TonyK
CibbuanoDemetriou takes aim at FFA
December 7th 2009 02:42
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has taken aim at Football Federation Australia over the prospect of the MCG being unavailable for up to four months if Australia wins the right to host the soccer World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
Speaking on ABC radio this morning, Demetriou said the installation of a rectangular seating plan as part of a $100 million refit could result in the home of football being off-limits for the majority of the AFL season.
"We are led to believe that the MCG would need to be decommissioned for around about 16 weeks," Demetriou said.
"That's because they want to put some seating in on the lower bowl"
"If that's true, that would put our season in jeopardy and that's something that we need to get some clarification on."
"The various options and scenarios obviously revolve around either a suspension of the season and then to resume, or it could even mean not having a season.
"That is something that we just couldn't entertain."
Demetriou said the AFL had a history of being flexible in its scheduling to accomodate major sporting events.
"We have done it with the Olympic Games in 2000. We have done it with the Commonwealth Games. We have done it for grand prix," he said.
"It is an important thing when Australia gets a major event."
"So, obviously when this was first broached, we were told that we would be able to play our season around the World Cup or there would be a very limited time that our game couldn't be played - perhaps four weeks."
"Now, obviously if that is the case, then obviously we would work around that because we are very flexible, but when people start talking about eight to 10 weeks or 16 weeks, that makes it very, very, difficult to comprehend."
Demetriou said the FFA had kept the AFL in the dark about its bid.
"We have asked and we haven't had anything come back and we have asked more than once, I can assure you," Demetriou said.
"I think it's important and incumbent on the FFA to get their act together to make sure they start communicating with not just our code, but other codes, to talk about solutions as to how they will accommodate having our codes played in between the World Cup."
Then on Melbourne radio station 3AW, Demetriou said cancelling the season would be disastrous.
"It affects revenue, we've got broadcast agreements, we've got agreements with members, we've got agreements with corporate partners," he said.
"The cost is a monumental cost, I'm talking hundreds of millions of dollars."
"It would probably mean that some clubs who are relying on the seven and a half, eight million dollar distribution from the AFL, there's no way they could be sustained because they haven't got that money coming in."
"But I don't think it's going to get to that, I think wise heads will prevail."
Late today FFA chief executive Ben Buckley rejected Demetriou's suggestions that the AFL would have to shut down for an entire season if Australia hosts the World Cup, insisting the MCG would be unavailable for no more than two months.
"We've never asked the AFL to shut down their season; we've only outlined to them the various requirements under FIFA to host a World Cup," Buckley said.
"We need to get access four weeks before the competition for preparation for pitches and preparation for stadia overlay that are required by FIFA and the duration of the tournament."
"In our estimation, that is six to eight weeks depending upon where the finals are played and what venues are used."
FIFA stipulates that the host country is not allowed to stage other major sporting events during the World Cup but Buckley said on 3AW earlier in the day that the FFA would go into bat for the other codes.
"We’ve been in discussions with FIFA as to what constitutes a major event. I think there’s some precedents around the world where competitions such as the AFL or the NRL can continue to play during the competition period," he said.
"We will be putting to FIFA that we should be able to continue those competitions during that period."
The hosts for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be announced in December next year.
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