Leaked documents show AFL’s windfall from grassroots game

Confidential AFL documents show how much the league will earn from a sweetheart deal with suppliers. Now community chiefs have called for an independent review into the deals.

The AFL has been accused of putting profits ahead of the grassroots game, with leaked documents revealing the income it expects to make from community jumper sales.

AFL Victoria is set to collect more than $400,000 in the next two years from guernsey licensees it will hand-pick to supply uniforms for footy players statewide.

The game’s governing body will also collect a 10 per cent royalty from all sales above a minimum $40,000 a year from each of five preferred suppliers.

The deal has sparked renewed calls for an independent review into the way the community and country game is governed in Victoria.

AFL expression of interest documents obtained by the Herald Sun show “potential licensees’’ are being sought to exclusively sell playing gear and umpire uniforms to 846 clubs in 13 regions.

Successful bidders must show “willingness to pay the required minimum guarantee (plus royalties) to AFL Victoria Country for the two-year term’’ starting this November.

The AFL said its “key objective’’ was “to reduce jumper costs and ensure the supply and quality of product for clubs and players”.

“Funding raised via the licensing program is reinvested into country football, as our overall goal is to make running football clubs as easy as possible for the committee members of the clubs,’’ it said.

Heathmont Jets juniors vice president Justin O’Dwyer said parents have to wear the costs of the jumpers. Pictured are Heathmont Jets players. Picture: Joanne Young

But Heathmont Jets juniors vice president Justin O’Dwyer said clubs were “in a world of pain’’ and the AFL should show Victorians where it was spending money on community football.

“AFL costs, equipment costs, council costs go up every year and to my knowledge we get no support from the AFL for anything,’’ he said.

“It’s the parents that have to wear those costs.’’

Mr O’Dwyer said clubs were fed up having to buy jumpers from certain AFL-endorsed retailers at the expense of local and sometimes cheaper businesses.

“We know the AFL gets a clip of it on the way through but we don’t get anything back,’’ he said.

“I don’t think there is a lot of transparency and if the AFL is putting money into local footy I don’t see it.’’

A petition calling for a review of the relationship between AFL Victoria and community football by former AFL Gippsland Commissioner John White has attracted more than 2000 signatures.

“AFL Victoria acknowledges there are a number of challenges facing country football and we continually assess the best structures to assist the changing nature of country regions,’’ a spokeswoman said.

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But the president of a south eastern junior club accused the AFL of funding “from the bottom up”.

“It’s a dictatorship and you must do this and you must do that and it all seems to about business,’’ he said.

“I would love to know their bank balance and what they’re giving for junior clubs.

“Who is holding these blokes to account?’’

More than 32,665 jumpers were sold last year.

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