The AFL has announced the launch of the AFL Gamers Network today. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the AFL has suspended the 2020 season and has turned to streaming in order to allow players and fans to connect. The AFL Gamers Network will include some of footy’s top players, streaming on YouTube, playing video games and chatting with fans.
According to the AFL, the AFL Gamers Network is “a platform where players from across the league are going to join and stream their sessions on YouTube.” The first broadcast will take place on Thursday, April 23 at 6 pm AEST.
Designed to grow the gaming profiles of some of footy’s stars, the AFL Gamers Network is a way to keep connected during isolation. Players featured will have a passion for gaming and competition. Competitive games are definitely on the agenda.
AFL Gamers Network
Over 30 players have already signed up to stream, including St Kilda’s Zak Jones. Jones said;
I’m excited to join the AFL Gamers Network because it’s a good opportunity to meet other athletes and have a good competition against them.
I really got into it (gaming) about five years ago and started playing a bit of Fortnite and getting competitive.
Jones is a PS4 player and thinks fans will get a kick out of watching footy players square off against each other.
“Fans should tune in to watch us on the Network because it’ll be exciting to see our reactions. We’re pretty competitive people and it’ll be exciting to see how much we rage and how competitive we really get.
I think it’s exciting to see guys competing against each other,” he said.
Other players signed up to appear include Collingwood’s Jamie Elliot and Melbourne midfielder Jack Viney. Elliot, Viney and Jones will headline Thursday night’s launch event which will run for two hours.
Elliot agreed with Jones that playing games against other footy players on YouTube will generate some good rivalries. He also said that fans should tune into the stream to have “a chat, ask questions and see if we’re any good at gaming.”
Since he’s been playing since he was six years old, on the Super NES, Elliot should be pretty good. It will be interesting to find out.
Fans can look forward to seeing these players streaming Call of Duty, Fortnite, FIFA and more.
The AFL says the platform is designed for fans to engage with the players and see them react live. The plan is to evolve the Network moving forward too, so fan feedback will be an important factor in shaping things.
The AFL Gamers Network launches on Thursday, April 23 at 6 pm AEST on the AFL Gamers Network YouTube Channel.
For more information and to stay up to date on all the latest from the AFL Gamers Network, check out the following;
- INSTAGRAM: @AFLGamers
- TWITTER: @AFLGamers
- FACEBOOK: @AFLGamersNetwork
