Festival of Footy

Overview

The first few months of the year now done and dusted can only mean one thing in Melbourne: the footy's back. And this month, with our homegrown code now back home, Melbourne is in for the grittiest, toughest, edge-of-your-seat, double-header period on the calendar: the final round of the thrilling 2022 NAB AFLW season and the return of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

To mark the occasion, the AFL is throwing a massive Festival of Footy. With 12 matches across ten days — and crowd capacity back up to 100 percent — you can experience the pure adrenaline (both yours and the stellar lineup of players), see hard-hitting tackles (that'd be the players') and plenty of family-friendly activities to keep even the most reluctant of footy fans happy.

Graham Denholm (AFL Photos/Getty Images)

As well as unmissable matches being played at the MCG, Marvel Stadium and Arden Street Oval, the MCG-adjacent Yarra Park will transform into a Festival of Footy live site – a lively hub of camaraderie and healthy competition fit for your whole gang. Head down to the green for food trucks serving up both classic and adventurous bites, a pop-up barber shop, organised games and live performances. Combined with generous giveaways and free entry, it's the perfect scene for a footy-fuelled day out.

Signalling the start of the final round of this year's AFLW home-and-away season, the footy-lovers' playground will officially open at 6pm on Friday, March 11, and hold strong til 9pm. It'll also come alive every game day of the final round of the women's league, and the first round of the men's.

For more information about the Festival of Footy, head to the website.

Top images: Michael Willson (AFL Photos), Graham Denholm (AFL Photos/Getty Images)