Dockers supporters cannot buy a barrel of Woodside oil – but the fossil fuel company hopes to buy into fans’ loyalty.
When an oil and gas company buys logo space on an AFL jersey, it isn’t trying to convince fans to buy its products.
Fremantle Dockers supporters cannot, for example, go to their local service station to buy a barrel of Woodside Energy oil or a canister of its liquefied natural gas.
When Fremantle’s number one ticket holder, Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker, wore the team jersey with the Woodside logo covered on tour during his team’s finals push, it reignited demands to drop the oil and gas sponsor over its contribution to rising temperatures.
Companies like Woodside tend to sponsor sporting teams and community organisations to stockpile social capital, a reservoir of goodwill they can draw on to absorb the shock of inevitable public backlashes.
The Australian business arm of Indian conglomerate Adani, known as Bravus, sponsors the North Queensland Cowboys, positioning its brand alongside a regional club near its coalmine.
Prof Emma Sherry, dean of school of management at RMIT University, says companies that have “complex relationships” with local communities often direct money to sports because they hope to build on fans’ loyalty to their favourite teams.
When Woodside and Fremantle renewed their long-term sponsorship deal at the end of 2024, the oil and gas company included an awkwardly worded claim that the two WA-based organisations both had a “focus on sustainability”.
An investigation by climate communication charity, Comms Declare, found that coal, oil and gas companies are reaching children through schools, museums, science centres, sporting clubs, and other youth programs.