AFL Record

The AFL Record is the official program available at Australian Football League (AFL) matches. The publication began as the Football Record in Melbourne, Australia in 1912, making it one of the oldest magazines in Australia.

The publication is also known affectionately by fans as the Footy Record and many other leagues have since adopt a similar format and produce their own "footy record".

The AFL Record, in its current format, is published and produced by the Slattery Media Group. As of 2009, the editor of the AFL Record is Peter DiSisto.^[1]

History

The publication began as the Football Record in Melbourne, Australia on 27 April 1912,^[2] making it one of the oldest magazines in Australia. It was initially formatted as a pocketbook guide to assist spectators of matches when the league was known as the VFL. The guide helped identify players on the field. As only their numbers were worn on their guernseys, the record contained a list of player names so that spectators could tell who is who.^[3]

Over time, the record included a section for keeping track of how many goals and behinds players have kicked while the game is being played and this became a traditional pastime of many footy spectators, something which is fairly unique to the game. Special interest articles were also added, as well as scores, reports and updates from other leagues around the country.

The AFL Record was known as the Football Record until 1998, and in 1999 the current title was adopted.^[3]

Today's Record

Today's official AFL Record is published in a sports magazine style format. Nine different versions (one for each game) are published for each weekly round (60,000 copies in total) and Roy Morgan Research estimated in 2014 that the Record has a weekly readership of over 200,000.^[4]

To reduce costs, the format for the record changed in the 1990s with the advent of the national league to include an outer magazine which covers regular columns and stories about the entire league and an insert with specifics on the current game such as teamsheets and scoresheets.

With the advent of themed rounds in the AFL, the record is often themed accordingly, with issues such as "Women's round", for example, containing articles about women's involvement in the game.

The Grand Final Record is typically more expensive, and is distributed in newsagents as well as at the game.

As of 2009, the week's records are now published and are able to be viewed in an "online magazine" format.^[5]

Publication details

• AFL record: official program of the Australian Football League. ISSN 1444-2973. 1999- to current date
• Football record 1912-1998. ISSN 1324-8340 Victorian Football League, -1989; Australian Football League, 1990-1998.

Vol.1 no.1 (27 Apr. 1912)-v. 87, no.26 (26 Sept. 1998).

References

External links

• AFL Record online
• Football record at the State Library of Victoria
• The Slattery Media Group
• B&T: AFL Record kicks revenue goal