South African game on hold
December 16th 2008 08:08
THE scheduled match between Collingwood and West Coast in South Africa will be shifted to an Australian venue in early February.
The AFL announced on Tuesday that the match, which was supposed to kick off the annual pre-season competition, has been deferred from South Africa due to the current economic crisis.
"Organisations everywhere are revising their plans due to the global economic crisis and we are not immune to what is happening in the broader community," AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said.
"In the current economic climate, we have not been able to generate the level of funding needed to stage the game. We are not prepared to take the financial risk in this climate."
"We will continue to invest in the game locally and we remain very strongly committed to ongoing investment in the development of the game in South Africa which we believe has the potential to build a very large participation base during the next 10-20 years and perhaps within five years, be a new source of players for AFL clubs."
"The global economic crisis is a challenge for all sections of the community, not just sport, and we must act prudently and responsibly and defer our plans for 12 months."
The AFL announced on Tuesday that the match, which was supposed to kick off the annual pre-season competition, has been deferred from South Africa due to the current economic crisis.
"Organisations everywhere are revising their plans due to the global economic crisis and we are not immune to what is happening in the broader community," AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said.
"In the current economic climate, we have not been able to generate the level of funding needed to stage the game. We are not prepared to take the financial risk in this climate."
"We will continue to invest in the game locally and we remain very strongly committed to ongoing investment in the development of the game in South Africa which we believe has the potential to build a very large participation base during the next 10-20 years and perhaps within five years, be a new source of players for AFL clubs."
"The global economic crisis is a challenge for all sections of the community, not just sport, and we must act prudently and responsibly and defer our plans for 12 months."
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