- AFL Commission
Infobox sport governing body
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category =Australian rules football
jurisdiction =Global
year formed = 1985
year closed =
headquarters = AFL House. 140 Habour Esplanade,Melbourne Docklands
president =
chairman = Mike Fitzpatrick
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website =The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the
Australian Football League (AFL), the elite nationalAustralian rules football competition in Australia.The AFL Commission is responsible for the administration of the AFL competition and is the "keeper of the code". There are eight members that comprise the AFL Commission, including a
Chairman andChief executive officer . Commissioners are elected by the 16 AFL clubs, who each are entitled to make nominations. Should an election be necessary, then the membership is decided by a vote of the AFL clubs.The AFL Commission has set policy and has directed the AFL (known then as the VFL) since December 1985. In 1993 it assumed national governance of the sport (see Principle 2 below) following the earlier disbanding of the
Australian National Football Council . At the same time, control of the AFL passed from the AFL Board of Directors (effectively the 16 AFL clubs) to the Commission [http://www.footy.com.au/dags/FAQ2v1-5.html] , with the abolition of the Board of Directors and adoption of new Memorandum and Articles of Association for the AFL. This was a significant change of power as previously the Commission required explicit approval by the League (teams) for major items, such as further Expansion, Mergers, Relocations, Major Capital Works and similar items.Members
Since commencement 21 people have served on the Commission.
Previous Chairmen of the Commission were
Ross Oakley (1986-1993) andJohn Kennedy, Sr. (1993-1997). Alan Schwab was Executive Commissoner 1986-1993. The Chief executive officer position has previously been filled by Ross Oakley (1994-1996) and Wayne Jackson (1996-2003).Current membership of the Commission is:
*Chairman: Mike Fitzpatrick (appointed Commissioner 2003, Chairman 2007)
*Chief executive officer:Andrew Demetriou (appointed 2003)
*Non Executive Commissioners:
**Colin Carter OAM (appointed 1993)
**Bill Kelty (1998)
**Chris Langford (1999)
**Graeme John AO (2000)
**Bob Hammond AM (2001)
**Linda Dessau (2007)
**Sam Mostyn (2005)Intervention History
In 2006 the AFL Commission were called up to investigate the disputed finish to the St. Kilda vs. Fremantle match played at
Aurora Stadium onApril 30 , 2006. The final siren was not loud enough and, as a result,Steven Baker locked up the scores. His first attempt was cancelled after an illegal bump. Baker was given another attempt, but his second shot also went through for a behind. Both points were rejected and Fremantle won the full four points.In 2007 the
West Coast Eagles were forced to front the Commission to explain the recent off-field behaviour of some of their players, including among other incidents:
*Ben Cousins , who recently returned to Australia following a four-week drug rehabilitation program.
*Daniel Kerr , who was arrested in Perth in February following alleged drunkenness.
*Chad Fletcher , hospitalised during pre-season in Las Vegas after choking on his own vomit.External links
* [http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=aflinfosheets&spg=display&articleid=240737 AFL Info Sheet "AFL Commission"]
* [http://www.footy.com.au/dags/FAQ2v1-5.html FAQ for rec.sport.football.australian]
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