AFL Annual Report Figures

AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick today announced the AFL had posted another year of record growth in virtually all aspects of the game, according to the latest financial figures which appear in the annual report.
 
The figures were sent to AFL club presidents this week ahead of AFL annual general meeting on Thursday March 19 and the public release this month of the annual report.
 
The figures show the AFL recorded:
 
- Record revenue of $302m in 2008 – up by $17.3 million or six per cent on the previous year. This is the first time that AFL revenue has exceeded $300 million in a financial year.
- A record operating surplus before grants and distributions of $204 million.
- Record grants and distributions of $187.9 million to community football and AFL clubs with record distributions to AFL clubs of $131.8 million.
 
The AFL also had a record year in the growth of the game across the country with growth in key performance indicators such as:
 
- Record membership of AFL clubs of 574,091 compared to 532,697 in 2007 – an increase of eight per cent.
- Record attendances at Toyota AFL premiership season and finals games, NAB Cup and NAB Regional Challenge matches of 7,426,306 – a jump of 23,460 on the 2007 season. This came as AFL games were again held in limited-capacity venues across every state and territory of Australia -- Launceston (four games), Carrara (three games), Manuka Oval (two games) and Marrara Oval (one game).
- The average attendance across the Toyota AFL Premiership season was 36,996, the third highest average crowd of any professional sports league, behind only the NFL in the US (67,738) and German Bundesliga (37,644).
- Record participation in 2008 of 693,052 which represented growth of 8.5 per cent or 54,224. The final figure is 72,000 ahead of estimates included in the Next Generation – Securing the Future of Australian Football strategy which estimated that participation would reach 700,000 in 2011. (NSW and Queensland now account for 30 per cent of total participation in the game – up from just 14 per cent of total participation in 1997).
- Record NAB AFL Auskick participation of 163,885 at 2913 centres – up by 1.7 per cent on the previous year.
- A 2.6 per cent rise in community club football with 290,590 players playing in 12,024teams. All community club segments recorded growth in 2008.
- The AFL grand final between Hawthorn and Geelong was watched by an average national audience on the Seven network of 3.247 million people and was the second most watched TV program of any kind in Australia, behind only the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The average TV audience per round during 2008 was 4.668 million.
- An average of 1.3 million people listened to AFL matches on radio in the five mainland capital cities each week of the Toyota AFL Premiership season – an increase of 5 per cent.
 
The AFL chairman, Mr Mike Fitzpatrick, said the AFL was very proud of the achievements during the year in which Australian Football celebrated its 150th anniversary and said the support of clubs and players was pleasing.
 
“To have achieved record attendances, topped off by a grand final crowd of more than 100,000, memberships of 574,000 and participation well in advance of all our estimates is a great credit to our supporters, our clubs, our administrators and players across all levels of the game,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
 
“In the past five years we have grown strongly with more people watching, participating and attending our game as well as expanding the game significantly into northern markets and setting the foundations for new teams on the Gold Coast and in Western Sydney.”
 
“We also had a series of 150th anniversary activities, including the Community Football Weekend where more than 1.6 million people attended community football matches right across suburban and regional Australia during the May 9-11 weekend.
 
The AFL Commission also released the details of the executive packages for 2008.
 
Mr Fitzpatrick said the package for AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou, including superannuation and performance bonuses based on achieving key performance indicators, was $1.596 million while the AFL Executive (10)  were paid salaries and bonuses totalling $4.68 million.
 
Mr Fitzpatrick said the packages were based on reaching a series of key growth figures which had been achieved.
 
“The Executive team is assessed on a range of different categories and how the game is going and we have growth at all levels. This leadership team has taken us through a period of extended growth and has ensured that the AFL is not only the leading sport in the country but one that has committed to ploughing $1.4 billion into the football community between 2007-2011,” he said.
 
“The last media rights deal underpinned that investment and that growth and also underpinned the biggest ever investment in our AFL clubs, in community facilities and community football and in expanding the reach of our game.
 
"We are entering a tough period where we face a downturn in the economy, which will put pressure on the AFL and its Clubs.  The AFL is addressing this with strict cost control.  The issue of securing better financial returns from stadium deals, particularly at Docklands and the MCG, along with satisfactory progress with the Gold Coast and Western Sydney expansion, will be a key focus of executive success in 2009."

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