The Victorian Blind Football League (VBFL) and Victorian Wheelchair Football League (VWFL) are back in action for 2025, with both competitions hosting a pre-season carnival this weekend as their teams prepare for Round 1 in the coming weeks.
The VWFL is entering its eighth season in 2025, with wheelchair teams from five AFL clubs: Richmond, Collingwood, St Kilda, Hawthorn and Essendon playing in two divisions, the Championship and Community divisions.
Round 1 for both divisions will commence on Friday 16 May at the State Netball and Hockey Centre.
The 2025 season consists of 10 rounds, followed by three weeks of finals, with the Grand Final to be played on Sunday 17 August at the State Netball and Hockey Centre. This season will also feature four women's exhibition matches played in Rounds 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9, directly after the Championship Division games in each of those rounds.
There will be a Dreamtime match celebrated in Round 5, when Essendon host Richmond at The NEC Hangar on Friday 20 June, and the Wheelchair NAB AFL Auskick will also run throughout the season, supported by the VWFL players (click here for more information on Wheelchair Auskick).
The VBFL was launched in 2018, providing participants with a vision impairment the opportunity to play AFL in a regular competition, with teams from Hawthorn and St Kilda AFL Clubs. In 2024, Port Melbourne Football Club joined the competition, becoming first VFL club in history to have a blind team competing in the VBFL, marking another big step in the continued development of the competition.
Hawthorn will be chasing a three-peat in 2025, and after the success of last year, there will be more Friday night games in 2025!
Round 1 of the VBFL will commence on Friday 9 May at Game On Indoor Sports Centre, Tullamarine.
VWFL Round 1 Fixture - Friday 16 May, State Netball and Hockey Centre
Championship Division
7pm - Essendon v St Kilda
8pm - St Kilda v Richmond
Collingwood (BYE)
Community Divison
7pm - Hawthorn v Richmond
8pm - Essendon v St Kilda
Collingwood (BYE)
VBFL Round 1 Fixture - Friday 9 May, Game On Indoor Sports Centre, Tullamarine
6:30pm - Port Melbourne v Hawthorn
7:30pm - St Kilda v Hawthorn
8:30pm - Port Melbourne v St Kilda
FULL FIXTURES BELOW
