Eight midweek games are a feature of the new 10 week AFLW season for 2024

The new AFLW season will start in August and has introduced a bold new move to get clean air for matches during the AFL finals.

The Lions celebrate the 2023 AFLW Grand Final win. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The AFLW will play eight games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as ‘midweek footy’ is introduced for the 2024 season which will be expanded to 11 home and away matches per team.

That will include matches during AFL grand final week at Ikon Park in Melbourne with a four-match extravaganza to be played on grand final eve.

The Sydney Swans, who rose from winless and last in 2022 to make the finals in 2023, will open the season against Collingwood at North Sydney Oval on Friday, August 30, with the season to culminate with a grand final on November 30.

Last year’s grand finalists, Brisbane and North Melbourne, will also face off in week one, with the reigning premier Lions to host the match and unveil their flag.

The midweek games will be played across a four-week block from weeks four to seven in the draw with Pride Round in week 7 and Indigenous Rounds will be Weeks 9 and 10.

Incorporating the Tuesday and Wednesday games for the first time, during school holidays, was considered a way to get more fans to games.

“The NAB AFLW is starting to see the establishment of traditional marquee games and club rivalries being cemented,” AFL Head of Broadcast Operations and Scheduling Josh Bowler said.

IT'S HERE 🗓️

See the full fixture for the 2024 NAB AFLW Season: https://t.co/BDMRc1Z9W4pic.twitter.com/fmKz6uQ7H4

— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) May 31, 2024

“We consulted a number of key stakeholders in the fixture build including the AFLPA, Clubs and Senior Coaches when determining the most appropriate structure of the season.

“The midweek matches will fall during the school holidays and provide great opportunities for fans to attend and watch at home on evenings that traditionally don’t have footy.

“We felt it was important for our fans to maintain the weekend timeslot structure we have seen in previous seasons, whilst also adding an additional game midweek across the middle of the competition for fans to enjoy.”

The AFLW will also takes games to all corners of Australia taking games to Mackay, Cairns, Ballarat, Canberra and Darwin.

For the first time a game will be played in Coffs Harbour when the Swans take on Richmond in Week Three.