How to save the WAFL

[bigburger]

Since the Eagles and to a lesser extent the Dockers have come into existence the WAFL has been been on a fast track to oblivion. As a uni student currently studying Commerce and majoring in Sports management I often try to think of ideas or ways to which struggling sports organisations could become more popular. As a result I have thought of an idea to save the WAFL.

Privatise it!

This would be one of the most radical things done in Australian sport but if ever there has been an oppurtunity and a time to warrant the idea of a privatised league its now.

The reasons to privatise:

• WAFL is dieing - Its pretty obvious that this is true. The WAFC is constantly badgering WCE and now the profitable Freo for more and more cash each year. Last year IIRC the WAFC got over $3mil from WCE just to keep them propped up.
• The dwindling crowd numbers - Although this isn't going to improve too quickly a bit of money could be invested into marketing which is badly needed at the moment. If this is done successfully then eventually we could be seeing something similar to college basketball/football in America.
• The quality of competition - The biggest effect an injection of funds into WAFL would be an increase in the salary cap (currently $160k compared to that of SANFL's $400k). This would create two things. One is more professional players. Less and less players would have to work to maintain a living. Therefore they would be able to train more and be better players for it. Also the WAFL would lose less players to over East where Salary caps are much more roomy and player payments are larger. Finally AFL players may retire earlier in favour of a more relaxed (less travelling) lifestyles improving the level of competition once again.

I am certain the two AFL clubs in Perth would not be adverse to the idea as it will see the WAFL producing a lot more quality WA youngsters. Also if successful new clubs could be created such as a South West club whose home ground is in Bunbury probably at Hands oval.

High profile WA business owners should be the the targeted investors as they stand to profit the most out of having their business brand as the sponsors. E.g John Hughes is one that comes to mind with his car sales business or Andrew Forrest's Fortiscue metals. With the boom WA is currently experiencing there is plenty of money flowing around and if this idea is marketed correctly I have no doubt it would work and WAFL could become a strong competition once again.

 

[Chops_a_must]

I think giving WAFL clubs late night licenses/ grants to set up restaurants/ ala leagues clubs over east, without the pokies, is perhaps a way to raise money, and to also get ordinary people to the actual grounds themselves.

 

[bigburger]

I think giving WAFL clubs late night licenses/ grants to set up restaurants/ ala leagues clubs over east, without the pokies, is perhaps a way to raise money, and to also get ordinary people to the actual grounds themselves.

Yeah true. But right now theres no way they have the capital behind them to make such a big investment.

 

[zero]

my idea is 500 for the wafl...

subiaco has 50 seats now which is the financial lifeblood of their club, they get 50 seats at every eagles and dockers game and everything else which they can raffle em, sell them in corporate packages or season tickets, or do whatever they hell they want with them to get the most. its a HUGE boon to the club

so i reckon, in the new, bigger stadium that is being built, 500 seats of the 60000 are given to the WAFL, 50 for each club, and 50 for the WAFL administration.

its a good but simple way to funnel funds back from the top level to the WAFL

 

[stewpyd2]

Good ideas. I think the salary cap desperately needs to be looked at. Too many good players are being lost to the VFL and SANFL.

 

[1972championsofaust]

Big Rumour doing the rounds is an airline (JetBlue) will be the official carrier of the SANFL/WAFL AND THE 2 LEAGUES will have 4 sanfl teams playing wafl teams in sa 1 week with the other 5 sanfl teams playing wafl teams in wa the same week.And vice-versa. This means for instance west adelaide,norwood,sturt,centrals will play in sa,while south,portadelaide, north adelaide,woodville/torrens,glenelg would play in wa the same weekend.Will be intime for the 2009 season.

 

[Kram]

Work out some way to even the teams up a bit, the salary cap is obviously not working/ being cheated. Who wants to watch floggings almost all the time?

 

[Chops_a_must]

Yeah true. But right now theres no way they have the capital behind them to make such a big investment.

That's why I said a grant...

Leederville and Lathlain would be the two most suited to something like this. Not really sure about the others as I haven't been to them in a while.

But something like what they are doing with the WACA precinct would be the way to go IMO. Most of the grounds are in prime locations...

 

[Chops_a_must]

Work out some way to even the teams up a bit, the salary cap is obviously not working/ being cheated. Who wants to watch floggings almost all the time?

The salary cap I think became a big issue when easts were killing the league late 90s from memory.

It ended up stuffing them big time. And the same will eventually happen with Subi. They've really struggled to develop their own kids, and most of the best of the current breed have moved to Perth.

 

[bigburger]

The salary cap I think became a big issue when easts were killing the league late 90s from memory.

It ended up stuffing them big time. And the same will eventually happen with Subi. They've really struggled to develop their own kids, and most of the best of the current breed have moved to Perth.

Yeah but they will probably just buy them back when they look like becoming a solid player.

 

[swannies]

Yeah but they will probably just buy them back when they look like becoming a solid player.

Yeah, but with a plan like Zero's all the WAFL clubs could afford to buy the players back, outside of salary cap, of course. Then all clubs could pay players to "park cars" at Subi oval on match days.

 

[frantelle]

take my word for it...but the amount of money we (perth) have flowing around now is going to come to a grinding halt within a few years.

i dont mind this idea, my only concerns would be:

• if it was privatised, what would happen to all the concessions the wafl and wafl clubs receive
• if it took off would it be in competition with the afl (eg one club paying a player more then he can earn in the afl) would the afl try and crush it?
• the problem with privatising, is that at the moment, its running at a loss, but all sorts of authorities are giving money, if its a private company, no one will give them money for it, and if it continues to operate at a loss, will the wafl continue to exist?

something does have to be done though

 

[Impunity!]

The salary cap I think became a big issue when easts were killing the league late 90s from memory.

It ended up stuffing them big time. And the same will eventually happen with Subi. They've really struggled to develop their own kids, and most of the best of the current breed have moved to Perth.

65-70% of the Subi squad are from Subi's zone, comparable to pretty much all other WAFL clubs.

Fair enough they've bought your Phil Reads and Daniel Chicks etc but they still invest a lot in developing their own.

This "Subi only buys players" thing is a furphy.

 

[bigburger]

take my word for it...but the amount of money we (perth) have flowing around now is going to come to a grinding halt within a few years.


i dont mind this idea, my only concerns would be:

• if it was privatised, what would happen to all the concessions the wafl and wafl clubs receive - They would just stay with West Coast and Freo or whoever else is getting them
• if it took off would it be in competition with the afl (eg one club paying a player more then he can earn in the afl) would the afl try and crush it? - There should still be a salary cap otherwise the comp won't be fair and won't work. However it should be a lot higher than the current 160k clubs use now. Don't forget theres a salary cap in the IPL.
• the problem with privatising, is that at the moment, its running at a loss, but all sorts of authorities are giving money, if its a private company, no one will give them money for it, and if it continues to operate at a loss, will the wafl continue to exist? - With strong marketing this shouldn't be a problem though that is very subjective. Obviously any change is going to be risky but just look at the IPL as a platform for success. In relation to if this does not work and the WAFL is forced to fold well that is the ultimate risk and so crisis plans will have to be made if that arises.

something does have to be done though

Edited for my opinion (in bold)

 

[zero]

my old man told me that peel actually lost a player to country football, ____ing carey park or something, because the money was better.

the money was better! thats a joke. the fact we live in a rich, boom state with 2 of the biggest, richest AFL clubs in the country and we cant even scrounge up the cash to keep the quality players playing in the WAFL is a joke.

the secret is funding, we need to secure new revenue streams for all the clubs, and the eagles and dockers are the way to do it.

 

[catters05]

my idea is 500 for the wafl...

subiaco has 50 seats now which is the financial lifeblood of their club, they get 50 seats at every eagles and dockers game and everything else which they can raffle em, sell them in corporate packages or season tickets, or do whatever they hell they want with them to get the most. its a HUGE boon to the club

so i reckon, in the new, bigger stadium that is being built, 500 seats of the 60000 are given to the WAFL, 50 for each club, and 50 for the WAFL administration.

its a good but simple way to funnel funds back from the top level to the WAFL

I like these ideas.

The Dockers and Eagles could do more to help the WAFL.

Maybe add into membership, you add your WAFL club, some funds go to the WAFL clubs and they could create a scarf or something with the AFL team on oneside and WAFL club on the other.......

To get more bums on seats, maybe run a comp, that gives access to one of the corporate boxes or something for a group of mates, and get WESTEND or something to sponsor it to bring in cash to be able to afford the box at the AFL.

You go to a WAFL game with a group of mates, have a few beers and you could win the chance to see either the Dockers or Eagles.

I think the WAFL can come back with a bit more creative thinking, considering it is pretty hard to get tickets to AFL games in the West. Using these types of competitions could bring footy back to surburban footy.

Same with SANFL.

But all you need then is some Good timing that the AFL is on, so that people can take advantage of going to local footy.

Has WAFL mainly been a Saturday arvo thing or Sunday thing?

 

[gytre]

One of the major problems with the WAFL is that most of the people going to the games are still the nostalgic diehards. WA's AFL fans just aren't prepared to spend money going to a WAFL game. Whilst I think a lot of them are "closet" WAFL supporters, it's getting them to support both an AFL and a WAFL club that is the big challenge.

Personally, I think the WAFL clubs themselves haven't been adventurous enough in trying to attract that AFL audience. They could at least have experimented with WAFL-AFL double-headers for example. But for some reason, they've been totally reluctant to do this.

The other thing I'd like to see is to get the WAFL off the ABC and onto a commercial TV network. The WAFL has rated very well for many years on a Saturday afternoon and I'm sure one of the big networks would pick it up and promote it properly if given the chance.

 

[Ingall]

A quick question from someone who doesn't know much about the WAFL but hates watching the demise of the state competitions. Does the WAFL hold the AFL licenses for West Coast and Fremantle?

 

[Impunity!]

A quick question from someone who doesn't know much about the WAFL but hates watching the demise of the state competitions. Does the WAFL hold the AFL licenses for West Coast and Fremantle?

No, the WAFC does.

 

[Kingpin]

my old man told me that peel actually lost a player to country football, ____ing carey park or something, because the money was better.

the money was better! thats a joke. the fact we live in a rich, boom state with 2 of the biggest, richest AFL clubs in the country and we cant even scrounge up the cash to keep the quality players playing in the WAFL is a joke.

Interesting that you say that, that's one huge reason why the old TFL Statewide League went down the plughole and eventually fell over.
They were losing players left, right and centre to all the country and amateur leagues all around the state.
While the TFL clubs were all battling insolvency, the country and amateur clubs were paying good players big money (or with other 'goods') without scrutiny of salary caps.
The elite players just went interstate in the finish.

 

[Ingall]

No, the WAFC does.

And who are they and what's their relationship to the WAFL?

 

[gytre]

And who are they and what's their relationship to the WAFL?

The West Australian Football Commission is the governing body of football in WA. Some years ago all the WAFL clubs agreed to give up their powers to the WAFC.

 

[matthecat]

I am actually quite upbeat about the WAFL after many years of being in the wilderness.
I loathe the WCE for ruining what was a great WAFL comp.
I was a diehard South Freo supporter however with 2 small boys and living in Bassendean we have now "adopted" Swans as our team.
There are quite a few families we know that have made the Swans home games their major excursion on the weekend. All the kids love going on the ground and kicking the footy and I hope that when they are old enough they will travel to the games like I did when I was a kid.
Perth FC should also be congratulated on their efforts. They have had a gymbus, face painting and a bouncy castle when we have been there this year.
The continued fall of WCE and FD will bring more people as the front-runner jump off the bandwagon.

 

[coleman10]

Here's my idea for saving the WAFL competition.

Increase the number of WAFL clubs by at least one so as to make the competition even. IMaybe introduce a team from the Armadale region (example: Kelmscott SFL?)

The WAFC would invite submissions for a new "second-tier" competition to begin in 2010. Let's call this new competition for arguments sake the WPFL (Western Premier Football League). The more powerful and financial clubs from the SFL and the WAAFL would be choisen based on meeting a criteria to make up the WPFL.

These clubs would then become "feeder" clubs to each of the (10) WAFL clubs, thus eliminating the need for the WAFL Reserves competition as it is today, much like the VFL is to the Victorian AFL clubs.

This would also allow the WAFL clubs to trim their senior list down to a more manageable level and increase player payments under a newly revised salary cap system (We cant have Subiaco getting all the good players now, can we?). Players not playing in the WAFL would then filter down to their WPFL club league team each week.

The WPFL clubs would also have a salary cap for a submitted senior playing list, which would alleviate the "poaching" of top-class WA footballers playing at a lower level for money.

The Saturday Amateur and Sunday Football Competitions would also be restructured to accomodate existing grass roots football where "no money" (LOL) is exchanged.

An example could very well be:

NORTH BEACH AFC to become the feeder club for CLAREMONT, or WHITFORDS to be WEST-PERTH's feeder club, subject to a criteria such as Location, Facilities, Infrastructure, Junior Club Alignment, Sponsorship.

I would welcome the forums thoughts and improvements on my idea....

 

[Chops_a_must]

I am actually quite upbeat about the WAFL after many years of being in the wilderness.
I loathe the WCE for ruining what was a great WAFL comp.
I was a diehard South Freo supporter however with 2 small boys and living in Bassendean we have now "adopted" Swans as our team.
There are quite a few families we know that have made the Swans home games their major excursion on the weekend. All the kids love going on the ground and kicking the footy and I hope that when they are old enough they will travel to the games like I did when I was a kid.
Perth FC should also be congratulated on their efforts. They have had a gymbus, face painting and a bouncy castle when we have been there this year.
The continued fall of WCE and FD will bring more people as the front-runner jump off the bandwagon.

Yep. I'm starting to enjoy going to the WAFL more than watching the AFL.

It's cheap, relaxed, plenty of sitting space.

And it's great for families. I think the WAFL is coming back, because of all us people tiring of the crap at the AFL.