The AFL has announced that Fremantle will play a pre-season exhibition match next year against an Indigenous All Stars team at Optus Stadium.

The match, scheduled for Saturday 15 February 2025, will mark the first time the Indigenous All Stars have played an AFL Club since 2015.

AFL’s Executive General Manager Inclusion and Social Policy Tanya Hosch made the official announcement in Perth on Tuesday morning explaining the importance of celebrating our Indigenous players in the game.

“It’ll be almost 10 years since we last held our Indigenous All-Stars game and we could not think of a better location and team to host this game,” Hosch said.

“This match will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous players and promote greater understanding and reconciliation across the entire AFL community.”

The Indigenous All Stars side will consist of 30 players from across the league and will include Fremantle forward Michael Walters, Fremantle captain Alex Pearce and new recruit Shai Bolton.

CEO Simon Garlick says the significance of the match is not lost on the Club.

“To run onto the field in this game is an incredible honour for the Fremantle Football Club,” said Garlick.

“Fremantle has such a proud history when it comes to Indigenous players representing our Club, not to mention the connections we have with communities all around WA and throughout Australia.

“We embrace the strong culture with Indigenous people that has helped make us the Club we are today, highlighted by more than two and a half thousand AFL games from 36 Indigenous players.”

Throughout Fremantle’s history, the Club proudly boasts 36 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men players, who have collectively played 2,559 AFL games, nearly 700 more than any other AFL Club. Fremantle also set an AFL record in 2017 by fielding eight Indigenous players against the Adelaide Crows.

In the AFLW, Fremantle has led the way in Indigenous representation with 11 Indigenous women listed by the Club, including eight players in the 2017 and 2018 seasons — more than double of any other club.

The February fixture will open the week of pre-season match simulation games across the AFL. It will count as one of the Club’s pre-season matches.

Fremantle will wear the Club’s inaugural Indigenous jumper, designed by former player Roger Hayden and Dr. Richard Walley in 2013.

Ticket information will be announced by the AFL and the Club in the coming weeks.