Australian Football League side Geelong President Colin Carter "called for an overhaul of the AFL's international agenda," declaring that it is time the league assiduously worked to expand a code that has a stronghold only in "a few states" of Australia, according to Jon Pierik of THE AGE. In a letter to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and Chair Mike Fitzpatrick, Carter said that "it makes sense from a financial and talent point of view to shift greater resources into developing the sport in South Africa." While the AFL attempts to forge an imprint in New Zealand, Carter believes that "the most productive harvest would be the African nation, with the possibility of Cape Town fielding its own AFL side by 2030." As one of Australia's "sharpest business minds," and having played a key role in the transformation of the then VFL into the AFL, Carter said that "league bosses must confront a major question." Carter said, "Our's is arguably the oldest football competition in the world and we believe that we have the 'best game' in the world. And so, the confronting question is this: if all of this is true, why is our game only played in a few states at the bottom of Australia?! What went wrong?" The three-year agreements "that Fremantle, Carlton, West Coast and Collingwood had in providing investment and development support in South Africa expired in 2011." Carter: "I am a believer in our northern states expansion -- it is crucial for our future -- but for a fraction of the cost we could also, over the next 30 years, build a participation base in South Africa that is larger than our markets in WA and SA" (THE AGE, 3/3).
