AFL-EnergyAustralia low-carbon future pact

Article posted by Coliseum, April 7^th, 2026

Image: Marvel Stadium

The Australian Football League (AFL) has recently announced a landmark five-year partnership with EnergyAustralia with the leading energy retailer joining as the official energy partner of the AFL, the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) and the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

‘marvelstadium.com.au’ stated that the partnership marks a significant step forward in the AFL’s Sustainability Strategy.

Melbourne (Australia)-based the Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional competition of the Australian Rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA) with its inaugural season in 1897.

The Australian Rules football, also called Australian football or Aussie Rules or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the ovoid ball between the central goal posts (worth six points) or between a central and outer post (worth one point otherwise known as a ‘behind’).

The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian Rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from the clubs based in the Eastern States of Australia: Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Queensland including the reserves teams for the Eastern State AFL clubs.

The Victorian Football Association (VFA) was formed in 1877 including the Senior and Junior teams. The teams in the VFA have varied over the years and at least 50 different clubs have competed in the VFA competition.

Melbourne (Australia)-based EnergyAustralia lead and accelerate the clean energy transformation for all. They keep the lights on for the customers today through their energy generation facilities powered by coal, gas and renewables combined with large-scale storage. And EnergyAustralia leading the delivery of the clean energy system of the future with projects that will provide flexible generation and enable the growth of the renewables. It is making the transition simple for its 1.6 million customers.

Melbourne (Australia)-based the AFL Women’s (AFLW) is Australia’s national professional Australian Rules football competition for the female players. The first season of the League in February and March 2017 had eight teams, the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020, and 18 teams in 2022. The League is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition.

The 56,347-seat Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as the Marvel Stadium, is a multipurpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was completed in 2000 at a cost of A$460 million ($930 million in 2023 terms). The stadium features a retractable roof and the ground level seating can be converted from oval to rectangular configuration.

‘marvelstadium.com.au’ further stated that in 2025, the AFL formalized its commitment to transition its major operations to renewable electricity sourcing. Since January 1^st, 2026 the energy supply to the Marvel Stadium and the AFL House (sports venue located in Melbourne) has been matched with renewable energy under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the surrender of the Large-Scale Generation Certificates on an annual basis from the Golden Plains Wind Farm located in Victoria which is owned and operated by Tag Energy.

TagEnergy generates and trades competitive, clean power to accelerate the energy transition. Created in 2019, TagEnergy’s ambition is to create value by combining the large-scale renewable assets with an energy management platform, dispatchable technology and the use of innovative financial instruments. This model enables TagEnergy to deliver clean, competitively-priced, reliable energy to the end users.

The transition represents one of the AFL’s most material emissions-reduction initiatives to date. By shifting to renewable electricity sourcing across its two largest operational sites the AFL will significantly reduce its market-based Scope 2 emissions (indirect Greenhouse Gas [GHG] emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by a company) associated with purchased electricity thus strengthening progress towards reducing the organization’s overall carbon footprint.

The initiative reflects the AFL’s broader ambition to be a leader within Australian sport demonstrating how the major venues and the organizations can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future.

To mark the commencement of the partnership recently the fans at the Marvel Stadium witnessed a powerful pre-game “blackout” activation ahead of the Round 1 clash between the Australian Rules football clubs – the Western Bulldogs and the GWS GIANTS.

The moment saw stadium lighting, light-emitting diode (LED) signage and big screens powered down before being brought back to life in EnergyAustralia green. The activation was integrated into the Fox Footy (Australian subscription television channel) and Kayo Sports broadcast.

As part of the partnership, EnergyAustralia will also invest in community football by supporting the development of the local energy infrastructure at the grassroots clubs with further details to be announced.

Observed Bec Haagsma, AFL Executive General Manager Customer, Commercial and Technology, “EnergyAustralia is a natural partner for the AFL as we continue to embed sustainability across our competitions, venues and operations at the AFL House. The partnership will also help creating meaningful opportunities to engage the fans and support grassroots football through energy initiatives which we are excited to launch and roll out through the year.”

Said Scott Fitzgerald, Marvel Stadium General Manager (GM), “The Marvel Stadium is the most dynamic stadium in Australia and operates 365-days-a-year and to partner with EnergyAustralia to power the stadium is a significant step forward for both our operations and the fan experience. The Marvel Stadium is proud to work together on initiatives that not only support the AFL’s sustainability goals but also show what’s possible for major venues across Australia.”

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