AFL to pay for gender equity review

The AFL has committed to funding an independent review of AFLW and the challenges faced by players in the emerging league.

The review is currently without an official title but has been referred to as the gender equity review.

A statement from the Player’s Association welcomed the review and says that the PA will play a large role in deciding the scope of the review.

"The review will aim to identify and quantify the challenges faced by AFLW players and identify opportunities for improvement so that AFLW players, and AFLW itself, can thrive. The AFLPA will work with players to determine the scope and terms of reference of the review, which will be agreed with the AFL."

The announcement of the review came along with a number of other changes to the CBA that was initially rejected by the player body.  Other changes include greater prize money, advanced notice of key dates and an assurance that players will receive their first payment by the 15^th of the month in which pre-season commences.  This year the pre-season will begin next month.

While the AFL did budge on the above issues, they refused to change the numbers of games promised over the next three years.  The AFLW season will be eight home-an-away games followed by three weeks of finals in 2020 and include one extra regular season match per team in the following two years.

Voting on the CBA closed Saturday, the PA will release the results this week.

All of this happens in the shadow of over one hundred new players entering the league after last weeks AFLW draft.