AFL aim to keep WA cash flowing
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has promised that funding to the WA Football Commission won't be undermined in the shift to the new Burswood stadium in 2018.
But McLachlan, in Perth to meet West Coast, Fremantle and the State Government, defended AFL equalisation policies, which include a luxury tax on football department spending in 2015 and could strip another $600,000 from WA.
The AFL's equalisation push is understood to be a key negotiating point in talks with the State Government for a deal at the new stadium.
The Government wants to make sure there is enough money for the AFL clubs and the WAFC but also that sufficient money is spent on stadium maintenance, and has concerns about money leaving the State to help struggling clubs elsewhere.
Both WA clubs are expected to pay tax on non-player football department spending above a certain threshold. It is the AFL's strongest bid yet to narrow the gap between the competition haves and the have nots.
McLachlan called for a "holistic" view of the equalisation measures.
"I don't look at it in terms of States versus States," he said.
"All supporters want 18 strong teams that can compete. It is an ecosystem. If you start breaking that down it gets very complicated because there are broadcast deals and television markets.
"We have worked hard with our clubs and we have got a model that has been signed off by our clubs. There are challenges in that but everyone broadly understands why we need it.
"This year was the first year of our luxury tax, the non-player footy department cap. A soft cap.
"We have got to bed that down and get that right and we continue to talk to our clubs because it is new and it is complicated and we have got to bed that in and make sure it works so that is going to be a key priority for this year, to get that soft cap working."
McLachlan said the AFL would preserve the financial contribution of the AFL clubs to the WAFC. "Our clubs over here are very important to the funding of the WA Football Commission," he said.
"We won't do anything that undermines that. We have got to have discussions with all parties and it is a priority for us through the commission to make sure that we grow the funding for community football in WA."
