Former Sydney CEO Andrew Ireland says studies have revealed the Swans are now Australia’s most popular club.
Along with being one of the most successful AFL teams in recent memory, Ireland credits the launch of the Swans Academy as a key reason for the uptick in fans.
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“The club is now the most popular club in Australia, it sort of snuck up on us a bit but all the polling from Morgan, Nielsen and the like, we have close to 1.3 million supporters,” Ireland told SEN SA Breakfast.
“You got clubs like Collingwood who are 800,050.
“One of the things people don’t appreciate in the stronger footy states is the establishment of the Swans Academy has made an incredible difference to footy in Sydney.
“I remember in the early days if you were a young bloke playing school footy in Sydney, you were probably looked down as if you’re playing a second class sport.
“It is seen as mainstream sport now.”