A survey, commissioned exclusively for afl.com.au and prepared under the auspices of the AFL Coaches Association, discovered that fears ran high over the impact of the worst financial meltdown in a generation.
Nine of 16 responses claimed expansion and/or financial struggles were today’s key AFL issues.
When asked: ‘What is the biggest single issue confronting footy today?’, four coaches rated fiscal woes at their No.1.
“The financial crisis has so many flow-on effects including expansion,” one coach said.
Another coach was also concerned that growth would stall. “The global financial crisis will stifle a whole range of initiatives that AFL clubs and the AFL would be planning,” he said. A third coach merely responded: “Expansion of the code in the middle of a financial crisis” while another said: “Sponsorship and the global financial crisis”.
Five other coaches, who didn’t specifically mention the financial crisis, said the league’s grand expansion plans into western Sydney in 2012 and the Gold Coast in 2011 would be the major priority for the game’s movers and shakers.
“The biggest issue is the expansion of the game,” said one coach. “This must be done correctly as not to have ‘byes’, not to dilute the competition and most importantly still have a good product. The rules of the game come into this also.”
New rules struck a chord with another batch of the coaches who considered the biggest issue to be the on-field game.
“The [biggest issue is the] game being over umpired through different rule interpretations and the fact that the game is becoming ‘untouchable’ - meaning no physicality at all because of a woman’s outlook on whether their son plays,” was the response of one coach.
“Not to be too hasty in changing the direction of the game or jump at shadows in regards to threats from opposition sports,” another coach said.
Another said the biggest issue facing the game was: “Placing too much pressure on players to be everything to everyone.”
Other responses included: “The way we coach our juniors and how football isn’t played at school enough anymore and the lack of access outer rural country Victorian players have to play AFL.”
One coach thought football’s biggest issue was: “The media dictating direction of game, putting pressure on young players,” while another said “The ability to infiltrate and grow the biggest market in Australia – Sydney”, was the prime concern.
The 2009 afl.com.au Coaches Survey was conducted anonymously, with thanks to the AFL Coaches Association.
