Port membership overtakes Crows for first time
Port Adelaide’s club membership has overtaken Adelaide’s for the first time after the Crows this year became one of only three AFL clubs to record a drop in members.
In a year when total AFL club membership hit a record 836,136, Adelaide lost 1329 members to fall to 52,920 while Port Adelaide gained 5089 members to hit 54,057.
Port now has the sixth highest membership in the competition, with Adelaide behind their cross-town rivals in seventh place.
Collingwood remains at the top of the membership table, despite suffering the biggest fall in both number and percentage terms.
Adelaide suffered the second-biggest drop in members. Carlton was the only other club to record a fall in membership.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch took to Twitter today to celebrate the achievement.
“Thank you @PAFC members for making us the biggest AFL club in Sth Australia for first time in our history. According to official AFL figures,” he Tweeted.
| 2014 | 2015 | VAR# | VAR% | |
| Adelaide Crows | 54,249 | 52,920 | -1,329 | -2.45% |
| Brisbane Lions | 24,012 | 25,408 | 1,396 | 5.81% |
| Carlton | 47,485 | 47,305 | -180 | -0.38% |
| Collingwood | 79,347 | 75,037 | -4,310 | -5.43% |
| Essendon* | 60,646 | 60,818 | 172 | 0.28% |
| Fremantle* | 48,777 | 51,433 | 2,656 | 5.45% |
| Geelong Cats* | 43,803 | 44,312 | 509 | 1.16% |
| Gold Coast SUNS* | 13,475 | 13,643 | 165 | 1.22% |
| GWS GIANTS* | 13,040 | 13,480 | 440 | 3.37% |
| Hawthorn* | 68,650 | 72,924 | 4,274 | 6.23% |
| Melbourne | 35,911 | 35,953 | 42 | 0.12% |
| North Melbourne* | 39,060 | 41,012 | 1,952 | 5.00% |
| Port Adelaide* | 48,968 | 54,057 | 5,089 | 10.39% |
| Richmond* | 66,122 | 70,809 | 4,687 | 7.09% |
| St Kilda | 30,739 | 32,746 | 2,007 | 6.53% |
| Sydney Swans* | 40,126 | 48,836 | 8,710 | 21.71% |
| West Coast Eagles* | 58,529 | 60,221 | 1,692 | 2.89% |
| Western Bulldogs* | 31,538 | 35,222 | 3,684 | 11.68% |
| * Denotes club record | ||||
| TOTALS | 804,480 | 836,136 | 31,656 | 3.93% |
The official AFL club membership tally released today was compiled after the July 31 deadline.
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AFL CEO Gill McLachlan said it was a tribute to clubs and the game that one in 28 Australians was a member of an AFL club.
AFL club membership has risen every year in the 25 seasons since 1990, with the exception of 2000 when the season was shifted to accommodate the Sydney Olympics.
The Sydney Swans led the pack in terms of growth, signing up 8710 new members – an increase of 21.71 per cent on 2014.
Eight clubs now have more than 50,000 members – Collingwood, Hawthorn, Richmond, Essendon, West Coast, Port Adelaide, Adelaide and Fremantle.
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