Select AFL Card Sets by Year (1993–2025): The Complete List

MV Guides · AFL cards

Select Australia has been making AFL trading cards since 1993, and the set names change almost every year. That makes it surprisingly hard to work out exactly which set a card belongs to, and the exact set matters: a 2001 Select Authentic card and a 2021 Select Optimum card of the same player are completely different cards with very different values.

Here is every major Select AFL release by year, so you can identify your cards, search for them properly and compare like with like.

Select AFL sets, year by year

Compiled from public collector checklists (Gameday Trading Cards' Select library and Footy Card Guide). Some years also had smaller releases, team sets and promo cards not listed here. Spotted a gap? Let us know through the Contact form on MV.

How to tell which set your card is from

1. Turn the card over. The back usually shows the year and the Select logo, and often the set name.
2. Check the card number. Inserts and parallels often have their own numbering or a code (for example a letter prefix), different from the base set.
3. Look for a serial number like 23/50. Numbered cards are limited, and the print run (the "/50") is a big part of the value.
4. Note the insert or parallel name printed on the card (for example a signature card, a gem card or a numbered parallel). Two cards from the same set can be worth very different amounts.

Which eras collectors chase

From the mid-to-late 1990s, inserts, parallels and autographs became a big part of AFL cards, and that's when many of the most sought-after cards were made. The early 2000s produced some well-known autograph cards (2001 Select Authentic's Draft Pick Signatures are a good example), while the modern sets (Footy Stars, Optimum, Supremacy and the rest) are where today's rookies and short-print parallels come from.

Whatever the era, value comes down to the player, the exact set and parallel, the print run and the condition. A card's year alone tells you very little.

On MV, when you list an AFL card you choose the exact Select set from these lists, so buyers can find it and the Market Value guide only compares it with the same card.