Gather Round
{{short description|Australian Football League weekend in which all fixtures are played in one city}}
Gather Round is an annual Australian Football League event in which all games in one home-and-away round are played in a single city and its surrounds. The event was first held in 2023 in Adelaide, South Australia, which will host the round each year until 2026.
History
In September 2022, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced that in 2023 it would hold a promotional round in which all matches would be played in a single city outside of Victoria.[https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7911596/afl-pushing-magic-round-concept-for-2023/ AFL pushing Magic Round concept for 2023] Canberra Times 20 September 2022[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/nsw-firming-as-favourite-for-afl-magic-round-delisted-blue-s-struggle-with-aggressive-anxiety-20221006-p5bnts.html NSW firms as favourite for AFL ‘Magic Round’; delisted Blue’s anxiety struggle; Hurley’s new role; AFLW round 10 fixture] The Age 7 October 2022 The AFL's major competitor, the National Rugby League (NRL), had staged such a round, known as Magic Round, since 2019 in which all matches were played at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane; while another competing competition, Super Rugby Pacific, had held a Super Round since 2022, in which all matches were played at AAMI Park. The two rugby competitions' rounds were in turn based on its European rugby league counterpart, the Super League, which had staged Magic Weekend in a variety of cities since 2007.[https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/magic-round-tricks-every-box-as-crowds-respond-to-brisbane-event-20190512-p51mk4.html Magic Round tricks every box as crowds respond to Brisbane event] Sydney Morning Herald 14 October 2022[https://web.archive.org/web/20220920054532/https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-news-2022-extra-round-all-games-in-one-state-magic-round-new-fixture-in-2023-details-gillon-mclachlan-interview/news-story/9153898cc9417334d8ad99ba310eecda AFL news 2022: Extra round, all games in one state, magic round, new fixture in 2023, details, Gillon McLachlan interview] Fox Sports Australia 14 October 2022[https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/34627220/afl-pushing-magic-round-concept-2023 AFL pushing Magic Round concept for 2023] ESPN 14 October 2022 In November 2022, the inaugural round was awarded to South Australia, which beat a bid from New South Wales.[https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/dom-perrottet-fires-up-in-afl-war-of-words-after-sa-premiers-sloppy-seconds-sydney-whack-c-8827796 Dom Perrottet fires up in AFL war of words after SA premier’s ‘sloppy seconds’ Sydney whack] Seven News 11 November 2022 In December 2022, it was given the pun name "Gather Round" with the tagline "a festival of footy".
Unlike its rugby equivalents, Gather Round matches are all scheduled for the same city, but not the same venue. In the inaugural edition, for example: six games were played at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide's only regular AFL venue; two games were played at the suburban Norwood Oval; and one game was played at Summit Sports Park in Mount Barker, about 30km outside Adelaide in the surrounding Adelaide Hills.{{cite web |title='Gather Round ... A Festival of Footy' is headed to South Australia|url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/871060|date=9 December 2022|accessdate=9 December 2022|work=Australian Football League}}
In the inaugural event, all nine Gather Round matches sold out, and more than 60,000 people purchased tickets from interstate. On the final day of the first Gather Round, South Australia was announced as the event's host for the next three seasons until 2026.{{cite news|author=Australian Associated Press|title='Unbelievable success': SA secures Gather Round until 2026|url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/906620/unbelievable-success-sa-secures-gather-round-until-2026|website=afl.com.au|date=16 April 2023|access-date=17 April 2023}}[https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/gather-round-to-stay-in-sa-until-2026--injects--86m-into-state-economy.html Gather Round to stay in SA until 2026, injects $86m into state economy] Business News 17 April 2023[https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-makes-huge-announcement-on-future-of-gather-round/news-story/6e000cd44c97b82af6f7418d8d77dfa3 AFL makes huge announcement on future of Gather Round] News.com.au 17 April 2023
Arrangements
Gather Round was added to the AFL home-and-away season as an extra round, extending the length of the standard season from 22 matches to 23. It is run as an AFL event, meaning that there is no designated home team for gate purposes, that club memberships do not grant entry to the games, and that usual club member reserved seating does not apply – although club members are given access to redeem a free ticket.{{cite web|title='Gather Round ... A Festival of Footy' is headed to South Australia|url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/871060|date=9 December 2022|accessdate=9 December 2022|work=AFL Media|archive-date=8 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208224236/https://www.afl.com.au/news/871060|url-status=live}} Home team designations for match day purposes – which include choice of uniforms, change rooms and run-on order – are decided by a coin toss.{{cite web|title=Gather Round Festival of Footy – coin toss to decide home teams|url=https://www.ozsportsonline.com/2023/04/11/107/|website=Ozsports Radio|date=11 April 2023|access-date=17 April 2023}}
In 2023 and 2024, matches at the same venue on the same day were staged as ticketed double-headers, with a single ticket granting access to both matches.{{cite web|url=https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=aflrnd523|title=Gather Round tickets|accessdate=13 December 2022|publisher=Ticketek|archive-date=13 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213081535/https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=aflrnd523|url-status=live}} Ticketed double-headers were removed in 2025, with all matches now ticketed separately.{{cite web|url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/1254966/gather-round-the-biggest-footy-festival-in-the-country-returns-to-sa|title='Gather Round' – The biggest footy festival in the country returns to SA|date=11 November 2024|accessdate=11 November 2024|publisher=Australian Football League}}
List of Gather Rounds
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Season !Round !Dates !City !Venues (matches) !Attendance |
| 2023
|13–16 April |Adelaide Oval (6), Norwood Oval (2), Summit Sports Park (1) |268,287 (ave. 29,810 per match) |
| 2024
|4−7 April |Adelaide Oval (5), Norwood Oval (2), Summit Sports Park (2) | 267,643 (ave. 29,738 per match) |
| 2025
|10−13 April |Adelaide Oval (5), Norwood Oval (2), Barossa Park (2) |269,506 (ave. 29,945 per match) |
| 2026
| | | | |
Other Gather Round events
In each of 2024 and 2025, an interstate game between the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and Victorian Football League (VFL) was scheduled as part of the weekend.{{cite web|title=AAMI fires up SANFL-VFL rivalry with new partnership announcement|url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/1095589/aami-fires-up-sanfl-vfl-rivalry-with-new-partnership-announcement|date=28 March 2024|publisher=afl.com.au}} In 2025, a women's match between the two leagues was also held.{{cite web |title=VFL and SANFL rivalry set for historic new chapter |url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/1270122 |publisher=AFL.com.au |access-date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221044511/https://www.afl.com.au/news/1270122 |archive-date=21 February 2025 |date=21 February 2025}}
See also
- National Day Round, a similar promotional round of home-and-away matches played across Australia during the 1952 VFL season.
- Magic Round, the equivalent event in the National Rugby League since 2019.
- Super Round, the equivalent event in the Super Rugby Pacific since 2022.
- Unite Round, the equivalent event in the A-League Men and Women since 2024.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Australian Football League}}
Category:Australian Football League games