Good Friday football could "shape as another piece" of a lucrative new TV broadcast rights agreement, meaning its introduction may be delayed until '17, according to Jon Pierik of THE AGE. The Australian Football League Commission announced last year that it had "approved a match on the holy day, with a general feeling among clubs that it would go ahead" in '16. However, some clubs now think it may be "delayed until the new broadcast rights agreement begins a year later, with the game being another incentive for broadcasters looking to secure a piece of what shapes as a five-year deal." The "stand-alone" match on a day when businesses and schools have shut could "add several-million dollars to the AFL's bottom line from a potential broadcaster." This would "create obvious synergy with Channel Seven, with a twilight match to work in closely with the network's Royal Children's Hospital appeal." Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said earlier this year that he "endorsed Good Friday football, provided it was introduced as a benefit for the Royal Children's Hospital appeal." The AFL has said that the match "could be shared around, although it was hoped two clubs would eventually make it a tradition" (THE AGE, 7/15).
