so thats 10
the article also says while the Swans turned a modest profit ( fudged no doubt) .. they were as good as the 11th AFL club in financial strife
GWS will make it 12 .. in 2012 that are bleeding money badly ..
can't make a profit.. & can't see one anytime soon
http://www.theage.com.au/AFL/AFL-news/n ... 1p06e.html
WHILE the two big-ticket items of the year have been locked away - the new broadcast rights contract and wages deal with the players - AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou knows challenges await, not the least being improving the financial health of at least nine clubs.
There's also the issue of bedding down expansion clubs Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.
The end-of-financial year reporting season - for AFL clubs their year runs until October 31 - hasn't made for great reading. A detailed analysis of balance sheets shows many clubs are doing it tough, with nine expected to post losses.
North Melbourne declared a loss of almost $600,000, and Port Adelaide would have followed with a $3.16 million deficit had it not been for $4 million of AFL-SANFL grants. The Swans, while announcing a modest profit, continue to show how tough a market Sydney is, while several Victorian clubs that posted profits only did so because of loans and grants.
The $1.25 billion broadcast rights deal with Seven and Foxtel will play a key role in bankrolling the league and should help guard against clubs having to worry about closing their doors.
But Demetriou understands more needs to be done for all clubs to prosper and have a legitimate chance of winning a premiership.
The ''equal'' and ''unequal'' financial distributions announced this season should help in that regard, although clubs have made it clear they would have preferred greater handouts. ''From a financial perspective, overall the code is healthy, but we do have some challenges. We are certainly aware this year we will probably have nine clubs post losses,'' Demetriou said.
''Hopefully, that will be arrested going forward, but I think with some of the plans we have put in through our club distribution policy, we can try and address that, and we have had the support of the players' association through that. That's more about equalisation.''
On the flipside, Demetriou said the league was now well served with excellent facilities for spectators.
''I think we have been wonderfully served by infrastructure, to see Metricon Stadium [on the Gold Coast] come on this year, next year we will have the Showgrounds [in western Sydney],'' he said. ''We have Adelaide Oval in 2014, there will be an oval at Burswood in 2017-18 in Perth, which is phenomenal.
''But we have got challenges. We have got two new teams, Gold Coast this year, next year GWS. We have got teams that haven't won a flag for quite a long time and supporters are entitled to get frustrated. We have competition from other codes, so there is lots and lots of challenges.''
While there's plenty of work to do off the field, there was less consternation about what was delivered on it in a season capped by Geelong's third premiership in five years.
''In many aspects the game is in very good shape. I think the game itself that is being played on the field is being played by superb athletes, some really wonderful athletes that are well prepared,'' Demetriou said.
''The sports science, the club preparation, the investment that has gone into preparing our players is phenomenal. The facilities now at every club are now great.''
my my beaussie ... its seems you've picked up those stones in that glass house a little too early eh
