AFL Victoria removes November local footy clearance window

AFL Victoria has pinpointed two key reasons for its decisions to change the local footy clearance system. Here’s why.

Players in action during the EFL Premier Division Grand Final between Rowville and Noble Park in Melbourne, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Easing the pressure on volunteers is one reason local footy clearances have been delayed until next year.

In a memo sent to clubs and leagues earlier this week, AFL Victoria announced it was scrapping the November clearance and transfer window which was meant to begin next week.

Now clearances cannot be made official until February next year.

“Feedback has indicated volunteer preference is to delay the opening of the transfer periods to February 1, 2023 to provide clubs with an opportunity to have a break from monitoring transfers,” the memo said.

“This is particularly important during a period where there may be committee and volunteer turnover.

“In this case, delaying the opening will allow more time for key club personnel to ensure they are properly set up to receive notifications for transfer requests and trained in the process of approving (or) denying transfer requests.”

Changes to competition management platforms including PlayHQ and Gameday were another reason provided for the decision.

The AFL is migrating some 2022 data from GameDay into PlayHQ with the process expected to be completed in December.

Clearances officially won’t open until February 1 next year. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Both platforms will continue to be used by leagues next season.

“Until this migration occurs there is the potential for challenges in initiating transfers because of inconsistencies in the data between platforms,” the memo said.

Examples of issues included players who registered on GameDay, which is predominantly used by metropolitan competitions, will not have an existing PlayHQ record and could register to a PlayHQ club without a clearance being initiated.

“Leagues and clubs who are transitioning to PlayHQ this year will need to set up their transfer notification settings to ensure they are notified of transfer requests,” the memo said.

“There is a risk that some clubs may not have completed this process on PlayHQ by November 1, which may lead to transfers auto-approving without the knowledge of a player’s source club.”

Player will need to wait until February 1 next year to submit a clearance.

Next year’s clearance window will remain open between February 1 and June 30.

The changes aren’t expected to change the approach of local footy club’s to recruiting with many announcing a number of new players set to join in 2023.

Last week, Leader Local Footy listed its top recruits from across the state so far.