AFL's arrogance is no way to win fans

The Age

25-05-2025

To submit a letter to The Age, email [e-mail]. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.
FOOTBALL
The arrogance of this organisation is amazing ('AFL counting cost of abandoning Saturdays', 24/5). The AFL chose the name 'Australian', expanded into rugby states, but missed two Aussie rules ones (Tasmania and the NT). It will accept Tasmania, but only with a roofed stadium: a feature lacking at the MCG itself.
I was letterboxed by my local club, at a tier below VFL (former VFA): 'Tired of football being big business? Get back to grassroots football, and walk down to your nearby oval and watch the local lads in action.' I was so impressed that I did. What will appear on screens in public bars now?
Roderick Smith, Surrey Hills
Talk about a free kick
Caroline Wilson writes that the AFL may have handed the NRL a costly free kick, by removing Saturday night matches from free-to-air TV. Not only that, the super rugby union competition is also reaping the benefit of this, with its free-to-air broadcast of matches on Saturday nights, meaning that this engaging code has a virtual monopoly in a peak football-viewing timeslot.
Matthew Hamilton, Kew
Saying it like it is
Thank you, Caroline Wilson, for expressing what many die-hard supporters already think of the AFL. David Cayzer, Clifton Hill
Kudos for taking on 'head office'
Kudos to Caroline Wilson for having the courage to be one of the few, if any, AFL media heavyweights to critically unpack the disgrace that is Saturday AFL broadcasting and take on 'head office'.
Our country's only indigenous game, a game that allegedly belongs to the people in general, and fans in particular, is now denied its traditional home of Saturday for seven seasons to those Victorians who value paying the bills above enriching Kayo and its overseas owners. In 35-plus paragraphs, Caro nailed the issue in one sentence referring to the disenfranchisement of elderly, lower socio-economic groups and our rural cousins.
AFL chairman Richard Goyder and ex-CEO Gillon McLachlan should be ashamed, along with their strategic advisers.
Richard Davies, Point Lonsdale
Timing left a lot to be desired
Can someone enlighten me as to why the AFL, classified as a not-for-profit, put Saturday football behind a paywall during a cost-of-living crisis?
Louise Angelides, Mount Eliza
How about live games cater to more than kids
It's good that the AFL provides us with a way to report antisocial behaviour at the footy. I was at the MCG game on Saturday and gave it a good workout.
All of the fans around me were enthusiastic, joyous and respectful. Kids ran around with their footies and had a ball. But those good vibes were swamped by antisocial behaviour from elsewhere.
Doof doof music from the speakers killed the chance of having a quiet chat with friends. A hundred identical ads flashed at me from perimeter-long screens on four levels. Infantile games on the ground and on the scoreboard were accompanied by shrieking commentary and countless appeals to make more noise.
I understand the AFL's need to cater to 13-year-old kids but when that's the only demographic in its sights, older fans will turn away.
I'll watch future games on TV carefully to see when it might be OK for me to go and see more games live.
Barry Thompson, Castlemaine
AFL needs to look closer at gambling issue
Considering its heavy dependence on gambling revenue, the AFL is perhaps one of the least appropriate organisations to front a mental health awareness campaign. If the league is genuinely committed to mental health, it must also confront the serious toll gambling addiction takes on individuals' mental health and communities.
Bruce McMillan, Grovedale