An AFL quarter lasts for 20 minutes of actual playing time. However, with stoppages (such as injuries, goals, or the ball going out of bounds), the clock is stopped and then restarted, so the real-time duration of a quarter typically runs between 25 to 30 minutes. This means while the "playing time" is always 20 minutes per quarter, the total time elapsed including stoppages is roughly 30 minutes on average per quarter.
To summarize:
- Playing time per quarter: 20 minutes
- Real-time duration including stoppages: Approximately 25-30 minutes
- There are four quarters in a match, making total playing time about 80 minutes, but with stoppages total match time is usually about 2.5 to 3 hours including breaks.
