Hawthorn Football Club is thrilled with the confirmation from the AFL today that the club has been granted an AFLW licence and will enter the competition in Season Seven (end of 2022).
A long-held strategic goal of the club, an AFLW licence completes the club’s family. The club’s vision for the future is clear, to create a club that is successful, sustainable, socially inclusive and equally focused on both men’s and women’s programs.
Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves emphasised the club’s preparedness to step into the AFLW competition.
“With a strong track record in the VFLW, Hawthorn’s development of women’s football is unique and speaks to the authenticity of the club’s desire to be credible and impactful in the space and to harness and develop the sport from grassroots through to elite,” Reeves said.
“Our strategic priorities sit across three pillars; people, football and sustainability and these are in place to ensure our AFLW side is driven by best practice team culture, the football program will grow and develop talent to the highest level and the team will be underpinned by commercial growth and innovation to become a sustainable part of the club in the future.
“The growth of women’s football is one of the most significant developments in the AFL’s history. Hawthorn has laid strong foundations and is ready to step up to the elite level.”
Hawthorn Football Club is thrilled to be joining the AFLW competition and is looking forward to making some further exciting announcements as we build our AFLW team.
For now, Hawthorn members and fans can keep up to date with all the latest news on Hawthorn’s AFLW team via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at @hawthornaflw.
Hawthorn’s key achievements in women’s football to date:
- In 2017, Hawthorn was the first AFL club to obtain a VFLW licence and intentionally set out to develop clear talent pathways through collaboration with, and support of, the EFNL’s Eastern Region Girls competition.
- In 2018, Hawthorn was the first AFL club to recognise the need to pay players at the VFLW level to ensure equity with Hawthorn’s VFL men’s program. Hawthorn’s VFLW team also achieved the ultimate success taking home the 2018 premiership cup.
- In 2019, seven of Hawthorn’s VFLW players were drafted to AFLW clubs, with a further three drafted in 2021.
- Hawthorn also took action in 2021 to close a gap in the talent development pathway for female coaches by implementing an all-female coaching line-up for its VFLW side.
- Season 2021 has also seen the club host and play, Ashanti Bush, a young developing female talent from a remote community outside Katherine in the NT, a move that exemplified the club’s commitment to ensuring that no barrier will prevent females from aspiring to play the game they love at the highest level. Ashanti was then drafted to the Gold Coast Suns in the 2021 AFLW National Draft.
- Hawthorn has already begun preparations to house an AFLW team, with the club committing $1 million to renovate Waverley Park to provide an equal, integrated training facility for both male and female elite footballers.
- The development of the club’s future home at the Kennedy Community Centre is underway with the club having secured funding from all levels of government and environmental site remediation works already commenced
