After decades of waiting, it’s confirmed there will be an AFL team in Tasmania; the southern island state has secured the 19th licence.
That much we know.
But there are a number of other key questions that will only be answered over time. But that’s not to say we can follow the bread crumbs and compile what exactly we know at this point.
When will the AFL team in Tasmania join the league?
The team will enter the Men’s competition as early as 2028.
This much we know.
Tassie fans will still have a few years to wait before residents can watch their local team run out onto the field. And perhaps even a fraction longer to see the sides at the club’s shiny new home venue in Hobart, which has just been given the construction go-ahead (all that detail is here). It’s now a huge process being undertaken.
The state has also been awarded a license to enter the AFLW, but a timeline as to when a women’s team will be fielded is yet to be confirmed.
What will the AFL team in Tasmania be called?
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has confirmed that it is up to the ‘Tasmanian football and the broader community’ to come up with a new name for the team.
The Apples, Spirit, Turbo Chooks, Penguins and of course the Tasmanian Devils among the options that have been floated thus far.
“If I’m pushed, the Devils seem to make sense to me and I know there’s been debate around the legalities and copyright issues, they broadly can be worked through,” McLachlan said.
“I know there’d be broad-minded people at Warner Brothers, but that will be for others to decide.”
What will the AFL team in Tasmania wear?
A club name, logo, guernsey and theme song will be selected by a committee later this year. We will be sure to update this story when we’ve got a kit reveal to share with you all.
What we can safely assume is that the colour palette will consist of the rich, dark green and gold that other Tassie teams don; think state cricket.
How long did Tasmania lobby to enter the AFL?
An AFL team in Tasmania has truly been a long time coming, with seven bids for a license rejected since 1990. So this announcement on Wednesday May 3, 2023, was 33 years in the making. The AFL finally did what so many fans wanted.
CEO Gil McLachlan confirms an AFL team in Tasmania
In an announcement made on Wednesday, CEO Gillon McLachlan confirmed that the state had been granted the 19th license after the federal government pledged $240 million towards a new stadium at Macquarie Point.
“There are big days and there are really big days. For our national game of Australian rules football and for the state of Tasmania this feels really big. Historic,” said McLachlan.
“Today is an important and historic day, for football in Tasmania, for football in Australia, for footy supporters all around the country.
“Today we are here to ensure a foundation football state, filled with believers, supporters and gravel rash grit, get the opportunity to unite their state and unite behind a single cause.
“It’s been a journey, but I am so happy to say we have reached the summit. A 19th club in Tasmania. For Tasmania. Uniting Tasmania.”
So what do we actually know about the new club and when it will enter the league?
