Hawthorn Football Club is extremely disappointed to learn the club has been unsuccessful in obtaining an AFLW licence for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

Hawthorn CEO Tracey Gaudry expressed her disappointment on behalf of the club and outlined Hawthorn’s continued commitment to growing the involvement and participation of women in sport and AFL.

“Hawthorn presented an incredibly strong case to the AFL that highlighted the club’s solid talent pathways, financial strength and ability to contribute to the growth of the game,” Gaudry said. 

“With the largest number of female members in the league and the experience of building a VFLW team from the ground up, we demonstrated our ability to create an AFLW team that could hit the ground running.

“Given the strength of our submission, it’s incredibly disappointing to be denied a licence for not only the 2019, but the 2020 competition. 

“Equally as frustrating is the lack of a clear timeline regarding our admission into the AFLW competition. 

“We have already, and will continue to lobby the league for clarity on the timeline and we will do everything within our power to ensure Hawthorn satisfies all AFLW licence entry criteria.  

“Our commitment, dedication and desire to see women wearing the brown and gold in the AFLW has not wavered.

“We are one of the largest and highly regarded sporting and community clubs in Australia and have a great responsibility to drive greater involvement of girls and women in sport.

“As such we will continue to develop our existing female talent pathways and grow female participation in not only our game, but all sport.”

The club would like to thank the many men, women, boys and girls who contributed to Hawthorn’s AFLW submission.