AFL secures credit line from major banks to ensure survival

The AFL has breathed a collective sigh of relief after it was able to ensure its immediate financial future thanks to a deal with the major banks that it hopes will help it through the coronavirus shutdown.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has secured a line of credit for the AFL. Picture: Getty Images

The AFL has secured the cash that it hopes will help it survive the coronavirus crisis.

The league has today been granted secured lines of credit with NAB and ANZ, understood to be worth as much as $600 million, that will provide urgent funds that the game needs to counter “significant cash shortfalls” as it endeavours to navigate the uncharted territory that the global virus presents.

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“I want to thank the NAB and the ANZ for their support but I also want to stress that while this is a relief, it is not a return to business as usual or a release valve,” league boss Gillon McLachlan said.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has secured a line of credit for the AFL. Picture: Getty Images

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“The football community is – like businesses across every sector – still very much in the financial fight of its life with the losses this year stretching to many hundreds of millions of dollars,” Mr McLachlan said.

“What this means is we have a chance to get through but we will only get through this period if we are united as an industry and every one of us at all levels of the AFL continue to make the hard decisions to drastically and urgently cut costs.”

Originally published as AFL secures credit line from major banks to ensure survival