AFL Chairman Richard Goyder has announced the appointment of two new AFL Commissioners.
Sydney Swans board member Andrew Ireland and former Fremantle and GWS midfielder Matt De Boer will take up roles on the code’s governing body at its next meeting in October.
The pair will join the AFL Commission after being endorsed on Monday and will be subject to an election by the 18 clubs at the AGM in March 2024.
Mr Goyder believes both Ireland and De Boer will help the game continue to grow both at the elite and community level.
“The game is strong at the moment with record attendances, record memberships and record engagement with our supporters but the Commission’s job is to have an eye to the future and to ensuring that Australian Football continues to grow at both the elite AFL and AFLW level and at community level,” Mr Goyder said via a statement.
“Andrew and Matt bring a great mix of club and football playing and administration experience across four states that gives them an insight into both how we play the game and also how we support the growth of the game and engage communities who currently are not connected to our game.
“They are also leaders with strong values and strong views who are passionate about our game and what it needs to do to continue to be the game of choice for Australia’s best athletes.”
Ireland, a 110-gamer with Collingwood, has been an administrator across the last three decades - particularly in Queensland and New South Wales.
He was the CEO of the Sydney Swans from 2009 until his retirement in 2018 and will step back from his current role as the club’s Director to take up his spot on the Commission.
De Boer joins the Commission after retiring at the end of 2022 with 223 AFL games to his name.
The ex Docker and Giant is a co-founder of venture capital firm Athletic Ventures which is a private equity investment syndicate of current and former elite athletes that partner with world-class entrepreneurs building high-growth technology and consumer companies.