The Carlton Football Club has today welcomed an exciting 2020 AFL fixture that features something for every Bluebagger.

The Blues will take centre stage in a blockbuster start to the year that will see them face traditional rivals Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood, all in the opening nine weeks of the season.

The Round 3 home game against Essendon, the Club’s second in three weeks under the Thursday night lights, will be played in the middle of school holidays and is set to attract a massive crowd at the MCG.

All Blues fans must pencil in Round 9 against the old enemy Collingwood: the historic match-up is set to feature a 50-year celebration of the unforgettable 1970 premiership.

Another feature of a packed start to the season will be in Round 2 when the Blues host their first ever AFLW and AFL double-header at Marvel Stadium. This will see the women take on the Dockers at 1:10pm, before the men face the Dogs at 4:35pm in what will be a true Bound By Blue afternoon.

Looking at the fixture as a whole, Bluebaggers will once again be able to enjoy similar timeslots off the back of a season that saw the Carlton faithful reach incredible numbers – highlighted by an average home attendance of 46,755 in 2019, the fifth largest in the Club’s history.

The Blues will once again play five Sunday afternoon home games, a timeslot that attracted an average home attendance of 40,000 last season. Three of these games in 2020 will be against Victorian rivals Richmond, Collingwood and Hawthorn.

Saturday home games will be spread across a variety of times this year to allow all members and supporters to get to the football –one on Saturday afternoon, two Saturday twilights and one Saturday night game.

Carlton will play Richmond, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne, St Kilda and Sydney twice and will not leave Melbourne in the final seven weeks of the season.

There are five interstate games in total, one fewer than last year, however interstate members and supporters also have plenty to be pleased about. David Teague and his side will travel to Sydney, Western Australia and the Gold Coast, while South Australian Bluebaggers receive a double dose for the first time since 2009, with their team coming to town on two occasions (Rounds 7 and 10).

Carlton will once again have eight games broadcast on Channel Seven while 13 games will be available on Fox Footy, with the final round of the season once again a floating fixture.

Carlton CEO Cain Liddle said the Club was delighted to offer its members a variety of timeslots while seizing the opportunity to feature in several marquee matches throughout the year.

“We could not be more excited for the 2020 season after receiving today’s fixture, with massive games and a spread of timeslots to suit our growing membership base,” Liddle said.

“Our annual season opener against the Tigers will once again be one of the most anticipated games on the footy calendar. To host our three traditional rivals in Richmond, Essendon and Collingwood as home games in 2020 is a great outcome for our members and obviously helps the Club in a commercial sense. We have worked with the AFL and Essendon on an Easter school holidays Thursday night blockbuster for more than 12 months. We look forward to supporters of both teams getting behind that game.

“Round 2 will also be a historic day, for the first time ever on a match day our club will truly come together as one to see both our AFL and AFLW sides in action at Marvel Stadium.

“We have also retained five Sunday afternoon home games, which our members and supporters attended really strongly in 2019, while our spread of Saturday timeslots next year gives all our Victorian-based fans an opportunity to be part of what has become an incredible atmosphere at Carlton games.

“The chance to head around the country once again allows our huge interstate following to share the journey with us. Our TV scheduling provides a fantastic opportunity to continue our close work with broadcast partners Channel Seven and Fox Footy in taking the Carlton brand to a national audience in 2020.

“Well done to Marcus King and his team at the AFL. Our destiny has been put in our own hands from both a commercial and a football perspective and we look forward to making our members proud in 2020.”

Carlton memberships for the upcoming 2020 season are available now, click here to join, renew or request a call.