The AFL has announced it has entered an agreement with independent sports media syndicator Crocmedia to acquire the sporting league’s publications business.

The deal will see Crocmedia become responsible for the AFL Record publication – the official match program for more than 100 years – from next season.

Crocmedia will produce all weekly match-day magazine content, including the AFL match day record, AFLW publications, the AFL season guide, JLT community series, AFLX, International Rules series, along with the AFL Finals and Toyota AFL grand final edition.

The AFL Record has been the official match program for more than 100 years.

Kylie Rogers, general manager of commercial at the AFL, said the agreement will ensure the AFL Record remains a core part of the match-day experience for footy fans.

“The AFL Record is an essential part of the experience of attending a footy match,” she said.

“Crocmedia is a leader in content production and publishing. They will ensure the AFL Record continues to evolve, grow and succeed.”

Having considered a number of opportunities, including a range of external options, Rogers said the AFL accepted Crocmedia’s bid based on their aspiration to ensure the AFL Record remains a key part of the game-day experience.

“Crocmedia’s tender for this much-loved magazine was exceptional. They respect the heritage of being able to mark the goals down next to your favourite player, paired with a strong vision for its future innovation and national reach,” she said.

“We look forward to seeing the AFL Record remain an essential part of match day and where Crocmedia will take it.”

Crocmedia CEO Craig Hutchison said the acquisition represented a key strategic opportunity to deepen the company’s association with the AFL.

“The AFL Record is one of the oldest magazines in Australia, so it’s a great privilege to become its custodian into the future,” he said.

“It complements our broader suite of AFL assets including our flagship AFL Nation game-day call, and allows us exciting opportunities to integrate our brand partners across multiple touchpoints to connect with footy fans.

“We have aspirations to grow the Record’s reach while honouring its iconic past. We’ll continue to ensure that footy fans get all the insight, team stats, match previews and exclusive features that they’ve come to know and love – and that it remains a much-loved part of our footy fabric.”

The AFL Record has been produced by AFL Media for the last seven years, having previously been licensed to Slattery Publishing. The AFL Record will continue to be produced by AFL Media until this year’s grand final edition.