Mick Malthouse has slammed the AFL for not having money in place to keep the competition afloat for a situation like the one we currently find ourselves in.
The COVID-19 crisis has forced the sport to enter a lockdown period and with no revenue coming in, the AFL and its clubs have been forced to lay off up to 80 per cent of their staff to survive. They also sought out a $600 million dollar loan on top of that.
Malthouse is disappointed that the AFL didn't have more money in the bank for a rainy day.
“I cannot believe an industry as big as the AFL has not got a war-chest … or a war-chest that is big enough to carry its competition through for six to 12 months,” Malthouse told SEN SA Breakfast.
The AFL’s future fund figure – designed to be a cushion for a rainy day – was reporting $120 million, with the majority of the revenue raised by the league being spent on grassroots footy, past and present player welfare and other ventures.
Former Port Adelaide midfielder Kane Cornes agreed with Malthouse.
“I was staggered at that as well. I look at the AFL game and how healthy it has been for so long and to think that it could be on its knees in the space of a month was a real surprise to me,” Cornes said.
Malthouse believes the AFL must look at all possibilities now to get the game through this financial crisis.
“Football as we know it this year is going to be really tough on a lot of people that we don’t expect,” Malthouse said.
“The supporters want the game to start, but I’m saying look a bit deeper and look at the impact on grassroots and look at these (under 18’s) kids.
“Is there going to be a shakeup at AFL House? I notice that they’ve got 12 people getting paid over $900,000. Does that need to be looked at?
“Do we need 18 sides? The ones that are struggling financially, do we need them to be dragging the competition down?”