This year’s AFL grand final will be played in Perth at Optus Stadium.

The league has officially confirmed the biggest game of the season won’t be at the MCG for the second year running, due to Victoria’s COVID-19 case numbers.

The AFL has long remained committed to playing the match in front of a crowd.

“Western Australian footy fans are as passionate as any in the country, and the stadium in Perth with a capacity crowd of 60,000 in attendance will be an amazing spectacle,” CEO Gillon McLachlan said.

The match will be played on Saturday, September 25.

Press PLAY to listen to Premier Mark McGowan on Perth LIVE

It means there will be a weekend free of footy in the lead-up to the decider, which will allow the competing clubs to quarantine in Western Australia.

Premier Mark McGowan said it is a “historic moment for our state”.

“We have secured this event on our own terms, and we have ensured that we put in place the very strictest and strongest of protocols to protect West Australians,” he said.

“Happy, historic, exciting day for Western Australia, but of course tempered by the fact that our friends, relatives, brother and sisters in Victoria are going through a hard time.”

Press PLAY to hear the official announcement on Millsy at Midday 

(Photo: iStock by Getty Images.)