AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick today announced that Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou had advised the AFL Commission of his resignation, effective at the end of the season, after more than 10 years in the position.

Mr Fitzpatrick said Andrew Demetriou had been a very significant force in the AFL competition, and as Chief Executive Officer had led the AFL industry through a period of extraordinary growth.

“The Demetriou era has seen the competition grow from 16 clubs to 18, AFL involvement in significant new stadium developments costing more than $2 billion in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland  plus  growth in membership, attendances, sponsorship, broadcast rights and digital media platforms,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

“As part of that $2 billion investment in facilities, the Western Australian Government has also committed to building a new Perth Stadium at Burswood at an estimated cost of $700 million which is expected to open for the 2018 season.

“But for me, and I know for many others, the real strength of Andrew’s leadership has been his determination to give our game an ethical underpinning by:

• Promoting the role of women at all levels of our game
• Implementing plans to embrace multicultural communities
• Expanding opportunities for Indigenous Australians  to be involved in our game as players and administrators at various levels of the game
• Protecting the integrity of the game
• Emphasising the health, safety and welfare of players

“Under his leadership, the AFL has strived to put the fans and players at the centre of the game.

“Ours is a very egalitarian game – everyone is welcome regardless of their background and Andrew has been a very strong advocate of this aspect of Australian football.

“But he can also be very satisfied with the growth of the business of the game throughout his time as CEO.  With the AFL Commission, he has overseen growth and financial strength that means he can be very proud of the state of the competition as he leaves,” he said.

Mr Fitzpatrick said key highlights of the Demetriou era included:

About $3 billion has been invested since 2003 by various governments with contributions from the AFL to:

• Provide first class stadium facilities for supporters and to encourage attendance by women and children in particular at AFL matches
• Facilities for some 850 community clubs throughout Australia
• Training and administration facilities for AFL clubs to provide high quality environments for players and staff

Our current broadcast rights agreements with the Seven Network, Foxtel, Fox Sports and Telstra has delivered for the first time live telecasts of every match on multiple devices including mobile phones and iPads to supporters regardless of their location.

• Competition expansion – the establishment of two new AFL clubs, the Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants
• Toyota AFL Premiership Season games played in every state capital and territory including regional centres – Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Launceston,  and for the first time in 2014, Alice Springs.
• A game played for premiership points in an international market for the first time – Wellington, New Zealand in 2013 between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans
• Establishment of AFL Media which in two years has become Australian sport’s  most popular digital media network
• Three Collective Bargaining Agreements with the AFL Players’ Association
• Major corporate partners – some of the world’s and Australia’s most successful companies have long term partnerships with the AFL including:
• Toyota – Premier Partner of the AFL for the past 10 seasons
• Carlton & United Brewers
• National Australia Bank
• Virgin Australia
• Coca-Cola
• Creation of a series of events in Toyota AFL Grand Final Week including September Club and Centre Square
• Establishment by the AFL Commission of a Future Fund in 2007 to underpin the financial security of the game
• Establishing a government relations department
• Building a higher level of engagement with AFL clubs
• The establishment by the AFL Commission in 2008 of an integrity unit, the first in Australian sport outside the racing industry
• Making the game safer to play through changes to the Laws of the Game including:
• Protecting the player with his head over the ball
• Adopting a new centre bounce rule to reduce PCL injuries in ruckmen
• Adopting a new procedure for treating players who suffer concussion
• Awarding a free kick against a player who makes forceful contact below the knees of an opponent or acts in a manner likely to cause injury, even if contact does not occur

Mr Fitzpatrick said while 2013 threw up some unprecedented challenges for the game, Mr Demetriou had kept his eye on the AFL’s key strategic priorities including competition expansion and developing a new approach to competitive balance to ensure every club has the chance to win on any given day or night regardless of their financial strength.

“We were also able to respond quickly and appropriately to the issues identified by the Australian Crime Commission report and introduced new controls on supplements and ensured each club doctor had the ultimate authority over what was provided to players”, Mr Fitzpatrick said.

“In summary, Andrew has been one of the most influential Chief Executive Officers in the history of the AFL and he has clearly delivered on our mantra that it is the responsibility of those given the role of temporary custodians of the game to leave it in a better shape than when they began their role.

“On any analysis, Andrew has delivered on that principle,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the AFL Commission had retained an executive search firm to assist the AFL Commission to identify potential candidates to succeed Mr Demetriou as Chief Executive Officer.

He said the AFL Commission’s aim was to complete the process as soon as possible but the first priority was to identify the best person for the job. 

Mr Demetriou will remain with the AFL until the end of the season but will have no role in identifying or selecting his successor.

Mr Demetriou said it had been a privilege and honor  to serve the AFL and with the support of the AFL Commission and AFL clubs, to build on the foundations laid by his predecessors in Wayne Jackson and Ross Oakley.

“The game has played an enormous part in my life and I will be forever indebted to the AFL Commission for the opportunity I was given to take up my role in September, 2003,” he said.

“I have been very fortunate to work with a highly skilled board in the AFL Commission and with a very talented executive team who are very passionate about the game, but it is time for me to move on.

“The health of the game is due to the collective effort of each AFL club, the states and territories and community clubs and their volunteers as well as our AFL staff. Without that collective effort, we would not be in the position we enjoy today”.

Career at a glance:

• Played 103 games for North Melbourne and three for Hawthorn after being recruited in 1981 from Pascoe Vale Football Club.
• Became managing director of the Ruthinium Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of acrylic teeth. Remains a board member of the Ruthinium Group.
• In 1998, was appointed chief executive officer of the AFL Players’ Association.
• Appointed General Manager, Football Operations by the AFL in May, 2000.
• Appointed Chief Executive Officer, September 2003.
• Former chairman of the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council.
• Non-executive director of The Climate Institute.

Background information

Key measures:

Competition expansion:

Work began in 2005 to identify the future structure of the AFL competition.

South-east Queensland and Greater Western Sydney were subsequently identified by the AFL Commission as priority growth areas.

New South Wales and Queensland account for 54 per cent of Australia’s population.

With one team in both states (Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions) the AFL was under represented when compared to other codes which had more than 25 teams in the two regions.

Western Sydney has a population of two million and is expected to reach three million by 2036 with four million forecast to live in the region by 2051 out of a total population in Sydney of seven million.

Of the 4.6 million people in Queensland, more than three million live in south-east Queensland with the populations of Gold Coast and Brisbane accounting for 90 per cent of the state’s total population.

More than 480,000 people live in the Gold Coast region while the population is expected to exceed 750,000 by 2021.

Key highlights – major infrastructure projects:

• Adelaide Oval – a $535 million project which will be the new home game venue for the Adelaide and Port Adelaide Football Clubs with the first Showdown scheduled for Saturday, March 29 this year.
• Metricon Stadium – redeveloped at a cost of $144 million as the home for the Gold Coast Suns
• Spotless Stadium  at Sydney Showgrounds – redeveloped at a cost of $65 million as the major home game venue for the GWS Giants
• Geelong - Three stages of the redevelopment of Simonds Stadium at Geelong have been completed at a cost of $104 million
• Perth Stadium - work has started on the development of a new Perth Stadium on the Burswood Peninsula which will be the new home game venue for the Fremantle and West Coast Eagles Football Clubs from 2018 – estimated cost $700 million
• MCG - The Olympic and Ponsford Stands were redeveloped at the MCG for the 2006 Commonwealth Games at a cost of $425 million. A $50 million redevelopment of the Great Southern Stand was completed for the 2013 season.
• SCG -  work on the MA Noble, Bradman & Messenger stands will be completed at a cost of $186 million  for Sydney Swans home games in 2014. The Victor Trumper Stand was completed for the 2009 season at a cost of $82 million. The AFL contributed to the Trumper Stand project.
• AFL club facilities - at least $230 million has been invested since 2003 in new or upgraded training and administration facilities for AFL clubs. AFL clubs, various levels of government and the AFL have contributed financially to the projects.

Community club facilities:

• The AFL established a Facilities Development Reserve in 2007.
• Since that time, the AFL has granted $33.6 million to projects throughout Australia.
• More than 850 local community clubs have benefited from this program with a total value of $460 million in completed projects.

Broadcast rights:

• 2002-2006 – rights worth $405 million in cash
• 2007-2011 – rights worth $890 in cash plus $90 million in contra
• 2012-2016 – rights worth $1.118 billion in cash plus $135 million in contra

AFL Media:

Since its establishment in 2012, AFL Media has become Australian sport’s most popular digital media network.

From January 1, 2013 until the end of November 2013, there were more than 105 million unique visitors to afl.com.au, the AFL club websites, the AFL Live application and the 18 official club applications.

Major corporate partners:

The AFL’s corporate partners invest more than $50 million annually in the game.

Financial:

• Establishment of Future Fund to secure the long term future of the game.

Collective Bargaining Agreement:

• Three Collective Bargaining Agreements have been negotiated with the AFL Players’ Association since 2003.
• The current CBA for the period 2011-2016 provide player payments and related benefits totalling $1.144 billion
• Other components of the current CBA include:
• The best retirement scheme in Australian sport through an investment of $90 million which will deliver to each player about $20,000 a year after football
• A major emphasis on player welfare, education and personal development
• By 2016, the average wage for a listed AFL player is expected to be $300,000

Key policies, programs:

Since 2003 the AFL has:

• Developed and implemented our Respect and Responsibility policy to create a safe and inclusive environment for women at all levels of the game
• Introduced a revised Personal Conduct Policy based on the principle that every person involved in the AFL performs an important role and is in a privileged position and that position of privilege brings with it a responsibility to ensure that by their personal behavior, they do not damage public respect and support for the AFL competition and for Australia’s only Indigenous game
• Created a multicultural program
• Hosted three International Cup competitions, the last event being in 2011 which was contested by 23 teams including the Peace Team consisting of players from Palestine and Israel. The 2014 International Cup will be staged in Melbourne during August, 2014
• Amended the Racial and Religious vilification policy to counter homophobia
• Enhanced the AFL’s illicit drugs policy which includes out of competition testing for illicit drugs and is based on a medical and player welfare model
• The establishment by the AFL Commission in 2008 of an integrity unit, the first Australian sporting body to do so other than the racing industry

Ends

Patrick Keane