In 1985, the AFL (then named Victorian Football League Limited) formed the commission as a body independent of its member clubs, to operate its competition. In 1993, the independent commissioners took over from the AFL's board of directors, who had been representatives of its 18 member clubs.
The AFL operates the premier professional Australian Football competition in Australia and, from 1991 to 1999, aState of Origin competition.[1] Since 1998, it has also overseen Australia's involvement in theInternational Rules Series.
An independent governing body for the competition was first moved in December 1984 during the fallout of VFL presidentAllen Aylett's resignation following theSouth Melbourne Football Club's financially disastrous move to Sydney.[2][3] The club, managed from Melbourne but playing in Sydney,[4] had lost large amounts of money in Sydney and large loans had been written out by the league to keep them viable which was impacting the finances of the competition.[5]
Under its first chief commissioner,Jack Hamilton, the VFL began a restructuring toward a franchise model whereby member clubs operate licenses owned by the league.[6] The model helped make private ownership of the Swans possible in 1985,[5][7] as well as selling new licenses (resulting in theBrisbane Bears andWest Coast Eagles in 1987). Under the new model, many Melbourne clubs struggling for financial viability such asSt Kilda,Fitzroy andNorth Melbourne could be kept afloat by a combination of private ownership and league subsidies from the sale of new franchises and television rights.[8][9][10][11] The restructuring paved the way for the VFL's expansion into a national competition.[12] Despite continuing financial troubles at many clubs including the Swans andFootscray, the AFL was able to turn the competition's finances around by 1989, aided by increased television rights and the sale of $4 million licenses to interstate expansion clubs.[13] In 2014, all AFL players became fully-paid professional for the first time in its history.[14]
The AFL took over the operations of the New South Wales Australian Football League Limited and its subsidiar, theAFL NSW/ACT, now operates in Australia's most populous eastern region. The AFL promotes and brands the sport under its own name instead of the formal name of Australian Football, especially in developing areas where the sport is not well known and the AFL has a major stake in the local governing bodies.
The ten commissioners are elected by the 18 AFL clubs, with each of the 18 clubs entitled to make nominations, but other Australian Football leagues, associations and clubs do not have any control or representation.
The AFL approves new club franchise licenses to expand its competition. Since 1987, it has been instrumental in the merger that created theBrisbane Lions. TheSydney Swans were fully owned by the AFL which retains a controlling interest and reversion rights if the Sydney Swans club does not repay debts to the AFL. The AFL fully owns theGreater Western Sydney Giants. Other clubs to have an AFL appointed board include theSydney Swans, theGold Coast Suns,Adelaide Football Club andPort Adelaide Football Club. The AFL operates a Competitive Balance Fund, which redistributes profits to the clubs most in need to help ensure that all of its member clubs are financially sustainable in the long-term.[15]
The AFL is financially dependent on the success of its competitions with the majority of its funding coming from the AFL competition broadcasting rights. The 2025-2031 rights will earn $4.5 billion, the most lucrative in Australian sporting history. The majority is invested in ensuring that the AFL continues to sustain its future revenues, such as protecting the primacy of its competition, as well as growing its broadcast audience, talent pathways and professionalism to attract the best available players (from junior development programs and high-performance athletes from around the world).
The AFL is administered by its commission of company directors, which sets policy and has directed the VFL/AFL (known then as the VFL) as the game's most professional league since December 1985.
In 1993, the independent commissioners took over as the directors of the AFL from its former board of directors which had been appointed as delegates of it then 15 member clubs. Subsequently, the AFL member clubs voted the old system of appointment of directors out of existence, and a new Memorandum and Articles of Association were adopted for the AFL. In 1995 it took over the operations of theANFC (see Principle 2 below).
This was a significant change of power: between 1985 and 1993 the AFL had required explicit approval by a 75% vote of its member teams for major items such as further expansion, mergers, relocations, and major capital works.
The AFL provides development funding for Australian state and international Australian Football bodies and leagues. As most of this funding is sourced the revenue and activities associated with the AFL competition, much of the funding is directed to the competition's developing markets. Semi-professional state competitions are generally self-sufficient, and receive a much lower percentage of the AFL's funding. The AFL has established a pathway that features junior Academies and scholarships from representational level up to its member clubs. The highest level is theAFL Academy, with academies for each state being managed by their respective AFL clubs and affiliated governing bodies.
Between 2010 and 2021, the AFL spent between $6–38 million per annum (under 5% of total revenue) on game development grants globally (excluding a one-off COVID-19 Pandemic community football recovery package). With a new TV rights deal in 2022 and to help the game at the grassroots continue its recovery post COVID-19 Pandemic, the AFL increased its community grants to $67 million.[17]
Management of Official Player Recognition for the Sport
The ten commissioners are nominated and elected by vote of the 18 AFL member clubs. A two-thirds majority of member clubs have the power toveto over commission decisions. The commission elects itschairman and employs achief executive officer to oversees the management and operations of the AFL.
While the commission is responsible for directing AFL policy, it has, on occasions, become directly involved in on and off-field matters relating to AFL competitions, players, coaches and managers. Sometimes these interventions have been in controversial circumstances.
The "Line in the Sand" match in 2004 in which 18 players were reported on 26 charges arising from a third-quarter brawl. Four Hawthorn players were suspended for a total of 15 matches while Essendon'sJustin Murphy was suspended for one match.[18][19][20]
2006 Aurora Stadium Siren Controversy – investigated the disputed finish to the St. Kilda vs. Fremantle match played atAurora Stadium on 30 April 2006. The result was that the AFL commission overturned the drawn result to awardFremantle four premiership points instead of two.
The sacking ofRichmond playerDaniel Connors over repeated off-field infringements during his playing career with the club, including a drunken rampage in Sydney in 2010[33] and "failing to meet club expectations on a number of occasions" in 2012.[34]
The club-imposed five-match suspension handed toGreater Western Sydney playerToby Greene for intentionally assaulting a security guard at a Melbourne nightclub during the club's bye week in 2014, in between which the Giants suffered two defeats in excess of more than 100 points.[42]
The six-month suspension handed toGreater Western Sydney playerLachie Whitfield for attempting to invade a random drug test during the 2016–17 off-season, which took in missing the first eight matches of the2017 AFL season. Ex-GWS employees Graeme Allan and Craig Lambert were both suspended for twelve months each, while the club was also stripped of its first-round draft pick in the2017 AFL draft.[43][44]
The three-match suspension handed toRichmond playerNathan Broad for leaking a photo of a topless woman wearing his premiership medallion without her consent in the weeks following the club's2017 AFL Grand Final victory.[45]
The season-ending suspension handed toSydney Swans playerElijah Taylor for a major breach ofWestern Australia's strict quarantine rules while the club was in the state during the2020 season[46] and his subsequent dismissal from the club at the end of the season for assaulting his ex-partner.[47]
the investigation into the Greater Western Sydney Giants' 2024 post-season function in which several players behaved inappropriately in a private setting, including the use of distasteful costumes and inappropriate skits. CaptainToby Greene was fined $5,000 for his lack of leadership,Josh Fahey was suspended for four matches, and five other players were suspended for two matches each for their roles in the scandal.[51]
the conviction ofRichmond playerNoah Balta for an assault on a man outside a pub inMulwala, New South Wales, in December last year which saw him handed a three-month curfew during which he must remain at his home address between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, thus excluding him from playing in Richmond's night matches during that period.[52]
The AFL manages a special fund called the Competitive Balance Fund (CBF) since 2004 as a grant of up to$5 million per club to ensure that member clubs remain financially viable.
The system was later changed to the Annual Special Distribution (ASD) of$6.3 million shared among all clubs,[53] as well as allowing for grants and special concessions, such as payments, to ensure that the AFL member clubs remain viable in the short term. In 2006, the AFL approved a $2.1 million special financial assistance package forCarlton.
In response to clubs increasingly relying on and applying for special funding, in 2008, the AFL recommended removing the fund altogether,[53] but after considerable club protests led by three struggling clubs, theWestern Bulldogs,Melbourne and North Melbourne, CEO Andrew Demetriou announced that the ASD would remain.
In early 2009, it increased Melbourne's assistance from $250,000 to$1 million and made a$1 million grant toPort Adelaide.[54]
^"Salmon and Brans ruled out".The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 487. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 May 1991. p. 28. Retrieved20 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"VFL talks on offer for Swans".The Canberra Times. Vol. 59, no. 18, 031. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 February 1985. p. 51. Retrieved9 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Share float planned by Roos".The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 587. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 August 1986. p. 23. Retrieved9 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"VFL income all-time high".The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 496. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 February 1989. p. 45. Retrieved9 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Salmon and Brans ruled out".The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 487. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 May 1991. p. 28. Retrieved20 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
