The Geelong Cats have launched a dynamic campaign highlighting the significant impact of the Cats AFLW team ahead of the 2022 season.

The SHE IS FOOTBALL campaign demonstrates the athleticism, power, influence, connection and impact of the Cats Women's players. Imagery will run throughout the region, including billboards, advertising and scrolling messaging around Geelong, and throughout the club’s marketing collateral.

The campaign is led by Cats stars Meg McDonald, Nina Morrison, Amy McDonald, Georgie Prespakis, Georgie Rankin and Becky Webster.

“We are on an exciting journey with our AFLW team, and SHE IS FOOTBALL highlights the importance we place on the team, the program and women’s footy,” Geelong Cats CEO Steve Hocking said.

“We know that gender inequality still exists, so we are elevating the place of women and girls on and off the footy field.  This will help us continue to fight for a level playing field.

“While our women’s team is relatively new in terms of the club’s overall history, we see it as a critical element of our club. We will continue to work to raise the profile of our players and team, and look to bring more people to the game to see the skill, passion and pride of the women wearing the blue and white hoops."

Geelong captain Meg McDonald said there were clear messages the playing group wanted to get across and the SHE IS FOOTBALL campaign achieved that goal.

“We are here to compete and to show ourselves as athletic footballers, and that we are ready to take the next steps as a team. We are on a path towards greatness that we talk about as a football club,” McDonald said.

“Having the playing group involved in terms of how we see ourselves and how we want to be presented was an important part of this campaign. We really felt heard throughout the process.

“This campaign speaks to identity and how we are so many things, but ultimately we are footballers. That’s where the statement SHE IS FOOTBALL comes from.

“We landed on SHE, but we know the club is passionate about gender equality. As players, as supporters, as a club, we have different identities. We want to make sure that we are inclusive in representing the community and the club we are proud to play for. That’s why there are multiple iterations in the campaign in addition to SHE, including THEY, WE and I.

“This is aspirational, and the club is really backing us in, and it is reflected in the campaign. We are all excited to see this roll out.”

The club understands that gender identity can be diverse therefore we have also used inclusive language such as I, We and They in our branding in addition to She. Through diversity in our imagery, the Geelong Cats will continue to break the mould of what a woman playing football should look like.

The Geelong Football Club is committed to being a diverse and inclusive organisation, which is evidenced with their recently adopted Inclusion and Diversity framework in December 2021. It is working to ensure a welcoming place that seeks to engage respectfully with people with diverse experiences and backgrounds. The club believes this will deepen its understanding and appreciation of others, motivate people to embrace differences and make for a richer and more inclusive experience. As a result, the club will strengthen and grow.

The Cats launch their 2022 NAB AFL Women's season against North Melbourne Tasmania Kangaroos this Saturday at Arden Street. First bounce is at 5.10pm.