Australian Football League To Address Financial Equalization Amongst Clubs

The Australian Football League will "take the rest of the season to address the financial equalisation of its clubs," according to Greg Denham of THE AUSTRALIAN. Following a forum in Melbourne between clubs, the AFL Commission and the league's exec, a restructured equalisation policy "has been scheduled for introduction by September at the earliest." The biggest challenge facing the competition on the issue was "how to slow down football department spending by the wealthier clubs." The gap between the rich and poor clubs "continues to grow" despite the introduction 18 months ago of a new system, the Club Future Fund, which planned to distribute A$48M ($49.9M) unequally to clubs up to the end of  '14 to address "such things as the unequal fixture and stadium deals" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 3/21).