how many players in afl

An Australian Football League (AFL) team consists of 22 players during a match, which includes 18 players on the field and 4 players on the interchange bench who can be rotated in and out. Each AFL team generally has a squad of about 30 players including reserves to cover for injuries or other needs. At the highest professional level in AFL, the player list for each club can be around 38 to 40 senior players plus additional rookie players, totaling up to about 44 players on the club list. Overall, the AFL competition in 2025 consists of 18 teams, with each team fielding 22 players per game, leading to roughly 396 players on the field across the league in any match. Additionally, there are over 600,000 registered Australian football players across Australia, encompassing both professional and grassroots levels.