AFL Commission meeting: Shaping football for the next 10 years

[Diamond_Jim 11,736]

AFL Commission meets tonight. Three items on the agenda but as I understand it they are information items and not for decision at this stage:

1. Tasmanian Team

2. TV rights deal (won't be as much as they hoped)

3.The next AFL CEO ( tipped to be Andrew Dillon)

Club presidents will meet later this month to hear the AFL recommendations.

A big month for the future of the game

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,394]

Should be an interesting meeting. However, I'm disappointed that your heading isn't actually what the AFL Commission is doing. At least, not specifically. I think the idea of developing a 10-year strategy plan is exactly what the Commission should be looking at. The first two items could be a part of that, although the future of broadcasting/streaming and future technologies needs to be a strategic matter which is more than just the new rights deal.

Other significant topics which should be addressed in a 10-year strategy plan include:

• growth of the game, particularly in the northern states
• the rules of the game
• player health and welfare (including, but not just limited to concussion). This should include during and post-playing careers
• umpiring
• grass-roots footy, junior footy, women's footy
• inclusiveness, including indigenous, gay and disabled players and supporters
• governance at the Commission level
• stadium quality (infrastructure and service quality, including food and beverage, etc) 
• international growth
• protection from competing codes and other recreational activities
• gambling (including sports betting and poker machines)
• game scheduling (which days? what times? etc)
• consumer costs, including ticketing, memberships, transport to/from games, food and drinks at grounds, etc 

I'm sure there's plenty more.

Edited August 15, 2022 by La Dee-vina Comedia
typo

[Diamond_Jim 11,736]

2 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

• international growth
•  

Now there's something we haven't seen for a few years.

Kochie's Showdown in Shanghai is dead (if it ever lived)

Sheedy's LA dreaming may get some media time

Which club(s) will be the bunny to play in New Zealand... (Saints an almost certainty)

Having been pre-covid to Eden Park in Kolkata it could make a good venue (problem is most of the AFL season is unbearably hot in India)

Will a Sheikh pay us to play

Ah... dreams

[Bates Mate 3,818]

Grass roots footy, absolutely particularly in the bush. I attend lots of local games both in the suburbs and the bush and the facilities at 90% of clubs are horribly old and not really fit for purpose. That's without even considering the additional facilities needed for women's teams. 

Also lack of umpires in local comps is a major issue. 

But suspect they'll spend all their time on how to spend the tv money and extracting more from government's too make/renovate AFL stadiums

 

 

[Diamond_Jim 11,736]

Just now, Bates Mate said:

Grass roots footy, absolutely particularly in the bush. I attend lots of local games both in the suburbs and the bush and the facilities at 90% of clubs are horribly old and not really fit for purpose. That's without even considering the additional facilities needed for women's teams. 

 

Only way you see movement in this area is to remove the function from the AFL and at the same time decide how it is funded.

Problem is that if it is a government type body it will be fighting other codes and both cricket and AFL are high cost per player sports compared to basketball,netball and even soccer ( 3 soccer fields to one AFL arena)

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,394]

31 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Only way you see movement in this area is to remove the function from the AFL and at the same time decide how it is funded.

Problem is that if it is a government type body it will be fighting other codes and both cricket and AFL are high cost per player sports compared to basketball,netball and even soccer ( 3 soccer fields to one AFL arena)

I've asked this question before: What is "AFL"? Is it:

1. the type of football we play? (I would say, no, it's called Australian Football or Australian Rules Football. Nevertheless, it's called AFL in many places these days, including NSW and Queensland)
2. the Commission which runs the whole code from top to bottom?
3. the 18-team professional men's competition?   

I think one of the decisions of the 10-year strategy plan should be whether the AFL Commission should be responsible for the whole code AND the 18-team professional men's competition, or whether those two responsibilities should be separated leaving the AFL Commission to administer the code and a separate organisation to run the 18-team professional men's competition just like there's an organisation to run the equivalent women's competition.