AFL officials say the 2026 schedule reflects collaboration between clubs, broadcasters, and venues to optimise fan engagement.

The AFL has confirmed the fixture for the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, outlining a national schedule that expands Seven’s free-to-air coverage and continues Foxtel and Kayo’s live broadcast of every match.

For the first time, Opening Round will include a Victorian match, with St Kilda hosting Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday, 8 March, rounding out a four-game weekend that begins when Sydney faces Carlton at the SCG on Thursday, 5 March. Both of those fixtures will air live on Seven and 7plus Sport, while the remaining two matches — Gold Coast v Geelong and Brisbane v Western Bulldogs — will be broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo.

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Round One then returns to tradition, opening with Carlton v Richmond at the MCG on Thursday, 12 March, followed by Essendon v Hawthorn on Friday night, both on Seven. The weekend’s remaining matches, including Geelong v Fremantle, Sydney v Brisbane, and Gold Coast v West Coast, will be shown exclusively on Foxtel and Kayo.

Seven strengthens prime-time presence

The Seven Network will deliver its largest AFL broadcast schedule to date in 2026, featuring more Sunday night fixtures than ever before. In addition to the long-running Thursday Night Footy, Friday Night Footy, and Sunday Afternoon Footy line-up, Seven will add several exclusive Sunday night games, starting with the St Kilda v Collingwood clash in Opening Round.

Seven will continue to broadcast all major events, including Anzac Day, Easter Monday, Dreamtime at the ’G, the King’s Birthday Big Freeze, the Good Friday Superclash, and the Grand Final.

Gary O’Keeffe, Head of AFL and Sport Innovation at the Seven Network, said the 2026 fixture would give fans even greater access to the competition.

“2025 marked a landmark year for Seven’s AFL broadcast and we cannot wait to deliver an epic 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport.

“As well as continuing our strong line-up of prime-time Thursday and Friday Night Footy and Sunday Afternoon Footy, this year we’ve got more Sunday night games than ever before.

“Much like 2025, next year there will be AFL content to watch or stream on Seven and 7plus Sport every day of the week.”

In addition to live matches, 7plus Sport will feature Club Hubs, highlights, replays, and magazine programs such as The Agenda Setters, Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan, and The Front Bar, giving the network a continuous presence across the season.

Foxtel and Kayo exclusive matches

Foxtel and Kayo Sports will again carry every game of the season live, with exclusive rights to multiple Saturday fixtures, Sunday twilight matches, and Friday double-headers.

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The pay-TV platforms will air five rounds featuring dual Friday night games, enabling simultaneous coverage in different states. Those include the Round 6 Sydney Derby between the Swans and Giants at the SCG, which will run alongside Geelong v Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium.

Foxtel and Kayo will also have exclusive access to a range of marquee games throughout the year, including:

Brisbane v Western Bulldogs at the Gabba in Opening Round.

Geelong v Fremantle at GMHBA Stadium in Round One.

West Coast v Fremantle in the first Western Derby (Round Six).

Adelaide v Port Adelaide in the first Showdown (Round Eight).

Gold Coast v Port Adelaide from Darwin during Sir Doug Nicholls Round (Round Ten).

Fremantle v St Kilda at Optus Stadium on Dreamtime weekend (Round Eleven).

All matches in Rounds 16 to 24 remain as floating fixtures, with Foxtel and Kayo confirmed to televise every game live, while final allocations for free-to-air broadcasts will be determined mid-season.

AFL balances club and broadcaster requests

AFL Head of Strategy and Scheduling Josh Bowler said the fixture reflected extensive collaboration between clubs, broadcasters, and venues.

“We get requests through from clubs, broadcasters, venues and some state governments, so we’ve got to balance all of that and start to prioritise all of those things,” Bowler told SEN Afternoons.

“It takes about a month to work through how we prioritise all of those things to deliver a great fixture for fans. We probably go through between 50 and 100 different versions that we tweak and tinker with across the journey.”

Bowler confirmed that five rounds will feature Friday night double-headers and that Thursday night football will again be reviewed after Round Nine to determine if additional games are scheduled later in the season.

“Thursday nights have been a great success, and they’re very similar in TV ratings to Friday nights,” he said.

“We’ll continue to monitor that through the season and make the call around Round Nine on what we’re going to do for the back part of the year.”

Traditional fixtures maintained

The league will again stage the major marquee events that punctuate the AFL calendar. Brisbane will host Collingwood on Easter Thursday, followed by North Melbourne v Carlton on Good Friday and Hawthorn v Geelong on Easter Monday, all live on Seven.

Anzac Round (Round Seven) will feature four matches on Friday, 24 April and Anzac Day, highlighted by Essendon v Collingwood at the MCG, and Fremantle v Carlton at Optus Stadium, with coverage split between Seven and Foxtel/Kayo.

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The King’s Birthday weekend (Round Thirteen) will also feature heavy free-to-air exposure, including Sydney v St Kilda, Essendon v Carlton, and the traditional Big Freeze match between Collingwood and Melbourne on Monday, 8 June.

Bye rounds and travel

The bye rounds will occur across Rounds 12 to 16, with each weekend containing at least seven games. Matches will again be staged in Canberra, Bunbury, Alice Springs, Hobart, and Launceston as part of the league’s commitment to national access.

Bowler said the structure aimed to reduce fixture overlap and maintain crowd numbers.

“We ultimately hear a lot of feedback around wanting less overlapping games in the fixture. Bye rounds deliver that,” he said.

“This current bye structure has delivered record viewership and record crowds for the game over a number of years.”

The 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season begins on Thursday, 5 March, when the Sydney Swans host Carlton at the SCG, live on Seven and 7plus Sport.

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