AFL keen to take AFLX overseas and floats idea of Big Bash-style tournament
THE AFL has clubs knocking on its door wanting to take AFLX around the globe as league chief Gillon McLachlan hinted that teams that play in the concept could be franchised like cricket’s Big Bash League.
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THE AFL already has clubs knocking on its door wanting to take AFLX overseas as the league considers playing in Hong Kong as early as next year.
The game’s newest format took to screens across the globe over the last three nights and AFLX project manager David Stevenson said while there was no time frame for expansion, there had been substantial interest both at home and abroad.
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“When you think of the trends in global sport, you’ve got to have regional sports. We want to be able to grow and expand it because we think it’s the best game in the world,” he said.
“If there’s a way to introduce that to great global cities … we’d love to explore it.
“We’ve already been approached by a number of organisations overseas who want to take AFLX. And we’ve already been approached by a number of AFL clubs who want to take AFLX overseas as well.”
Following “a hugely experimental weekend”, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan hinted that teams that play in AFLX — a concept widely seen as the AFL’s answer to cricket’s Big Bash League — could be franchised like the BBL.
He said someone like St Kilda benefactor Gerry Ryan, for instance, could buy the Saints’ AFLX franchise.
“He could do that, he could draft you in for a one-week tournament in November,” McLachlan said.
But he said a big post-tournament debrief and brainstorming session would be needed before any big decisions.
“If it has a place, then it’ll be like, ‘How do the licenses work? Where do you play? Is it only international or where does it fit in the season?’,” McLachlan said.
“It’s all fun to chat about.”
The idea of a BBL-style franchise system in which players represent various teams not associated with AFL clubs also excites Stevenson.
“We’d love to,” he said.
“Because of the possibilities now with a rectangle-shaped field, that allows us to play in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, New York or London.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing down the track to be able to explore those possibilities with a team in those global cities? That would be amazing for our game.”
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch, whose club was involved in the first game for premiership points in China last year, was bullish about AFLX’s prospects.
“Like the AFL, we see AFLX as being a great opportunity to take our game to overseas markets,” Koch said.
“For us, AFLX could have great potential in China as the product is fast and exciting and is tailored for smaller grounds.
“We think AFLX is a great innovation and while it needs some tinkering, it is certainly worth persevering with.”
A “proud” Stevenson said initial response had been largely positive and the league anticipated AFLX being played “from juniors to the elite level”.
“There are still some tweaks as we’re learning along the way,” Stevenson said.
“There was a slightly different game style (in Melbourne), so next week, we’ll sit down and take a deep breath and do a bit of an analysis of what worked and what would we tweak for the future. We’ll do that and then decide the next step.
“Gill talked about maybe 2019 in Hong Kong. There’s definitely some thoughts around that. We want to get the game right, so we’ll listen to the fans, the players and the clubs and then make those adjustments and then see how we go from there.
“We’ve got surveys that will go out on Monday, so we want to listen. We want to be able to look at the stats from a workload perspective — did it give them the experience they were after, what was it like for clubs, what was it like for fans? We’re really interested to see what people think.”
Analysis of the inaugural tournaments will also include discussion on whether prizemoney will be offered next year.
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