AFL not doing enough on junior retention

IT’S all pretty sexy at the top end of footy; the multi-million dollar player salaries, the huge TV rights deals, the corporate contest for the Sydney market, the money that’s being thrown at Tasmania and, it must be said, the level of audience engagement.

The story lines are endless.

But what about the crisis at the grass roots of footy, the drop off in numbers playing the game after juniors? Where’s the strategy (and the money) for the promotion of the game at the foundation level and where’s the strategy for attracting and retaining players at community clubs?

Where is it? It doesn’t exist!

Beyond what’s going on with the regional Under 19 and Under 16 programs, the AFL couldn’t give a toss what’s happening in country leagues and the need to move and adapt quickly to changes in demographics and the shift to other sports and activities.

It’s simply not the same’ol situation that it’s always been at the grassroots and if the AFL doesn’t get active in a big way, the golden goose of the billion-dollar football industry is going to stop laying the golden eggs.

Right now, the AFL needs to take another look at the structure of football in Gippsland to see if it is serving the community’s and the game’s needs.

Yeah, but we’ve already done that, you might say, but in a rapidly changing world, you might have to restructure Gippsland football more regularly, including consideration of a promotion-relegation system in a two-tier West Gippsland league.

There are a lot of people talking about the structure of Gippsland’s leagues and the retention of players, young and in their mid-20s, and the AFL needs to turn its mind to the problem before it’s too late.