AFL
An emphasis on involving newcomers to the sport of football
Client
AFL
Agency
Bound
Workshop, UX Testing, UI Design
Category
Background
The AFL is Australia’s premier professional Australian rules football league, evolving from the Victorian Football League, founded in 1896. Renamed the AFL in 1990 to reflect its national reach, it now features 18 teams from across the country, with Tasmania joining in 2028. Known for its high-energy game play and passionate fan base, the AFL is a cornerstone of Australian sports culture.
The Problem
With competition from other professional sports, the AFL aims to reach a broader audience by expanding its brand into more regions of Australia. New South Wales and Queensland are key focus areas, as these states are perceived to have limited awareness of the sport despite hosting multiple AFL teams. The AFL recognises that much of this audience is new to the game, and its current offerings are not well-suited to those with little knowledge of the sport.
My Role
In collaboration with another designer, we led the AFL’s new initiative. My role included co-facilitating a lean UX workshop, conducting user interviews, designing UI prototypes, and refining them based on feedback. Upon completion, we presented our findings and recommendations to the wider team, offering strategies to expand their audience in the targeted regions.
The workshop took place over a day, with 25 AFL staff members from various departments taking part in the focus group, offering a wide range of insights on making an impact. This set a solid foundation, allowing us to explore ways to enhance the digital experience for casual fans.
By the end, we discovered that the current homepage and app are primarily focused on the avid fan. An improved version will address this by creating a more inclusive and well-rounded digital experience for a broader audience.
Lean UX Workshop
After analysing several scenarios with the larger group, we identified key takeaways and universal needs to engage casual fans with the sport and relevant content.
These needs are centered around providing users with opportunities to connect with the sport. The three core hypotheses that emerged from the session were diversified engagement, a positive match day experience, and increased participation.
Based on these insights, our focus for the new prototype will be on testing three key enhancements: a streamlined design and navigation, a matchday planner and booking widget, and an enhanced AI search feature.
Workshop Takeaways
Adopting a truly human-centered approach, we collaborated with a multicultural group of participants who were new to both Australia and the sport of AFL. This allowed us to gain authentic insights into their needs and expectations. Through this process, we developed a deeper understanding of what newcomers and casual fans look for when interacting with AFL’s platform. Based on their feedback, we refined our prototype to enhance usability and accessibility.
Following each testing session, participants completed a survey that captured collective ratings of the experience. The overall ratings were strong, providing valuable insights into opportunities for improvement and potential next steps for further engagement with the AFL.
Prototype Testing
45
/50
Did you find the AFL match booking widget useful?
39
/50
Did the new AFL Play widget meet your needs and prove useful?
Did the refined AFL digital experience meet your needs?
38
/50
38
/50
How likely are you to attend a game after the new AFL Homepage exp?
36
/50
Did you find the new AFL homepage
easy to navigate?
22
/50
How likely are you to search for something directly in the AFL site?