The AFL Women's Grand Final is an annual

women's Australian rules football Women's Australian rules football (in areas where it is popular, known simply as women's football or women's footy or women's AFL), is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game. ...

match to determine the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

(AFLW) premiers for that year. Each year, the winning club receives a premiership trophy and premiership flag; all players in the winning team receive a premiership medallion. The record attendance is 53,034, which was set at the

2019 AFL Women's Grand Final The 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at Adelaide Oval on 31 March 2019 to determine the List of AFL Women's premiers, premiers of the league's 2019 AFL Women's season, third season. Admission was free to ...

Method of qualification

In the first two seasons of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the grand final was contested by the two highest-ranked teams at the end of the home-and-away season, as no

finals series Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

existed. Since the third season, a finals series has been incorporated into the competition as follows: * In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, the top four teams qualified for the preliminary finals, with the two winners playing off in the 2019 Grand Final. * An expanded eight-team finals series was abandoned in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

due to the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. * In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and 2022 season 6, the top six teams qualified for the finals series, which was played under the laws of a single-elimination knockout tournament. * In 2022 season 7, the Final Eight system used in the AFL was implemented in the AFLW following the league's expansion to include all 18 AFL clubs. From 2021 onwards, the winners of the two preliminary finals have played off in the Grand Final. 2021 and 2022 (S6) process of qualification for AFLW Grand Final

Venues

Unlike the men's

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL) premiership, which has a customary host venue for the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

every year (that being the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

), there is no centralised venue that is contracted to host the women's grand final. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, the game was technically "hosted" by the

minor premier A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymology ...

: and , respectively. However, in both cases, alternate venues located in the home team's state were used, owing to the unavailability of the Gabba in Brisbane's case and capacity concerns for the Bulldogs' home grand final. In 2019, it was hosted by the preliminary final winner with the most premiership points (percentage would have come into consideration if points were the same), as a conference system was in place for this season's grand final. The conference-style system was abandoned in favour of a single ladder ahead of the 2021 season. Since 2021, the match is played at the highest-ranked preliminary final winner's home venue (or a larger-capacity venue located nearby), with this ranking based on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season. Of the four venues to have hosted a grand final, Princes (Ikon) Park, the largest-capacity suburban ground in Melbourne, underwent construction in 2021 and 2022 to turn it into a state-of-the-art precinct that would become the official home of women's football in Victoria, with the idea that all grand finals hosted in Victoria would be played at the stadium.

List of venues to host the grand final

''NOTE: There was no grand final held in 2020 due to the impact of the

.''

Entertainment and traditions

It is customary for the Grand Final to begin with a rendition of the

Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the Queen" as the of ...

in which both teams line up opposite each other. Most grand finals thus far have been accompanied by a musical entertainment act that has performed before the match or at half-time. At the conclusion of the match, an award ceremony is held for individual awards, which include a best-on-ground award and premiership medals awarded for each participant. The captains of both sides are invited to make a speech, and the cup is presented to the captain and coach of the winning team. Following the ceremonies, players of the winning side assemble on a podium for team celebration photographs with the premiership cup and premiership medals.

Entertainment

Musicians and groups to have performed at the grand final include

Megan Washington Megan Alexanda Washington (born 7 January 1986) is an Australian musician, songwriter and voice actor who has worked mononymously as Washington. Originally performing jazz music, her style shifted to indie pop and alternative rock. She has re ...

in 2017 and

Amy Shark Amy Louise Billings (born 14 May 1986), known professionally as Amy Shark, is an Australian indie pop singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer from the Gold Coast, Queensland. During 2008 to 2012, her early solo material was released and perfo ...

in 2019. Australian musician

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison "Missy" Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her most popular singles include "Scar", " Steer", and " Where I Stood". Her Australian number-one albums are '' The Sound of White'' (2004 ...

was booked to perform at the 2018 Grand Final, but her gig was cancelled on the day of the match due to heavy rain and surface conditions at Princes Park.

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem Order of Australia, AM (born 9 November 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, television personality and actress based in Sydney. Goodrem signed a recording contract with Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut studio album ...

performed the pre-match entertainment at the 2022 season 7 Grand Final.

Sprint

In 2021, the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

incorporated a sprint running race (initially known as the Colgate AFLW Grand Final Sprint) into the on-field entertainment on the day of the grand final. In the men's competition, the

Grand Final Sprint The AFL Grand Final Sprint is a sprint running race contested by AFL players as part of the on-field entertainment on the day of the AFL Grand Final. The sprint was held each year from 1979 until 1985 and again in 1987 (when the league was known a ...

has been held since 1979 (albeit with a break from

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–

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

). The race has only been held twice, with none run since 2022 season 6.

Best on ground

The best-on-ground medal is presented to the player judged as best on the ground during the grand final by a panel of experts.

References

External links

* {{AFL Women's AFL Women's AFL Women's Grand Finals 2017 establishments in Australia Recurring sporting events established in 2017 Annual sporting events in Australia