AFL announces SA will host inaugural “Magic Round” in 2023
The AFL, in conjunction with the South Australian Government, is pleased to announce an entire round of footy is coming to South Australia, with the addition of an extra round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season added which will see all nine matches to be played in the state.
In a league first for the national competition, all nine AFL matches featuring all 18 clubs will be played in a single state for Premiership points.
It will officially be Round 5 of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season and the nine games will be scheduled across four days, running from Thursday April 13 through to Sunday April 16, with the round of matches coinciding with school holidays. The SANFL and the Adelaide Footy League will have a bye during the round. SA sides will not have a Showdown.
Match-ups, timings and venues will be confirmed upon release of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season fixture in late November – with Adelaide Oval to feature heavily.
Adelaide Oval will host one game on Thursday and Friday night, followed by double-headers on Saturday and Sunday. Barossa Valley is set to stage one match and Norwood believed to be another venue.
Entry to competing club matches will be FREE for all Club and AFL Members and further ticketing information will be released shortly. Other fans will be able to buy tickets once the fixture is announced next month.
The matches will be broadcast on SEVEN, Fox Footy and Kayo.
The players get paid – $200,000 per team- the clubs get $500,000 each and can spend $200,000 on their football departments.
Premier Peter Malinauskas would not say how much the state government was paying to host the round – However club sources said it was more than 10 million. Despite the SA premier wanting a 10 year commitment, holding the round in other states in the future is on the cards but SA will be in strong consideration each year.
The AFL has not settled on a name for it. McLachlan stressed the concept needed a name and would not be called “Magic Round” – the moniker of the NRL equivalent.
References
- An extra round and a four-day festival of footy is coming to South Australia in 2023
- South Australia to host all AFL matches of round five next year in ‘massive’ win for state and game
- AFL Magic Round: All the details as Gillon McLachlan and Peter Malinauskas officially announce SA’s festival of footy
- AFL ‘magic round’ bound for South Australia
