Seismic change is on the horizon for the AFLW season next year and an inevitable cross-code clash with the Ladies’ All-Ireland Championship will present a dilemma for players with a foot in both camps.
There are currently a record 36 Irish women on the books of AFLW clubs this season, including nine from Ulster, and up until this year they have been free to play in both codes.
This year the All-Ireland Ladies Football finals were played in the first week in August which allowed GAA women a precious window to compete before jetting off 10,000 miles across the other side of the world in time for start of the AFLW season in the last weekend of the month, during the men’s pre-finals bye.
The late start to the AFLW season has caused uproar this year, particularly with the new condensed fixturing model which has involved teams playing multiple matches across several weeks of the 10-round season and players picking up more injuries.
Under pressure from administrators and players alike, AFL executive general manager of football Laura Kane, has today acknowledged that the 2025 AFLW season may well start earlier.
Whilst a precise date has not been finalised, it is likely that AFLW and the GAA Ladies Championships are on a collision course.
Next year, AFLW will expand to 12 games up from 11 this year, and if the AFL does not push the season back, the Grand Final will have to be played deep into December when temperatures rise and interest wanes with the festive season just around the corner.
“We are definitely considering an earlier start,” Kane explained.
“What we do know is, we know we’ll be playing 12 games – that’s built into the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is terrific, more AFLW is terrific.
“And now the question is when do we start?
“There are a couple of important decisions that we have to make, one being when do we play the grand final?
“A focus for us over the past year or so has been building rituals into the AFLW fixture and making sure that our fans know when their team will be playing and that goes into the fixture build.
“So yes (earlier start), that’s something that we’re definitely considering.”
Donegal footballer Amy Boyle-Carr told the Irish News that she is open to the possibility of skipping the 2025 GAA season to focus on her AFLW commitments with the Adelaide Crows if there is a cross-code clash next year.
In 2024 AFLW players received a 29 per cent pay rise, which resulted in incomes of $AUD60,000 (£31,000) up from $AUD46,000 (£23,800).
AFLW players’ salaries will rise to $AUD82,000 (£42,400) by 2027.