Decision looms for AFL’s longest-serving CEO Brian Cook as he reveals challenging period for all clubs

Revered Geelong chief executive Brian Cook says the next two months are ‘absolutely critical’ for all AFL clubs as he weighs up his own future.

Carlton is expecting a bumper crowd for its Round 1 clash with Richmond. Picture: AAP Image

Brian Cook, the longest-serving chief executive in VFL-AFL history, will wait until mid-year before making a decision on whether to extend his 23 seasons at Geelong or retire from the game he has served for most of his life.

The 65-year-old, who is one of Australia’s most respected sports administrators, is entering the final year of his current deal with the Cats.

He told the Herald Sun on Thursday he hasn’t yet made a decision on whether he will continue in the role next year, but will sit down with new Cats chairman Craig Drummond and others throughout the season to map out his future.

“This is the last year of my contract and we will talk about it in the middle of the year,” Cook said.

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Brian Cook says he will not be making a call on his career until later this year.

“It is certainly not a no, but it certainly isn’t a yes, either.

“I have been here for 23 (seasons) now. We will make a decision later in the year.”

Cook, who also spent nine years in charge of West Coast in the 1990s after a strong playing career in Victoria and Western Australia, has overseen Geelong’s resurgence as an AFL power since joining the club in 1999.

The Cats were on their knees financially back then and had been without a premiership for more than 30 years.

In Cook’s time at Geelong, the Cats have won three flags (2007, 2009 and 2011), have played in countless finals series, and the club and the football ground that is its home have become the envy of rival organisations.

Geelong received another huge boost this week with the announcement Ford has renewed its sponsorship deal with the club until 2025, which will mark a partnership of 100 years.

It is believed to be the world’s longest running sports sponsorship deal.

Cook said the Cats had been able to navigate their way through a COVID-interrupted 2020 as best as they possibly could, but says the next two months are “absolutely critical” for all clubs in terms of their financial bottom line.

“We are all very optimistic about the future with vaccinations around the place and the reduced number of virus (cases) in Australia,” he said.

In Cook’s time at Geelong, the Cats have won three flags and played in countless finals series. Picture: Peter Ristevski

“We are hoping like hell we get through 22 rounds (in 2021) and if we get back to 50 per cent crowds early in the year, it would be great.”

But he said the club was prepared for all contingencies — just in case.

He said the Cats would still make a loss if only 50 per cent of fans were permitted to attend games throughout 2021, but was hopeful it could stretch out to 75 to 100 per cent later in the year if Australia’s COVID numbers remain low.

Geelong lost $2.6 million last year, despite making the Grand Final, but that was “an incredible achievement”, given Cook at one stage during last year’s AFL shutdown feared the loss could total $10 million or more.

Cook said the Ford partnership was crucial to the club, not just from a monetary perspective.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the world, but one thing we can all count on is the ongoing successful partnership between the Geelong Football Club and Ford,” he said.

“As the club’s sole major sponsor, we are thankful for the support that Ford has given us over the past 95 years. We believe this is the most enduring partnership in sport, and we see this partnership surpassing the century.”

The Cats’ AFLW team will kick off their 2021 campaign on Sunday at GMHBA Stadium with a clash against North Melbourne.

REVEALED: NUMBER OF FANS BLUES WANT AT MCG OPENER

Carlton is planning for a crowd of at least 50,000 at the MCG for its season-opener against Richmond as Victoria’s streak of no locally-acquired COVID-19 cases continues.

In what would be a major boost to the coffers of Victorian AFL clubs, there is growing hope for significant crowd numbers, which could grow as the season progresses.

Victoria on Wednesday reported no new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases for the 21st consecutive day.

The Round 1 season-opener on March 18 is a Richmond home game, but the Blues will work to get as many of their members into the ground as possible.

The corresponding match last year was played at an empty MCG, with Victorian-based Carlton fans having been unable to attend a game since Round 23, 2019.

There was no crowd for last year’s AFL season-opener between Richmond and Carlton. Picture: Michael Klein

“We’re anticipating a 50 per cent crowd,” Carlton president Mark LoGiudice said.

“We would love all of our 63,000 members at the game. Is that possible? Only time will tell. We’ve got to wait for advice and instructions and we’ll follow the government guidelines and the AFL guidelines and we’ll do what we have to do to get our members into games to watch footy.

“In an ideal world we want 100,000 people at the MCG. We’ve just got to go with the guidelines and if 50,000 is the maximum, then we’ll be very happy with 50,000.”

Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula said the AFL still had to submit COVID-safe plans but any crowd number the government approves for Round 1 could change as the season goes on.

“I suspect those numbers will probably change throughout the year,” Pakula said.

Carlton and Richmond will open the AFL season. Picture: AAP Images

“It’s not going to be a single number set at the beginning of the year which will then carry you right through to September or October.

“The AFL will submit their proposals and they’ll be considered. The longer we go through the year as the vaccine rolls out you may well see those numbers tweak upward, provided we can continue our long run of zero cases.”

LoGiudice said Carlton was in a “fairly strong” financial position despite a lack of crowds in Victoria last season and was streaming towards the 2021 season.

“We’ve got record membership, we’ve got record sponsorship,” LoGiudice said.

“So as a board and as a club all our members should be very, very happy with where we are financially.”

Originally published as Decision looms for AFL’s longest-serving CEO Brian Cook as he reveals challenging period for all clubs