THE AFL has confirmed there will be 100 per cent capacity at stadiums in Victoria for the opening round of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
The season begins with the rematch of last year's Grand Final between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs on Wednesday night, with all 10 Victorian teams to play in Melbourne in the opening round of the season.
Carlton and Richmond will again clash on Thursday night, while St Kilda and Collingwood take centre stage on Friday night at Marvel Stadium.
Geelong plays Essendon in the annual Country Games on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, while Hawthorn and North Melbourne round out the Victorian footy festival on Sunday.
It comes under a new COVID-safe plan approved by the state government, with masks required to be worn when fans are moving around venues, but not while they are seated outdoors.
Fans have not attended AFL matches in Victoria since July last year, when a restricted crowd of less than 30,000 saw Collingwood beat Richmond at the MCG.
"We want to get big crowds back to the footy, the weekly ritual of being able to go to a game and the sense of community it creates, connecting families and friends is something we have missed in the state," AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.
"On behalf of the AFL I would like to thank the Victorian State Government, specifically Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula and Minister for Health Martin Foley for continuing to work with us and safely get as many fans back to the footy as possible.
"We have a big finish to our AFLW home and away season which again has been warmly embraced by fans and supporters across the state, rolling straight into our AFL season and the Grand Final rematch on the Wednesday night at the MCG.
"Our AFLW finals series and start of our AFL season is an exciting time for fans, we look forward to seeing crowds return to our venues in huge numbers as well as to all the surrounding business and venues that rely on footy and big events being staged across the city.
"Footy can hopefully help bring the heartbeat of the city back to Melbourne and back to the state of Victoria."
- with AAP
