THE ALL-time AFL club membership record has been broken despite the COVID-19 pandemic limiting attendance, with 1,113,441 members signing up for the 2021 season.

It breaks the previous record set in 2019 of 1,057,572 and is a 12 per cent increase on last year's tally of 992,854.

An astonishing one in 23 Australians is a member of an AFL club, with a breakdown of 726,897 adults, 99,807 concessional members and 286,737 juniors. 

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Ten AFL clubs broke their all-time membership records: Brisbane, Carlton, Geelong, Gold Coast, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda, and West Coast Eagles.

West Coast and Richmond topped the 100,000 mark for the second and fourth time respectively, with the Eagles sitting at the top of the tree with 106,422 members.

AFLW memberships are also on the rise, with an all-time record of 25,782 set, topped by St Kilda and West Coast. The AFLW has had free access to its games up until this season, where tickets were $10.

The cut-off for club memberships was July 31, and 16 of the 18 clubs saw increases on last year.

>> CHECK OUT EVERY CLUB'S FINAL TALLY BELOW

"The connection that footy supporters have with their clubs is unmatched in world sport,” AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.

"The COVID pandemic has meant we have had another challenging season – border closures, crowd caps, no crowds, week-by-week fixtures, moving matches and even home games in different states – but the one constant has been the loyalty and unwavering support of members.

"On behalf of the AFL, I want to say thank you to every single person who has signed up this year."

2021 CLUB MEMBERSHIP TOTALS