Melbourne has pleaded with its fans to help it raise $1 million before Christmas

The Melbourne Football Club needs $1 million before Christmas. President Glen Bartlett explains why the money is so important and why the Demons are asking supporters to help raise the funds.

Should Melbourne have asked the AFL for the four points against Essendon. Picture: Michael Klein

Melbourne has pleaded with its fans to help it raise $1 million in cash before Christmas so it can stay clear of the AFL’s dreaded “assisted club” list.

The Demons on Thursday launched the “Proud to Belong, Proud to Give” campaign as they seek to make up for the $5 million revenue slump because of COVID-19.

Melbourne president Glen Bartlett told the Herald Sun if the Demons did not have to borrow from the AFL they would dodge strict budgetary requirements for their football staff and administration.

It came as he defended the club’s stance on not calling for a walkover after their Essendon clash was postponed, saying the Demons were not an Under-10 team calling for the win.

He said the Demons were committed to playing every one of their games and helping the league recoup revenue from broadcast deals by playing all 144 games.

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Melbourne players took part in a scratch match on Sunday instead of playing Essendon. Picture: AAP Images

Since 2013, the Demons have reduced debt from $8.2 million down to $2 million and had been intent on removing it altogether.

Instead Bartlett urged fans to back the club with donations to allow it to be financially independent as cuts come to list sizes, football departments and administrations.

The league’s massive line of credit means they will effectively act as a banker to clubs with a long list of strings attached.

“We are estimating a $5 million COVID hole which is better than our initial $8-$10 million estimate but it’s still five million bucks,” Bartlett said.

“If we raised $1 million in cash by Christmas we wouldn’t need to be an assisted club and it’s not about banging our chest. We have worked so hard on debt reduction and we don’t want to go back the other way.

“So being non-assisted means we don’t have to borrow from the AFL. It is also the number of requirements placed upon you by the AFL, not just in footy but in administration and a range of things.

“It is the requirements of reporting spend and budgets. So we really need all of our passionate supporters to get right behind us.”

Bartlett said some Melbourne fans might have asked why the club didn’t ask for four premiership points when Conor McKenna’s coronavirus positive was delayed.

“People might say, ‘Why isn’t Melbourne screaming out?’.

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“We are not in the Under-10s, we are committing to playing all 144 games and it doesn’t even enter our heads like a junior club to ask for a forfeit and get the four points.

“We want to play our part and play Essendon. It will be a different day and different time but we will make sure we are ready when that comes.

“We signed up for this from the start and as soon as the game was postponed we moved on to Geelong and worked hard to get a practice match at the MCG. We haven’t trained on there since 2005 so that was pretty significant for us as well.”