The AFL’s 2025 grand final will again be a daytime affair.

League bosses revealed the news on Tuesday, once again resisting calls to hold the game under the MCG lights.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL locks in start time for 2025 grand final.

7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said it was a win for the traditionalists and “for footy fans all over the country”.

“They have been calling for this for some time and the AFL has once again locked in an afternoon time-slot for this year’s grand final,” Cleary said.

“The AFL Commission today ratifying a 2.30pm bounce once again for the showpiece game of the season.”

Cleary said under the previous reign of AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, the idea of a twilight or nighttime grand final had been regularly floated.

“But in Andrew Dillon’s second year in charge, they’ve locked in once again 2.30pm for this year’s decider,” Cleary said.

“Of course, the only place you can watch it live, free and exclusive, is right here on the screens of Seven and 7plus.”

The debate over the AFL’s grand final time is an annual one.

Traditionalists prefer it as a day game while others are keen to have it under lights to enhance the entertainment acts and possibly improve TV ratings.

The AFL has had two sneak peeks at grand finals played out of the traditional timeslot.

In the COVID-affected year of 2020, the grand final was played at the Gabba at 6.30pm AEST (7.30pm AEDT).

Then, in the following year, all roads led to Perth’s Optus Stadium (due to the pandemic), and that grand final was played at 5.15pm AWST (7.15pm AEST).