AFL Secures Line Of Credit To Overcome Massive Financial Deficit

The AFL has announced it has secured lines of credit from NAB and ANZ to overcome the massive financial deficit incurred during the coronavirus pandemic.

The credit will provide the AFL with urgent funds to overcome the cash shortfall in the league, mostly as a result of the revenue lost from the interrupted 2020 AFL season.

“I want to thank the NAB and the ANZ for their support but I also want to stress that while this is a relief, it is not a return to business as usual or a release valve,” AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.

“The football community is – like businesses across every sector - still very much in the financial fight of its life with the losses this year stretching to many hundreds of millions of dollars,” Mr McLachlan said.

“What this means is we have a chance to get through but we will only get through this period if we are united as an industry and every one of us at all levels of the AFL continue to make the hard decisions to drastically and urgently cut costs.”

McLachlan thanked clubs and players for working with the league to reduce all costs.

“To repeat what I said when the AFL Commission made the decision to suspend the 2020 season, this is the most serious threat to our game in our history,” he said.

“Last week the AFL stood down 80 per cent of our national workforce until Sunday May 31, with all remaining roles moved to reduced hours of three or four days a week.  

“All 18 clubs have taken similar steps and the players have agreed to reduced payments to both save the national AFL competition and preserve the future of the game we love at community and grass roots level.”