Welcome to 3AW. Skip directly to: Search Box, Section Navigation, Content.

3AW - Fairfax Radio Network

Sunday February 12, 2012

What we're talking about

AFL season could be cancelled

Posted by: 3AW Radio | 7 December, 2009 - 8:50 AM


ABOVE: AFL boss Andrew Demetriou speaks to 3AW's Neil Mitchell about the very real prospect of an entire AFL season being cancelled if Australia successfully wins its bid to host the soccer World Cup.

Would this 'sacrifice' be worthwhile?

RELATED 3AW AUDIO:


REALFOOTY: An entire AFL season could be abandoned and some clubs would "cease to exist" if the MCG was unavailable for 16 weeks during a soccer World Cup in Australia, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou says.

Demetriou said abandoning a season would be "disastrous" but may be unavoidable if the sport's most important stadium was unavailable for up to four months.

"If ... the MCG was decommissioned for 16 weeks because a lower bowl would have to be put in for soccer . . . it would probably mean we would have to cancel the season," he told radio 3AW.

"You can't move the season to January because it's out of ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work."

"We've even toyed with the possibility of actually suspending the season for four weeks. That can work. It's not easy, but it can work."

"We're trying to find ways to accommodate the World Cup but the sorts of questions we've been asking the FFA we haven't had much come back the other way."

Demetriou said mothballing the competition for a year was an "extreme situation" but the detail of the World Cup bid - and how it affected the AFL - was still unclear.

"The simple questions for the FFA which we can't get an answer on are, will we be able to play our season during the World Cup? And if so, how? And how many weeks will it be disrupted? We'll work around that. We're pretty accommodating."

But Mr Demetriou was clear on what a year without football would mean for the League: "Cancelling the season is a disaster," he said.

"It affects revenues. For a start we've got broadcast agreements, we've got agreements with members, we've got agreements with corporate partners.

"The cost is a monumental cost, and I'm talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

"And secondly, it would probably mean some clubs which rely on the seven or eight million dollar distribution from the AFL, there's no way they could be sustained.

Mr Demetriou said he thought a solution could be found for the AFL and other codes - including the NRL and the ARU - which were likely to be affected.

Jeff Kennett weighs in

Jeff Kennett Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett speaks to 3AW's Sports Today to assess just how an Australian Soccer World Cup would effect the AFL season. Also, catch North coach Brad Scott with the boys and Caro's news-breaking segment.

Blog comments Your Say

  • Chris A. If soccer is pulling crowds in excess of 90,000 as you say then you would already have a ground big enough so why do you want AFL grounds?

    Martin - Chiangmai Thursday 10 December, 2009 - 7:32 PM

  • If the AFL continues with this loutish, un-Australain and childish manner I will cancel my Collingwood and AFL full membership ASAP in protest and never will attend or be interested in their game again. The longer this drags on the more people get 'off-side' with the AFL. The AFL are winning no support and instead losing support, money and eventually sponsorship money. A word of thought Andrew and Ian Collins, What will Etihad (a naming sponsor of the stadium) think about not having their name branded everywhere when the world cup comes to town. I suggest Ian and Andrew you got some explaining to do.

    Latest score:
    FFA & Australia United 3
    vs.
    AFL 0

    (F. Lowy 1 goal, N. Kidman 1 goal, AFL own goal!)

    Chris A. Thursday 10 December, 2009 - 1:30 AM

  • Steve!

    Football not pulling crowds of 90,000? I suggest you go to the MCG and feast your eyes on their crowd records. FOr your information since your you that naive and uneducated, Football got crowds of over 97,000 in 1997, 2002, and most recently the games against Greece & Argentina that were are complete sell out!! So go back and do your homework because you are so naive and cringe worth much like your master's the AFL. AFL should be changed like you do your rules every year to UAFL: Un-Australain Football League.

    Chris A. Wednesday 9 December, 2009 - 5:58 PM

  • soccer is not a major code in Australia it's a minority sport so why are they trying to hold Australia to ransom and try to tell Aussies they can't play thier national sport. Aussies aren't interested in soccer I have never heard of soccer pulling crowds of 90,000. Tell FIFA and it's soccer to find another country to play thier game in

    steve Wednesday 9 December, 2009 - 10:05 AM

  • thank you martin, and afl wont benefit from it all

    cameron Tuesday 8 December, 2009 - 11:15 AM

  • who cares about AFL ?

    mal Tuesday 8 December, 2009 - 1:22 AM

Post a comment * Mandatory fields