Historic day for Tasmanian football as AFL announces Tasmanian team

WE’RE IN! AFL chief Gillon McLachlan has today made it official that Tasmania will be awarded the 19th licence to field AFL and AFLW teams in the national competition. LATEST >

WE’RE IN! AFL chief Gillon McLachlan has today made it official that Tasmania will be awarded the 19th licence to field AFL and AFLW teams in the national competition.

McLachlan made the announcement at North Hobart Oval, flanked by Premier Jeremy Rockliff and champion Tasmanian players Jack Riewoldt and Alastair Lynch.

Mr McLachlan said it was time Tasmania was recognised for its contribution to the game and for its future promise, including a new roofed stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart.

“Tasmania belongs in our national competition,” he said.

MORE TO COME.

Initial: The most powerful man in Australian football has arrived in Hobart to officially hand over the keys to the AFL’s newest team, Tasmania, in an official presentation on Wednesday.

Before he left Melbourne, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan marked the historic occasion.

“It’s a big day for football,” McLachlan said.

“A lot of work has gone into this by a lot of people.”

AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan speaks to media at Hobart airport ahead of this afternoon as announcement. Picture: AFL/Twitter

For years McLachlan stalled Tasmania’s team dream until an amazing backflip two years ago saw the AFL chief back the bid and go into bat for the state’s 19th licence.

McLachlan helped steer the Tasmanian AFL Taskforce through its business case and licence application, and guided by the 18 clubs and AFL commission, insisted that Tasmania have a brand new stadium to home the team.

New designs of what Hobart's new AFL stadium at Macquarie Point could look like. Images supplied by AFL

“We’ve been down this path before, whether it’s on the Gold Coast with Metricon or Western Sydney with GWS, and with Adelaide Oval and in Western Australia, they are heavy lifting in terms of getting funding, in finding the right site, and in terms of getting them built,” he said.

“But they change cities and they change states, so let’s get onboard and build something that knocks everyone’s socks off.”

McLachlan picked up the phone to ask Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the money and even went to Canberra to present Tasmania’s case for Federal Funding for the stadium.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Hobart in relation to funding for a stadium at Macquarie Point. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The result was a visit to Hobart on Saturday by Mr Albanese to announce a $240m contribution toward a stadium as part of an overall urban redevelopment at Macquarie Point, followed by unanimous backing for Tasmania by the presidents and AFL Commission on Tuesday.

Wednesday, May 3 will go down in history as the day the dreams of thousands of Tassie footy fans came true as McLachlan, joined by Alastair Lynch and Jack Riewoldt, announced Tasmania has a licence to join the big time in 2027.