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AFL may have to cancel season if Australia wins FIFA World Cup finals bid
December 07, 2009
The AFL may be forced to cancel its premiership season if Australia wins the right to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup finals, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says.
“"You can't just move the season to January: it's out of the (television) ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work."” – Andrew Demetriou The AFL chief executive has issued scary-sounding quotes but nevertheless believes "wiser heads will prevail".
The AFL will find it impossible to schedule a viable season if FIFA, football's world governing body, can claim exclusive access to Australia's biggest stadium - the 100,000-capacity MCG - for four months, Demetriou said.
The World Cup finals last only four-and-a-half weeks in June and July, but Demetriou said the AFL had learned that the MCG could be decommissioned for four months while it was refitted for football.
"The World Cup starts ... in June and there's four or five weeks of securitising it, putting signage up," Demetriou said.
"They would commence work in late March or early April, and that would probably mean we'd just have to cancel the season because that would mean we wouldn't have the MCG for 16 weeks.
"We could probably do without it for 10 weeks and we'd have to play at Etihad Stadium.
"But we couldn't do it (for 16 weeks).
"We'd have to cancel the season.
"You can't just move the season to January: it's out of the (television) ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work.
"We've even toyed with the possibility of suspending the season for four weeks because that's what we originally thought was going to happen.
"And that could work. It's not easy, but it could work.
"We're trying to find ways to accommodate (Football Federation Australia) ... but we haven't had much come back the other way."
Demetriou said the AFL had a history of working constructively alongside major sporting events in Australia, citing the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
The 2000 AFL season began a month early, allowing it to finish in August ahead of the Sydney Games in September.
"Cancelling a season is a disaster," Demetriou said.
"It affects revenue - 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.
"Secondly, it would probably mean that some clubs who rely on the $7.5-8 million (annual) distribution from the AFL - there's no way they could be sustained because they haven't got that money coming in.
" ... it (puts clubs at risk), it would mean a lot of jobs at risk, it would mean the severing of some agreements.
"But I don't think it's going to get to that, I think wiser heads will prevail.
"It's not just us, I'm sure the NRL are in the same boat, and the ARU with their Super 15 season.
"This (would be) the first World Cup where four football codes have ever been staged in the one country."
England is favoured to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals, but Australia's bid for the 2022 competition continues to gain momentum.
FIFA will vote on the host nations for both tournaments in December 2010.
i know alot of you don't like AFL but i think if they need to cancell the season then they should get some major compensation if aus does get it
December 07, 2009
The AFL may be forced to cancel its premiership season if Australia wins the right to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup finals, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says.
“"You can't just move the season to January: it's out of the (television) ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work."” – Andrew Demetriou The AFL chief executive has issued scary-sounding quotes but nevertheless believes "wiser heads will prevail".
The AFL will find it impossible to schedule a viable season if FIFA, football's world governing body, can claim exclusive access to Australia's biggest stadium - the 100,000-capacity MCG - for four months, Demetriou said.
The World Cup finals last only four-and-a-half weeks in June and July, but Demetriou said the AFL had learned that the MCG could be decommissioned for four months while it was refitted for football.
"The World Cup starts ... in June and there's four or five weeks of securitising it, putting signage up," Demetriou said.
"They would commence work in late March or early April, and that would probably mean we'd just have to cancel the season because that would mean we wouldn't have the MCG for 16 weeks.
"We could probably do without it for 10 weeks and we'd have to play at Etihad Stadium.
"But we couldn't do it (for 16 weeks).
"We'd have to cancel the season.
"You can't just move the season to January: it's out of the (television) ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work.
"We've even toyed with the possibility of suspending the season for four weeks because that's what we originally thought was going to happen.
"And that could work. It's not easy, but it could work.
"We're trying to find ways to accommodate (Football Federation Australia) ... but we haven't had much come back the other way."
Demetriou said the AFL had a history of working constructively alongside major sporting events in Australia, citing the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
The 2000 AFL season began a month early, allowing it to finish in August ahead of the Sydney Games in September.
"Cancelling a season is a disaster," Demetriou said.
"It affects revenue - 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.
"Secondly, it would probably mean that some clubs who rely on the $7.5-8 million (annual) distribution from the AFL - there's no way they could be sustained because they haven't got that money coming in.
" ... it (puts clubs at risk), it would mean a lot of jobs at risk, it would mean the severing of some agreements.
"But I don't think it's going to get to that, I think wiser heads will prevail.
"It's not just us, I'm sure the NRL are in the same boat, and the ARU with their Super 15 season.
"This (would be) the first World Cup where four football codes have ever been staged in the one country."
England is favoured to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals, but Australia's bid for the 2022 competition continues to gain momentum.
FIFA will vote on the host nations for both tournaments in December 2010.
i know alot of you don't like AFL but i think if they need to cancell the season then they should get some major compensation if aus does get it
