Wearing another hat I am also personally delighted to have been asked to speak here today. I do hope the invitation came as a result of my having the honour of being Chairman of the Essendon Football Club with some experience in football at varying levels and not in the hope of gaining a discount on the lunch. If it was the latter, then Ken Gannon is going to be bloody disappointed.
Australian Rules Football today is in some ways as strong as an ox but in other areas it is seriously at risk.
The administrators of the game at all levels will need to have both the wisdom of Solomon and nerves of steel if they are to get it right and what is more in my view they do not have a lot of time available to make the decisions and to implement them.
Here at Essendon we are indeed fortunate. My Board and I preside over a football club which is, with Carlton, the most successful on field performer in the AFL. 16 Premierships each and Essendon with the very real chance of a 17th this year.
Off the field we are also strong:
- a profit of $1.6 million in 2000
- cash reserves of some millions invested
- no debt and very adequate training facilities
- membership of some 35,000 plus in 2000
- two profitable Social Clubs operating 180 gaming machines in all
- a supporter base measured in excess of 750,000 throughout Australia and overseas.
An enviable position indeed. However, regrettably there are other clubs in financial difficulty.
As a result of our involvement in the AFL Competition we consider we have a very clear and deep knowledge of that organisation.
Our recent involvement in the VFL following the restructure of its competition at the end of 1999 has forced a fast learning curve as to the way that oraganisation is structured and how it operates. Regrettably I have only a peripheral knowledge of the bodies which comprise the VFL, such as Victorian Country Football League, Victorian Metropolitan Football League etc.
My personal knowledge of the VFL has been helped by my involvement in its antecedents, having played for ten years during the 60's in the VFA with the Prahran Football Club which disappeared from that competition some years ago. In my view a tragedy! To dispense with a club with in excess of 100 years of history in any competition should be avoided. Yet it happened and it well may happen again possibly at AFL Level, VFL level or any other competition around Australia.
Today the Australian Football League through its independent Commission is the powerhouse of Australian Football.
It has proclaimed itself as the Keeper of the code.
As such it has taken on a huge responsibility.
The Commission which was appointed by the Clubs has been given enormous powers, in fact much greater powers than a normal commercial board holds.
It therefore behoves the Commission to act fairly and openly as they use those powers:
- firstly for the good of the Australian Rules Football League National Competition and the sixteen constituent clubs which are its stakeholders.
- and secondly for the good of Football throughout Australia at every level in all States and Territories.
Sadly it is inevitable that at times these two responsibilities will create conflicting interests in all manner of ways.
For example;
Should the AFL commission provide more money to its 16 clubs if that will save a North Melbourne say, from oblivion, and when that means less money to be made available for development of the NSW Australian Football league
Or
Should more development money be given to Queensland and less to Tasmania? The variations seem endless.
Since the amount of money available is finite these are difficult decisions indeed.
Of one thing I am absolutely certain.
The Australian Football League Commission cannot and must not neglect football here in Victoria - the heartland of our great game. And in my view the current need for more development funds in this State is going to add to the decision conflicts of the Commission considerably.
Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a significant task ahead of football generally not just the AFL Commission.
Achievement of a satisfactory outcome will require the input and cooperation of administrators at State level such as the Victorian Football league, at competition level such as the Victorian Country Football League and at club level whether that be Essendon in the AFL, Frankston in the VFL, Mildura in the Sunraysia League or Aberfeldie in the Essendon District League.
The task is enormous and we will not see all the problems quickly fixed. Let me make a few comments today specifically about football here in Victoria. Just a few thought provokers which are my personal opinions..
Firstly, the decision to restructure the VFL following the termination of the AFL reserves competition was correct. It took some debate including the threat of Victorian AFL Clubs running there own competition, but in the end it did happen.
Today the Victorian Football League has in its playing ranks a greater array of talent than previously. The competition is stronger and therefore better than before. It allows clubs like Essendon and Carlton to compete in their own right, other AFL Clubs to combine with traditional VFL clubs and in other cases some VFL clubs to go it alone.
After only one year we have seen changes emerge which will operate in 2001 and there will no doubt be more refinement in the future. Progress has been good.
We believe it is important that the VFL should develop its own image and following. It must create a product and promote it so as to attract its own supporters. People who will hopefully support two clubs. One in the AFL National Competition and one in the State VFL Competition.
Interestingly, this is what happened in the old days.
When I was playing, Prahran regularly attracted crowds of 6,000 -8,000 on Sunday to play clubs like Port Melbourne or Dandenong etc.
They came because the VFA games provided entertainment and people liked to watch.
I am not advocating permitting open violence by a return to those so called ""bad old days"". But VFL most certainly can have its own special character.
It would be inappropriate for me today to comment about the various bodies which make up the Victorian Football League. I have little knowledge about them. I will however make some personal observations which may contribute to the debate which must inevitably take place.
A debate which we must hope and prey will ultimately result in a strong viable football structure here in Victoria.
Firstly the Victorian Football League should form an independent Commission to run all football in Victoria.
The Commissioners should not be appointed on parochial lines. The people chosen must bring to the table a range of skills including finance, legal, marketing etc. People who are knowledgeable about Victorian Football but who do not attain their Commission seat as appointees of any stakeholder body.Importantly I do NOT believe the AFL should have an appointee on the Commission.The AFL Commission must sit above each of the bodies which represent the States and Territories and control how much funding should go to game development in each. It holds control because it holds the purse strings.
Secondly, Victorian Football should form that body NOW. Don't wait any longer and do not allow it to be at the behest of any organisation.Appoint your commission and trust them. If it does not work, review it.
But get started!
Thirdly, I do not believe VFL clubs should be required to field a reserves side. It seems to me to create an extra unnecessary cost burden.Surely if it is good enough for AFL clubs to prune their lists and terminate the reserve competition it should apply to the VFL. Today in the AFL, Victorian Clubs select their senior side and send remaining players to the VFL.If VFL clubs abolished reserves, that would enable some players to return to more junior clubs in either the city or country and strengthen those competitions both permanently and on a weekly basis.Food for thought I hope.
Next a comment about the under 18 competition here in Victoria.It makes no sense to me at all that the under 18 competition should operate on a stand alone basis.In running that competition in this manner all the infrastructure costs of doing so are duplicating those of other organisations.
There must be two aims:
- teach the young talented kids how to play the game by providing them with first class facilities and coaching; and
- to do so in the most efficient and cost effective way possible.
Accordingly, I believe each of the under 18 sides should be attached to and administed by a senior club. I can see no reason to differentiate between such clubs other than on geographic terms and their capability to get the job done.
As there is no advantage available, per force of the AFL National draft arrangements, what would be wrong with a side coming here to Essendon or to Geelong?In our case all of the necessary administration is in place with our oval, gymnasium, swimming pool and in door training room.
Our facilities are second to none and will be further enhanced this year with the addition of a fully equipped lecture theatre, a doubling of the gymnasium, player private lounge and hot and cold plunge pools to facilitate injury recovery.We have an outstanding coaching panel which with some enhancement for an under 18 side would bring the kids exposure to the best in the business. Sheedy, Harvey, Daniher, Shaw.In any event it is just crazy to continue on as is.
It may not happen at Essendon but it must be done at some senior clubs on the cost argument alone. Stop the infrastructure duplications as soon as possible.As I said today, I am not qualified to make any comment about the various organisations which control football in Victoria. I am sure the Victorian Country Football league, Victorian Metropolitan Football League, Victorian Amateur Football Association etc all have their own problems.
I am also sure their constituent leagues such as the Bendigo League or the Footscray District league have their operational problems.Some will be common between organisations.
In my view, each of these organisations must settle their own problems of this nature without interference from the State body.The Victorian Football League can and must provide advice and some financial assistance if justified.However, the development of the game in Victoria must be the responsibility of the VFL. That development which importantly includes the ongoing wellbeing of the game must be funded by the AFL and should rank equally at the very least with other States and Territories.
Whilst the VFL may seek the assistance of Senior clubs such as Essendon, responsibility for distribution of game development funds in this State must rest predominately with the Victorian Football League. And the league must be funded by the AFL. THE SELF PROCLAIMED KEEPER OF THE CODE.
I spoke earlier about the strength of the Essendon Football Club. Before closing I will add a few remarks concerning our VFL involvement.
Firstly, we are not yet decided that we will continue to participate in the VFL competition as a stand alone AFL Club.We are not at all keen to push our players into some other VFL club where we lose to some degree control over them. But this arrangement does provide another option and one which other Victorian AFL Clubs have taken up. So we could still enter into an affiliation with a VFL Club under an arrangement acceptable to Essendon.
There are however two other options. These are:
- withdraw from the competition entirely and make our own arrangements to keep list players match fit; or
- seek a VFL license as a stand alone club, hopefully using the name and colours of Essendon in the same way as say, North Ballarat exists or say Port Adelaide exists in the SANFL.
If we are to continue as we are we must be given fair treatment. In this regard we ask why should Essendon be required to pay $85,000 p.a. for its VFL license when North Ballarat pays only $15,000.More over, our AFL Victorian competitors are now required to pay only $25,000, clearly disadvantaging Essendon, Carlton and Geelong which have chosen not to affiliate.
Why should Tasmania be admitted with payment of a license fee of $25,000 as a stand alone club.We accept fully the responsibility to help fund football development but we will not be disadvantaged or suffer discrimination. We will provide our share through the AFL as we always have in the past. We do not expect to be double dipped.
Thus the jury is still out on our future participation in the VFL.In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, I must say I believe some people are ignoring the problems which exist today in Victorian Football.
Just last week I listened to a presentation which claimed participation in Australian Rules Football was at a record level.
However, it then continued on to say that in Country Victoria since 1990, there has been:
- 33% decline in open age teams
- 18.5% decline in youth teams
- 64% decline in Auskick club teams.
Offsetting these falls it is claimed Metropolitan Victoria has seen:
- 18.6% increase in open age teams
- 60% increase in youth teams
- 87% increase in Auskick club teams.
The report also stated that Australian Rules Football had seen and continues to see high drop out rates in participation amongst teenagers.
Add to this my personal experience as I have visited a number of junior clubs to speak at functions. I have been regularly informed that the ability to keep a district club operating is getting tougher and tougher. The voluntary committees are having to decide which teams they will continue with, Senior, Youth or Junior grade. There is often simply not enough funds to keep them all.At the very least, it must be admitted there are some worrying signs in Victoria and unless the administrators are prepared to accept there are problems they will not even try to correct them.I believe a first imperative is that all football bodies, whether they be National, State, League or Club and the people who administer them must realise we are all part of the fabric of Australian Rules Football.
Whenever each body moves toward making a decision, they should at least give some consideration to how that decision may effect other associated parties. Matters such as television scheduling, pricing, transfer fees affect all bodies.We all have some responsibility to the game and whilst our club loyalties will always come first, we each of us must have concerns about the broader issues.
The health and future of the game of Australian Rules Football in the State of Victoria needs and deserves some urgent attention.
The administrators must provide that attention, whilst the AFL must provide the money.
