2020 AFL Grand Final
| 2020 AFL Grand Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 24 October 2020, time TBC | |||
| Stadium | The Gabba | |||
| Umpires | TBC | |||
| Ceremonies | ||||
| Pre-match entertainment | TBC | |||
| National anthem | TBC | |||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||
| Commentators | TBC | |||
| ||||
The 2020 AFL Grand Final will be an Australian rules football match contested at the Gabba in the central Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba, Queensland, between two teams yet to be determined on Saturday 24 October 2020. It will be the 124th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the 2020 AFL season. The grand final match has been delayed several weeks due to the suspension of the season stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time since the VFL was established in 1897, the grand final will be held outside the state of Victoria and will be the first to be held at night.
Background
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and venue change
In the originally released fixture for the 2020 season, the Grand Final was scheduled according to convention on the last Saturday in September (26 September, 2:30pm) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, the season, and the scheduling of the Grand Final, were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which began to spread in Australia in March 2020. Although the season restarted on 11 June, the fixture was under a constant cloud of uncertainty, and it was not until 2 September that arrangements for the Grand Final were finally announced.
The home-and-away season was shortened to 17 matches per club, instead of the originally intended 22,[1] and the season was suspended entirely for almost three months between 22 March and 11 June as Australia dealt with its first wave of the virus.[2] This adjusted fixture had the effect of delaying the end of the regular season until mid-September, and pushing the Grand Final back to a provisional date of 17 October.[3] The game was ultimately scheduled for 24 October, surpassing the 1923 VFL Grand Final (which was played on 20 October 1923) as the latest in the year ever to play the Grand Final.
The playing of the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as contracted until at least 2057,[4] was complicated by a second wave of the virus in Melbourne which commenced in July – which resulted in tighter border restrictions and local lockdowns and social distancing rules. All Victorian clubs left the state for the majority of the season, basing themselves primarily in Queensland,[5][6] and on 24 August it was announced that the MCG could not host the Grand Final.[7] The Gabba (officially referred to as the Brisbane Cricket Ground), home stadium of the Brisbane Lions and based in the central Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba, Queensland, was ultimately announced to host the match; Adelaide Oval was kept available as a back-up venue in the event of a virus outbreak in Brisbane. As part of negotiations, the deal to play the Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was extended by one year to 2058, and two extra home-and-away matches were granted to the ground in 2022 and 2023.[8] This will mark the first time ever that a VFL/AFL grand final will be played outside of Victoria, and the first time since 1991 that the match will be played away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[7]
In the lead-up to the announcement, it was widely reported that the league was strongly considering moving the match to a twilight or night time-slot to avoid a clash with major Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival races (the Caulfield Cup on 17 October or the Cox Plate on 24 October).[9] Ultimately, the match was confirmed the game was scheduled for the night to avoid the Cox Plate, the first time the match had not been played in the traditional afternoon timeslot.[8] The exact starting time is yet to be confirmed.
The Grand Final Eve public holiday, observed in Victoria, was shifted to 23 October in line with the adjusted date.[10]
Qualification
The top eight teams on the ladder at the conclusion of the home-and-away season will qualify for the 2020 AFL finals series, with the winners of the two preliminary finals to meet in the grand final.
Media coverage
Television
The match will be televised live throughout Australia on the Seven Network. The commentary team is not yet known.
Radio coverage
| Station | Region | Play-by-play commentators | Analysts and boundary riders |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFL Nation | National | TBC | TBC |
| Triple M | National | TBC | TBC |
| SEN Radio | Melbourne, Victoria & Adelaide, South Australia | TBC | TBC |
| 3AW | Melbourne, Victoria | TBC | TBC |
| K rock 95.5 | Geelong, Victoria | TBC | TBC |
Entertainment
The entertainment line-up has not yet been announced.
Scoreboard
| Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 October 2020 (6:30 pm) | v | The Gabba | |||
| Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
Norm Smith Medal: Television broadcast: Seven Network | ||||
References
- ^ "AFL coronavirus updates: Round one will commence this weekend". News.com.au. 18 March 2020.
- ^ "Richmond, Collingwood draw the opening game of the restarted AFL season, after players take a knee before game". ABC News. 11 June 2020.
- ^ "New AFL grand final date, crammed fixture revealed". The Age. 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Victoria's AFL stadiums set to receive $500m in state-funded upgrades, with grand final locked in at MCG until 2057". Fox Sports. 13 April 2018.
- ^ "AFL clubs rush to leave Victoria after premier's announcement". 7 News. 5 July 2020.
- ^ "AFL News: AFL Shake-Up Victoria Out For 2020 Season". So Perth. 15 July 2020.
- ^ a b "AFL grand final to be played outside Melbourne for first time in history, Daniel Andrews confirms". The Guardian. 24 August 2020.
- ^ a b "This is a win for Queensland: AFL reveals how QLD won race for historic Grand Final as key fixture details confirmed". Fox Sports. 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Eddie reveals bold vision for AFL Grand Final as QLD, WA battle for unique event". Fox Sports. 22 August 2020.
- ^ "Deal Done On MCG Grand Final Contract Extension". Government of Victoria. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
