West Adelaide looks to private ownership model to save its place in SANFL

WELCOME to the era of private ownership in the SANFL ... sort of.

WELCOME to the era of private ownership in the SANFL ... sort of.

The West Adelaide Football Club today is on the financial edge, highlighting the concern for the SANFL’s eight clubs that are not aligned to AFL franchises at Adelaide and Port Adelaide.

The Bloods are the closest to the cliff’s edge in a competition that carries $16 million of debt across its clubs, not to mention almost $40 million at SANFL headquarters.

West Adelaide on Monday night - after spending much of the past month seeking financial support from backers and fans - put before its members a scheme that pushes SANFL club football towards private ownership.

If the plan stands up to diligence tests from a board-appointed sub-committee, the Bloods will set up a “trust unit” - a consortium - that will control the club’s major assets. There will be independent evaluations of Richmond Oval facilities to ensure there is no fire sale of these assets.

And then, a cashed-up West Adelaide - that insists it is not insolvent - will clear away debt, remove the spectre of the tax man and get on with rebuilding a proud football club. As chief executive John Kantilaftas puts it, this is about the “future direction and prosperity of the club”.

Beyond Richmond, it is also about the state of SANFL football - and how private ownership could underwrite the sustainability of SANFL clubs that do not have AFL interests to bankroll them.

West Adelaide’s plan ultimately allows the Bloods to regain the assets. The club does not put itself at the call of one man or run the risk of shares falling into the hands of people who do not have the Bloods’ best interests at heart.

Clearly, the trust group is to be made up of backers who would rather compromise on their personal wealth rather than lose their football club.

But there is one key point that translates across all of the SANFL. As long-standing football administrator John Halbert highlighted two years ago when his Sturt Football Club was at the crossroads, SANFL clubs must learn to live within their means.

Leigh Whicker next month will leave the SANFL 30 years after he took charge as chief executive. His opening words in the job were: “Clubs must understand that if the bottom line isn’t going to be in the black, then they cannot commit what they haven’t got.”

The message is more relevant than ever.