By Molly Magennis
The AFL has announced the 2022 VFL season will start on Saturday, March 26.
The home and away season will see 21 clubs from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria compete in a 18-game season across 22 rounds.
All clubs will have four allocated byes to provide an extra level of flexibility to adjust where required and each club will receive nine home matches
The 2022 fixture is set to be released after the release of the 2022 AFL fixture
AFL state League competitions manager Jennie Loughnan said that the VFL clubs are ‘pillars of Australian Football’ and that they have been missed during the past two interrupted seasons.
“Football is the heartbeat of communities across Australia and state-league football provides a strong link between the elite game and next tier of future stars. The return of VFL in 2022 provides excitement back to these communities who have been through a challenging period with limited football,” she said.
“Although we have to be vigilant, aware and responsible throughout the season, we cannot overstate the excitement of everybody connected to the VFL about the 2022 season.”
“Last season was devastating to everyone connected to community football. The stop-start nature of the competition made it challenging for all involved and the AFL is very proud of how all VFL clubs, players, officials, supporters and corporate partners managed through a difficult year and kept their communities engaged and connected. The VFL community is very important to the Australian Football ecosystem.”
