West Coast and Collingwood were the only two AFL clubs to surpass 100,000 members across their men's and women's programs in 2026, with the Eagles soaring past the Pies for the first time since 2022.
West Coast raked in 115,324 while Collingwood fell agonisingly short with 114,976 members.
Across the competition, 13 clubs broke their all-time membership records this year: Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, Gold Coast, GWS, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Sydney and West Coast.
AFL membership ladder 2026 (men's and women's)
|
West Coast*
|
115,324 |
|
Collingwood*
|
114,976 |
|
Carlton
|
97,427
|
|
Geelong*
|
94,006 |
|
Richmond
|
92,648
|
|
Hawthorn*
|
92,095
|
|
Adelaide*
|
86,307
|
|
Brisbane*
|
85,103
|
|
Essendon
|
83,842
|
|
Sydney*
|
80,558
|
|
St Kilda*
|
77,400
|
|
Port Adelaide*
|
75,668
|
|
Fremantle*
|
74,698
|
|
Melbourne
|
65,088
|
|
61,717
|
|
|
North Melbourne*
|
60,274
|
|
GWS*
|
38,395
|
|
Gold Coast*
|
33,470
|
|
TOTAL
|
1,428,996
|
*broke all-time membership record
The membership surge follows a strong AFL year, with home-and-away attendance surpassing 7.7 million and regular-season broadcast viewership exceeding 370 million.
The September AFL Grand Final was also the year's most-watched television program, reaching more than 6.5 million viewers.
The AFLW also attracted more than 320,000 fans across its home-and-away season.
"It has been a truly remarkable year, with all-time record membership a testament to the love and passion the fans have for the footy," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said.
"Our 18 clubs do an amazing job of driving that passion and commitment of all our fans across the AFL and AFLW, reflected in 13 clubs breaking their all-time membership record."
However, according to independent market research and public opinion polling company Roy Morgan, Sydney tops the AFL ladder in terms of supporter base with 1,131,000 fans.
That's 60,000 more than the next-best two-time reigning premier, Brisbane, which has 1,065,000 fans.
Victorian giant Collingwood sits in third with 920,000 fans, while Adelaide makes up the top four with 756,000.
2026 AFL supporter base ladder
- Sydney - 1,131,000
- Brisbane - 1,065,000
- Collingwood - 920,000
- Adelaide - 756,000
- Essendon - 665,000
- West Coast - 639,000
- Carlton - 618,000
- Geelong - 526,000
- Hawthorn - 451,000
- Richmond - 446,000
- Fremantle - 379,000
- Melbourne - 348,000
- St Kilda - 344,000
- Western Bulldogs - 318,000
- Port Adelaide - 248,000
- North Melbourne - 190,000
- GWS - 161,000
- Gold Coast - 153,000
