March 20 – Australian Rules football will refuse to take a backseat if the country is awarded the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, the league’s chief executive Andrew Demetriou (pictured) has warned.
He raised the World Cup bid as one of the many challenges that the AFL faced in the next decade.
”We have to be ready for the possibility of the World Cup,” he said.
”The AFL has always said we are happy to accommodate major sporting events.
“We have a track record to prove it.
“But we do not – and will not – accept second place for Australian football.”
Demetriou’s comments followed reports that, despite his objections, vital documents relating to Australia’s bid to host the World Cup had been sent to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, which included a legal pledge that the bid would meet all of FIFA’s demands.
The Federal and State Governments have thrown their support behind the bid and pledged that it would go ahead with or without the co-operation of the AFL, and the use of Etihad Stadium, the 50,000-capacity stadium in Melbourne.
Demetriou’s warning came after it was claimed earlier this week by Ben Buckley, the chief executive of Football Federation Australia (FFA), that the other codes in Australia, which also include rugby union and rugby league, had accepted that their seasons would be temporarily disrupted if the World Cup bid was successful.
The AFL and its 16 clubs last year reported record revenue of $303.5 million (£185 million) and a record operating surplus of $213.5 million (£130 million).
The league also announced record membership of AFL clubs of 586,748 compared to 574,091 in 2008; the third best season attendance in the sport’s history with record finals series attendances; record participation in football of 732,803, a growth of more than 5.7 per cent on the previous year.
Last season’s AFL grand final between Geelong and St Kilda was watched by an average national audience on the Ten Network of 3.848 million people and was the most watched TV programme of any kind in Australia.
In 2000 the AFL brought forward its season to allow the Olympics in Sydney to meet international sporting calendars.
“We welcome other sports and major events, but we won’t allow seven million fans to be deprived of Australia’s indigenous game, nor put at risk the jobs of so many associated with our game,” said Dementriou.
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