COMPETITION for licenses in an inaugural national women's league is hotting up, with the Brisbane Lions the latest club to join the race.

The AFL is in the early stages of planning for a national women's competition to debut in 2017, but there is unlikely to be room for every club who wants a team to have one.

Initial thinking has the new competition featuring just six to eight teams at first – aligned with existing AFL clubs.

There is no formal process underway, but it didn't stop the Lions from submitting a proposal to the League this week.

"There's a real groundswell of support both inside and outside the club to make sure we are represented in the first-ever women's competition," Lions chief executive Greg Swann told the club's website.

"We've always been very interested in being part of it.’"

Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs are considered the frontrunners for spots because they already have female teams.

Last week Port Adelaide and Adelaide put their hands up, the Power signing Opals basketball player Erin Phillips to a prospective contract and the Crows adding the Northern Territory to the mix.

West Coast, Fremantle, Essendon and Carlton are among other clubs to have expressed interest in having teams.

The push for a national women's league intensified in 2015 after a two-game series involving the Demons and the Bulldogs, which included the first match on free-to-air television.