The Essendon Football Club has again led the way in looking after football's most important asset - club members. Essendon today welcomed news of AFL recommendations that could see members of clubs competing in the Grand Final receive almost double the number of seats allocated to them in the past. Essendon has been lobbying the AFL for the past two seasons to rectify Grand Final ticketing arrangements which were seeing so many fans of competing clubs miss out on attending the biggest game of the season. Having competed in the past two Grand Finals the club knows full well the heartache felt by members who miss out on tickets. It was something the club felt compelled to act on.

Essendon wrote to the AFL shortly after the 2000 Grand Final to express its concerns over the ticket allocation system. The letter included a number of recommendations it believed would alleviate the problem by freeing up tickets for competing clubs. An AFL sub-committee – including Essendon CEO Peter Jackson – was subsequently formed and recommendations made could subsequently be adopted. While the proposals will never guarantee every club member a Grand Final ticket it is certainly a significant step in the right direction. Essendon fans will now be hoping the side can do the right thing and be on centre stage in that last Saturday in September.