Australian pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has committed to televising three women’s Aussie rules football exhibition games this season ahead of the launch of a league next year.
The coverage will kick off on April 9, with a women’s game acting as a curtain raiser to the Fremantle v West Coast Eagles men’s Australian Football League derby.
Two more games – one staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and one at Adelaide Oval – will also be broadcast later in the year. The first will come before Melbourne’s Round 9 clash against the Brisbane Lions on May 22. The second will be a precursor to Adelaide Crows’ Round 11 match against St Kilda on June 5.
Fox Sports said it hopes the broadcasts will not only give female athletes greater exposure, but also act as a promotion for an eight-team women’s league that is set to launch in 2017.
A tender process to select clubs is yet to be completed, but it is believed that four Victorian based teams will be selected, as well as one team from South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.