Australian Football League side West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett "has accused the clubs of being 'delusional' and 'undisciplined' as they continue to gloss over mounting debts and multimillion-dollar losses," according to Caroline Wilson of THE AGE. Nisbett hit out at the game's "growing financial crisis" as the 18 clubs' combined debts had reportedly topped the A$100M mark at the end of last season, a jump of A$20M on the previous year. Victorian clubs are "responsible for half that debt." Nisbett: "We are all delusional as an industry if we think we can keep going on like this. There is a lack of discipline in what we do and it reflects poorly on all of us. It's about time we did something about it. Whichever way you look at it, it's a bad business." The AFL had forecast at the end of '13 that the clubs' combined debt would jump from A$80M to A$85M by the end of '14. Instead the increase was "four times that prediction." While half the total debt is regarded by the clubs as "good debt," such as "money owed on profitable gaming venues," Nisbett said, "This is a priority for the commission. It's a priority for all of us. We have to get our finances in order." One-third of the clubs had achieved a profit last year, with the game's "most challenging" club -- Greater Western Sydney -- recording an operating loss of more than A$500,000 despite the AFL pouring A$20.16M in grants into the fledgling club, A$3.25M "more than originally budgeted." The Giants "also suffered a fall in marketing and sponsorship income." Another "financial basket case," the Brisbane Lions, lost more than A$3M last year and "is existing upon a debt" of close to A$12M ($9M), "about half of that attributed to its gaming facility." The AFL ploughed an additional A$5M into the Lions last year. The equalization debate "continues to simmer in the background with Hawthorn and Collingwood adamant that the AFL and not the wealthy clubs should be taking responsibility for the poorer clubs" (THE AGE, 3/17).
