The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. The club formed on 13 April 1859, making it the second-oldest AFL side after Melbourne and one of the oldest football clubs in the world.Official Website of the Geelong Football Club GFC History Retrieved on 10 June 2007.

In the 1860s, Geelong participated in a series of Challenge Cup competitions, and was a foundation member of both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897, now the national AFL.Rodgers, Stephen (1983) Every Game Ever Played p. i. Melbourne: Lloyd O'Neil The club won the Western District Challenge Cup in 1875, a then-record seven VFA premierships between 1878 and 1886, and six VFL premierships by 1963, after which it experienced a 44-year wait time until it won its next premiership, a grand final record 119-point victory in 2007. Geelong won a further three premierships in 2009, 2011 and 2022. The Cats have fierce competitive rivalries with Hawthorn and Collingwood.

Geelong play most of their home games at Kardinia Park in South Geelong (nicknamed the Cattery and known for sponsorship reasons as GMHBA Stadium) and play the remainder at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Geelong's traditional guernsey colours are white with navy blue hoops. The club's nickname was first used in 1923 after a run of losses prompted a local cartoonist to suggest that the club needed a black cat to bring it good luck. The club's official team song and anthem is "We Are Geelong".

Geelong fields a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), a senior women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and a reserves women's team in the VFL Women's (VFLW) competitions.

History

The club was founded in 1859 in the city of Geelong, Australia, and is the second oldest AFL club. It is believed to be the fourth oldest football club in Australia and one of the oldest in the world and among the most successful. Initially playing under its own rules, some of which, notably, were permanently introduced into Australian Football, it adopted the Laws of Australian Football in the early 1860s after a series of compromises with the Melbourne Football Club.

Geelong went on to play for most of its existence in the premier competitions, the first competition, the Caledonian Society Cup, a foundation club of both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897. The Cats have been the VFL/AFL premiers ten times, with four in the AFL era (since 1990) in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2022, to be the third most successful club over that stretch behind Brisbane and Hawthorn. They have also won ten McClelland Trophies, the most of any AFL/VFL club.AFL Tables Finishing Summary 1897–2006.

Many of the club's official records before 1920 have disappeared.

Club identity and culture

Guernseys

Geelong's traditional navy blue and white hooped guernsey has been worn since the club's inception in the mid-1800s. The design is said to represent the white seagulls and blue water of Corio Bay.

The team has worn various away guernseys since 1998, all featuring the club's logo and traditional colours.

Nickname Geelong has been nicknamed the Cats since 1923. Following a disappointing start to the season, the Melbourne Heralds sporting cartoonist, Samuel Garnet Wells, suggested that adopting a black cat as a mascot might bring the club good luck. A local entrepreneur seized on the idea, producing and selling badges featuring a black cat at games. Shortly afterward, Geelong won four consecutive games, cementing the cat in club folklore.

In earlier years, Geelong was often referred to as the Pivotonians, a name derived from the city's nickname, the Pivot. They were also called the Seagulls, in reference to Geelong's seaside location.

Songs Geelong's official club song, "We Are Geelong", is set to the tune of "Toreador" from Carmen, with lyrics written by former premiership player John Watts. For many years, only the first verse was performed at matches and following victories, but since the start of the 2025 season, the club has played both verses. The version used by the club was recorded by the Fable Singers in 1972.AFL Tunes to Remember The Melbourne Age, 23 July 2010 The lyrics are as follows:

We are Geelong, the greatest team of all We are Geelong; we're always on the ball We play the game as it should be played At home or far away Our banners fly high, from dawn to dark Down at Kardinia Park.

So! Stand up and fight, remember our tradition Stand up and fight, it's always our ambition Throughout the game to fight with all our might Because we're the mighty blue and white And when the ball is bounced, to the final bell Stand up and fight like hell!

In the 1980s and 1990s, Geelong experimented with alternative club songs, starting with Barry Crocker's "C'mon the Cats!" and followed by "Cat Attack", which the team ran out to during the 1992 Grand Final. However, these received an indifferent response from fans at the time, and the club returned to its traditional anthem. In 2022, the club revived "Cat Attack" for Retro Round and has continued to play it following victories at Kardinia Park.

Stadium and training facilities Geelong's administrative headquarters is its home stadium, GMHBA Stadium or also called Kardinia Park. The club trains here during the season, however it also trains at its alternate training venue, the Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct. The latter features an MCG-sized oval and is often used by the club in the pre-season, when Kardinia Park is being used for other events.

Rivalries Hawthorn

The rivalry between Hawthorn and Geelong is defined by two Grand Finals: those of 1989 and 2008. In the 1989 Grand Final, Geelong played the man, resulting in major injuries for several Hawks players, including Mark Yeates knocking out Dermott Brereton at the opening bounce. Hawthorn controlled the game, leading by approximately 40 points for most of the match. In the last quarter, Geelong almost managed to come from behind to win, but fell short by six points. In the 2008 Grand Final, Geelong was the heavily backed favourite and had lost only one match for the season, but lost by 26 points; Geelong then won its next eleven matches against Hawthorn over the following five years, under a curse, which was dubbed the "Kennett curse" that was attributed to disrespectful comments made by Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett following the 2008 Grand Final. It was later revealed that after the 2008 grand final, Paul Chapman initiated a pact between other Geelong players to never lose to Hawthorn again. The curse was broken in a preliminary final in 2013, after Paul Chapman played his last match for Geelong the previous week. Hawthorn went on to win the next three premierships. In 2016, Geelong again defeated Hawthorn in the qualifying final. In twenty matches among the two sides between 2008 and 2017, twelve were decided by less than ten points, with Geelong emerging victorious in eleven of those twelve matches.

Collingwood In 1925, Geelong won their first flag over Collingwood. In 1930, Collingwood defeated Geelong in the grand final making it four flags in-a-row for the Pies. Geelong later denied Collingwood three successive premierships in 1937, winning a famous grand final by 32 points.

The two sides played against each other in six finals between 1951 and 1955, including the 1952 Grand Final when Geelong easily beat Collingwood by 46 points. In 1953, Collingwood ended Geelong's record 23-game winning streak in the home and away season, and later defeated them by 12 points in the grand final, denying the Cats a third successive premiership.

Since 2007, the clubs have again both been at the top of the ladder and have met regularly in finals. Geelong won a memorable preliminary final by five points on their way to their first flag in 44 years. In 2008, Collingwood inflicted Geelong's only home-and-away loss, by a massive 86 points, but the teams did not meet in the finals. They met in preliminary finals in 2009 and 2010, each winning one en route to a premiership. They finally met again in a Grand Final in 2011, which Geelong won by 38 points; Geelong inflicted Collingwood's only three losses for the 2011 season.

Brisbane In the 2020s, Geelong and Brisbane have played each other in five finals (2020 Preliminary final, 2022 Preliminary Final, 2024 Preliminary final, 2025 2nd Qualifying Final and 2025 Grand Final). The current record in this time frame stands at 3 wins for Geelong and Brisbane with 2 wins. This includes Brisbane's most recent premiership in 2025, beating Geelong by 47 points in what was a dominant fashion during the 2nd half of play in front of a crowd of 100,022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Corporate Sponsorship At 100 years as of 2025, Geelong's sponsorship with the Ford Motor Company is one of the longest active sports sponsorship of any sports team in the world, with continuous sponsorship dating back to 1925. The sponsorship had previously been ratified as the longest in the world by the Guinness World Records, until a change in definitions.

In recent years, Geelong-based retail company Cotton On Group has become synonymous with the club. The company has manufactured on-field and other team merchandise since 2016. AFL Year Kit Manufacturer Major Sponsor Shorts Sponsor Bottom Back Sponsor Top Back Sponsor1925–1992 — Ford — — —1993 — Ford —1994–1996 — Ford1997–1998Adidas1999–2002Fila2003–2006Slazenger2007nib2008–2016ISC2017–2021Cotton OnGMHBA 2022–2023 Ford 2024–2025 Simonds 2026–present JD Sports Simonds

AFL Women's Year Kit Manufacturer Major Sponsor Shorts Sponsor Bottom Back Sponsor Top Back Sponsor 2019-21 Cotton On Ford Viva Energy Deakin University — 2022 (S6) Geelong Dairy 2022 (S7)–2023 Bulla Dairy Foods 2024–present Viva Energy

Supporter base

+ Table of club membership, with home attendance figures (since 1984) Season Members Average homeattendanceRef 1984 7,709 20,577 1985 7,718 19,463 1986 6,985 15,319 1987 6,981 20,462 1988 9,667 20,790 1989 7,760 29,296 1990 15,087 24,711 1991 11,356 23,525 1992 13,535 27,698 1993 15,500 26,920 1994 14,312 26,461 1995 15,922 25,317 1996 17,346 25,161 1997 18,858 28,324 1998 19,971 28,371 1999 21,032 24,840 2000 25,595 27,729 2001 25,420 27,093 2002 23,756 27,040 2003 24,017 25,971 2004 25,021 25,747 2005 30,821 27,783 2006 32,290 27,428 2007 30,169 31,547 2008 36,850 29,474 2009 37,160 30,069 2010 40,326 39,129 2011 39,343 35,401 2012 40,200 31,508 2013 42,884 36,650 2014 43,803 33,915 2015 44,312 29,582 2016 50,571 30,497 2017 54,854 35,111 2018 63,818 34,207 2019 65,063 33,405 2020 60,066 4,569 2021 70,293 14,262 2022 71,943 26,875 2023 82,155 31,271 2024 90,798 38,861 2025 92,379 35,439 202692,563 32,218

Players and staff

Current playing list and coaches

Officials President: Grant McCabe Vice President: Lyndsay Sharp Chief Executive Officer: Steve Hocking

Club records

Premierships and awards