The Australian Football League has experienced a significant decline in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, dropping from 87 in 2020 to 62 in 2025-26, marking a 30% decrease and the lowest number in two decades. The author, a former AFL employee, attributes the decline to inadequate support and cultural safety at club level, exacerbated by pandemic disruptions to junior competitions and the historical trauma that magnifies Indigenous players' obligations to their communities.
Otto Beta
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The Australian Football League has experienced a significant decline in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, dropping from 87 in 2020 to 62 in 2025-26, marking a 30% decrease and the lowest number in two decades. The author, a former AFL employee, attributes the decline to inadequate support and cultural safety at club level, exacerbated by pandemic disruptions to junior competitions and the historical trauma that magnifies Indigenous players' obligations to their communities.