Quarter of AFL fans still too scared to attend matches due to Covid

One in four AFL fans say they’re more likely to watch games on television than return to venues when Covid-19 eases, a survey has found.

The survey by the AFL Fans Association also revealed 70 per cent of respondents haven’t attended as many matches as they would have liked due to recent crowd restrictions.

A total of 860 fans responded to the survey, held late last year.

Twenty-six per cent of respondents say they’re more likely to watch games at home rather than attend matches after Covid eases.

‘While most of us can’t wait to get back to the footy, some fans may still be concerned about attending events with big crowds due to the latest Omicron wave,’ the association’s president Cheryl Critchley said in a statement on Sunday.

‘But we hope that this has subsided, and fans turn up in big numbers again.’

While Victoria has confirmed crowd restrictions will be lifted for the AFL premiership season start on March 16, other states have yet to detail what, if any, restrictions will be placed on spectator numbers.

Another finding of the survey was umpiring standards and rule changes were the major areas of concern for 40.5 per cent of respondents.

‘Fan concern was mainly directed at constant rule changes that impact their enjoyment of the game and make it harder for umpires to do their job well,’ Ms Critchley said.

Gambling advertisements linked to the code were cited as the key concern for 37 per cent of respondents.

The results from the survey by the association, which was formed in December 2013 by a group of grassroots supporters in a bid to give fans a collective voice, have been sent to the AFL and its clubs.

Twenty-six per cent of respondents to an AFL fan survey say they’re more likely to watch games at home rather than attend matches after Covid eases. Pictured are young Carlton fans