Q Clash between the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast SUNS.”
“Supporters of AFLW are not only attending games in strong numbers – almost one million Australians tuned in to the broadcast of Round One (a 15 per cent increase compared to 2020) – witnessing the highest-scoring opening round in the competition’s five-year history”, said the AFLW website.
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Visibility
As part of the dedicated round, all AFL Umpires will wear rainbow-coloured sweatbands, while Goal Umpires will exchange their traditional white flags for rainbow ones.
In addition, the official NAB AFLW competition logo will swap its iconic coral coloured emblem for a rainbow one in celebration of the round, while all 50-metre arc ground markings will also be painted rainbow for the occasion.
History in the making
Head of Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone said the inaugural Pride Round is an opportunity to celebrate the inclusiveness of the NAB AFLW competition.
“We are proud to formally celebrate a Pride Round across the NAB AFLW competition in Round Two and we recognise the leadership of the Carlton and Western Bulldogs Football Clubs who have paved the way with the Pride Game over recent years,” Ms Livingstone said.
“Where we can be more celebratory, where we can be more inclusive, where we can give back to the community, we will.”
AFL Executive General Manager for Inclusion and Social Policy Tanya Hosch said the inaugural Pride Round reflects the competition’s commitment to being a sport for all.
“The creation of Pride Round is another step towards being a more inclusive game, celebrating the contributions of all who contribute to AFLW and ensuring our game is a place of welcome for everyone,” Ms Hosch said.
“We hope the dedicated round is a reflection of our commitment to being a more inclusive sport and we look forward to seeing fans embrace Pride Round throughout the weekend.”