Number of NRL club members Australia 2023, by club

The NRL team membership for the 2023 season in Australia was led by Melbourne Storm, with 40,122 members as of December 2022. The Brisbane Broncos reported approximately 36,800 members at the time. Made up of 17 teams, the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) consists of teams from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand.

Aussie sports fans favor AFL over NRL

NRL club membership was lower than Australian Football League (AFL) club membership in 2022. Nonetheless, NRL teams still recorded millions of supporters, with both the Melbourne Storm and the Brisbane Broncos teams recording over one million supporters each that year. While NRL still trails behind the AFL, the NRL’s total annual revenue has continually risen significantly over the past decade, peaking at over 570 million Australian dollars in 2021.

Professional women’s sport is gaining momentum

Although male professional sport continues to dominate the spectator sporting scene in Australia, professional women’s sports are becoming increasingly popular. The Australian Football League Women’s, known as the AFLW, recorded its first season in 2017 and has since gained around 26 thousand paid club memberships across its 18 clubs. Similarly, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 hosted by Australia and New Zealand drew attention to women’s soccer. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 saw the largest total stadium attendance for women’s tournaments of all time, with ticket sales alone estimated to have generated around 70 million Australian dollars.