AFL Open 2025 set to be held in Bundoora in October

A major AFL event in its second year is set to be held in Melbourne later this year bringing together some of the best athletes from across the country. Here’s what we know.

Victorian players Hayden Auber, Lachie Essing and Teisha Shadwell. Photo: Morgan Hancock.

The AFL Open is back for another year.

The second instalment of the event, which is the national events for footballers with an intellectual impairment and wheelchair players, will be hosted in Bundoora, in Melbourne’s north, from October 27 to 30.

La Trobe University will play host to the event with the facility including an elite AFL oval and six multipurpose indoor courts which will be the playing arena for wheelchair footy.

The AFL Open was launched in Queensland last year combining the events previously known as the AFL National Inclusion Carnival and Wheelchair AFL National Championships.

Tasmania will be seeking to defend its inclusion title while Vic Metro claimed the wheelchair competition last year.

This year’s event will focus on building inclusion pathways for women and girls as well as introducing a blind/low vision exhibition match to showcase and highlight modified versions of footy.

The AFL’s executive general manager of game development Rob Auld said this year’s event aimed to build on the success of the inaugural AFL Open.

“On behalf of the AFL I’m delighted to lock in the dates and venue for the 2025 Toyota AFL Open which is our flagship national event for inclusion and wheelchair players,” Auld said.

“This year we are pleased to host the event at La Trobe University Sports Precinct in Victoria at the end of October, with the venue and surrounding locations providing exceptional facilities and exceeding our accessibility requirements for participants, their families and spectators.

“After last year’s event we received clear feedback that all states and territories valued the opportunity to bring both inclusion and wheelchair divisions together, with strong connections forming among players and teams.”

Team announcements and schedules will be made closer to the event.

Originally published as AFL Open 2025 set to be held in Bundoora in October