THE RISING cost of travel and accommodation and the increasing size of travelling parties has the league's less-well-resourced clubs asking for an increase in AFL funding for interstate trips.
The request was made at a meeting yesterday between AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson and all clubs.
The current system sees each club covered for a party of 45, but with clubs routinely travelling up to 55 staff, the poorer clubs fear they will lag behind those more able to fund the extras.
"The numbers should be increased," North Melbourne CEO Eugene Arocca told The Age. "I worked at one club that did not worry about this issue and could pay for extra people to go — Collingwood. North Melbourne is obviously not in that position."
The Roos boss had support from Western Bulldogs chief executive Campbell Rose, and AFL ground operations manager Jill Lindsay said the request would be considered by the AFL's finance department as part of its planning for next season.
"We have taken their request and it will be discussed at executive level as the budgets are cut for next year," she said. "These days they all have additional medical staff. The AFL funds 45 but the clubs are wanting to take at least 50 or more. Accommodation is going up, airfares are going up and that is their argument."