More girls than ever are picking up the football in Western Australia, with new figures obtained exclusively by The West Australian revealing a surge in participation over the past year.

The number of female players in Auskick programs rose by around five per cent, from 2478 to 2603, while community juniors also reported an uptick from 8432 to 8870.

That helped WA reach a record-high 16,790 women and girls in football programs across the state in 2025, an overall growth of around six per cent, according to WA Football.

The steady rise comes as the AFLW, now in its 10th and biggest season to date, continues to inspire the next generation of female sports stars to lace up their boots.

And with more girls than ever involved at grassroots level, the next challenge now becomes keeping them

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