AFL were employing 795 staff!

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PrinceCharles

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 18, 2016
5,068
9,794
AFL Club
Carlton
What biases are you even talking about? Substantial increase in revenue doesnt necessitate an increase in base spending. Dont ever try and run your own business. Im afraid basic commerce is beyond your grasp.

Which is beside the point because its a not for profit organisation. By Christ you are bloody dense.
Go back to business school mate, you need a lot of work.
 

Tackle Bag

Club Legend
Dec 5, 2017
2,101
4,961
AFL Club
Richmond
Anyone who’s been involved in local clubland administration would not be surprised by these numbers. The landscape is full of career Sports admin people with very little to zero experience/ involvement in actually running clubs or leagues. All with an eye to climbing the sports admin career ladder to afl house.

The days of admin people with a history in their local league and their hearts in it are gone.
The game is suffering as a result.
 
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GCS in 11

All Australian
Jul 6, 2011
639
1,149
Brisbane
AFL Club
Gold Coast
This is what I’d estimate the breakdown in the AFL organisation in 2003 to look like:
Total employed - 100
30 - Football Operations (umpires and officials)
20 - State/Grassroots Football
15 - Commerical
10 - Growth/Digital
5 - Clubs and Finance
10 - Executives
10 - Everything else (legal/HR/other)

AFL now:
Total employed - 795
338 - States/Grassroots Football
116 - Growth/Digital
100 - Commercial
93 - Football Operations
42 - Clubs and Finance
26 - Strategy
23 - HR
11 - Executives
42 - About 8 other departments.

How could anyone complain about this growth in the AFL organisation? More than half of the total new positions are in grassroots and state’s, with the understandable rise in digital too. The only department you could criticise is Commercial but we have no idea what’s needed or what’s not really. This is a storm in a teacup for me.
 

Tackle Bag

Club Legend
Dec 5, 2017
2,101
4,961
AFL Club
Richmond
This is what I’d estimate the breakdown in the AFL organisation in 2003 to look like:
Total employed - 100
30 - Football Operations (umpires and officials)
20 - State/Grassroots Football
15 - Commerical
10 - Growth/Digital
5 - Clubs and Finance
10 - Executives
10 - Everything else (legal/HR/other)

AFL now:
Total employed - 795
338 - States/Grassroots Football
116 - Growth/Digital
100 - Commercial
93 - Football Operations
42 - Clubs and Finance
26 - Strategy
23 - HR
11 - Executives
42 - About 8 other departments.

How could anyone complain about this growth in the AFL organisation? More than half of the total new positions are in grassroots and state’s, with the understandable rise in digital too. The only department you could criticise is Commercial but we have no idea what’s needed or what’s not really. This is a storm in a teacup for me.
Those numbers are estimates with no foundation. The number employed in local footy in vic are ridiculous and not justified based on results. You would be very hard pressed to find anyone in local clubland that would argue that footy is in better condition since it was taken over by the afl.
 

GCS in 11

All Australian
Jul 6, 2011
639
1,149
Brisbane
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Those numbers are estimates with no foundation. The number employed in local footy in vic are ridiculous and not justified based on results. You would be very hard pressed to find anyone in local clubland that would argue that footy is in better condition since it was taken over by the afl.
The 2020 numbers are not estimates, those are the figures cited by the Herald Sun in the leaked AFL documents. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...l/news-story/48d45f3688bd300787439545fcfa9036

And on the 2nd point, it definitely is here in QLD. Everyone would agree footy is bigger and run better than ever before here. I can’t speak for Victorian clubland though.
 

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Tackle Bag

Club Legend
Dec 5, 2017
2,101
4,961
AFL Club
Richmond
The 2020 numbers are not estimates, those are the figures cited by the Herald Sun in the leaked AFL documents. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...l/news-story/48d45f3688bd300787439545fcfa9036

And on the 2nd point, it definitely is here in QLD. Everyone would agree footy is bigger and run better than ever before here. I can’t speak for Victorian clubland though.
From afar it looks like the money is paying dividends in qld. Appointments here in vic are hard to justify and the money spent is ridiculous.

Having been heavily involved in local footy admin for over 15 years in Victoria I can say that the admin of the game has never been worse and the money paid for it by local clubs has never been higher.

The women’s footy numbers are masking a big problem with local footy in vic.
 
May 16, 2007
2,146
1,558
coffs
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chess
Better hand back my MBA, a random on the internet who can't formulate coherent arguments thinks I'm an idiot...

You are an idiot given you're defending the bloated AFL empire.

There can never be a justification for that many administrative positions. Coincident you have country leagues in Victoria, suffering financially more than ever. Towns that have seemingly always fielded a side in their local league are no longer able to field a team, largely for financial reasons.

Why doesn't the current AFL with their massive revenues build a lasting legacy. Currently, you have nine Melbourne based clubs using two stadiums. There is a need for a boutique stadium, with the best possible playing surface anywhere in the country that the AFL could fund. Surely, that would be a better use of the money than 795 staff, with executives on close to a million each.
 

PrinceCharles

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 18, 2016
5,068
9,794
AFL Club
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You are an idiot given you're defending the bloated AFL empire.

There can never be a justification for that many administrative positions. Coincident you have country leagues in Victoria, suffering financially more than ever. Towns that have seemingly always fielded a side in their local league are no longer able to field a team, largely for financial reasons.

Why doesn't the current AFL with their massive revenues build a lasting legacy. Currently, you have nine Melbourne based clubs using two stadiums. There is a need for a boutique stadium, with the best possible playing surface anywhere in the country that the AFL could fund. Surely, that would be a better use of the money than 795 staff, with executives on close to a million each.
Not defending anything, I'm merely stating that it's not a ridiculous amount of employees compared to 2003 or their revenue. Like any organisation, I'm sure they can do a lot of things better, from the outside looking in they make a lot of really poor decisions which would indicate poor leadership.

And defending the AFL wouldn't make anyone an idiot, it would just mean they have a different perspective than you.
 
Jul 13, 2015
36,308
40,471
AFL Club
Hawthorn
In 2003 Demetrious AFL wasnt running 5 state leagues and a NEAFL. This didnt happen until after 2010, around the same time the league started migrating developing officers northward like a flock of geese,

I wonder how they were going in 2003 vs 2019. Regional comps too.

Should be massively better now I would assume.
 
Jul 2, 2010
37,959
36,138
Adelaide
AFL Club
Carlton
I wonder how they were going in 2003 vs 2019. Regional comps too.

Should be massively better now I would assume.

Dont forget that Demetriou also didnt have AFL Media, which reports have said employed 50-100 staff on its own. Not to mention the finance guys that the AFL has oversee club finances if they receive large distributions. Also Stadium operations staff for Docklands.
 
Jul 13, 2015
36,308
40,471
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Dont forget that Demetriou also didnt have AFL Media, which reports have said employed 50-100 staff on its own. Not to mention the finance guys that the AFL has oversee club finances if they receive large distributions. Also Stadium operations staff for Docklands.

Social media could go back to daily tweets by Keane and we would be no worse off. And the money for 100 staff could be turned in to HD high speed cameras and better training for umpires.
 

Lampers

Premiership Player
May 27, 2004
3,566
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No, again you're just applying your own biases, would you not agree that as revenue increases that the workforce needs to as well?

Depends on the degree of automation of your business model, and what the drivers of revenue growth are, and how manual the cost base is.

I suspect the AFL lies on the manual side of things. They aren’t processing large volumes or transaction that can be automated, or running factories or warehouses that can be roboticised.

If the revenue growth is organic, like more AFL members signing on, or windfall like a broadcasting agreement increase, then I don’t think your business needs to grow in employee size proportionately.

If it takes manual processes to drive the revenue growth and maintain or service it - and you could argue my organic example of AFL membership increase is not organic and due to increased marketing campaigns - then I think you do need to grow your employees somewhat proportionately to the revenue growth.

I suspect the growth has been AFL media (AFL website would be a huge production now). You could definitely pare it back, we don’t need 7 pod casts a day and 400 video clips.

Social responsibility such as AFLW, which is strategic and would be bleeding money if viewed as a stand-alone business, indigenous and ethnic inclusion programs, they are other areas that would have gone from almost zero to huge in the last decade. Whether that’s discretionary or essential spend is a political question. I wonder what promises the AFL made in these areas to secure Government grants?

I can’t wait for the all care, no responsibility brigade to start bleating when the touchy-feely parts of the AFL get the knife.

The real question is “What is true core that sustains the current game, and what is seen as developing the sustenance of the game in 2030?” as that should determine what stays. Harsh, but reality.
 
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Pessimistic

Cancelled
30k Posts 10k Posts HBF's Milk Crate - 70k Posts TheBrownDog
Sep 13, 2000
86,852
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Horks
Aflw is the success of recent times.

not so much the product, but the normalisation of what was a no go sport in the minds of future mothers of australia
 
Jul 13, 2015
36,308
40,471
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Begs the question, what the hell is the AFLPA doing?

They get absolutely slaughtered on the PR side, but why should young guys on lists be taking paycuts when they are on $50-$80k and have sacrificed other potential careers to provide the product.

The product generates the revenue.

The AFLPA is run by the senior players for the senior players.
 

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