AFL funding a game changer for local footy

In an announcement on Tuesday, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan committed an additional $18 million investment from the league and Victorian government, saying the increased funding would lay the foundation for a strong future for country football.

“Local football clubs are often the heart of communities, especially here in Victoria.” McLachlan said.“Community football is the cornerstone of our game and underpins all aspects of our national sport.”

AFL Goulburn Murray region general manager Jamie Macri said the announcement was a game changer for local clubs.

“This is huge for everyone playing in the Goulburn Murray,” he said.

“It will benefit every single club. The affiliation fee will be gone and it will only be the insurance (remaining). All clubs in the AFL Victoria system will benefit from this, so we can expect this to have a major impact.”

A total of $950,000 has been dedicated to initiatives to help volunteers run their clubs, while funding will also be focused on growing the next generation of players, umpires and coaches with $330,000 dedicated to align local schools, community clubs and AFL clubs.

The funding will include $1.5million towards establishing a Strategic Community Investment Fund which will allow flexibility and immediate response to local league and club needs.

“It's a huge investment by the AFL and we're really excited to support community football and netball,” Macri said.

“We really want to support clubs and I think we've definitely shown that in this case that we want to get in there and help and take some burden off of clubs and volunteers.”

Echuca president Ash Byrne said lightening the burden on any club would only be a positive.

“Any sort of saving for the club is great, wherever it comes from,” he said.

“It means we are able to put the money back into buying equipment and resources to helping everyone at our club become better players.”