Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has admitted the AFL will "never be the same again" as the competition faces the challenge of surviving COVID-19 after the decision to shut down until at least the end of May.
At this stage the most optimistic view is that the 2020 season will resume at the start of June with the objective of completing 17-games and then a finals series.
However, the AFL is starting to make plans for its survival if returning to the field this year slips out of reach, with major sponsor NAB reportedly considering a line of credit to the code exceeding $250 million to underwrite all 18 clubs.
While that would keep the competition alive for a return in 2021, McGuire and other club bosses are today considering what to do with their massive payrolls, with hundreds of staff other than players and coaches employed by each club.
McGuire described the process as "heartbreaking".
"It was absolutely heartbreaking, it's been heartbreaking all the way through, from the initial lock-out of our supporters, because that's why we exist, to play for our supporters and for our members," McGuire told TODAY.
"And of course today the national knock-on effect that is affecting everyone in Australia will hit the football industry.
"The AFL today will have to look after its own business, each of the clubs are now sitting down and working out what happens now in terms of our staff, not just the players but we have big staff."
McGuire predicted the job losses would be "devastating" and said the AFL would face a difficult rebuild at the end of it.
"It's like every business in Australia at the moment, working through the cash flow. It's going to be devastating for the football industry, it's as simple as that," McGuire said.
"It's going to be hard, it's going to devastate our industry, the football industry in general, it'll never be the same again but we'll have to rebuild it and we'll work together side by side to make sure we all get through as best as we possibly can."
While the AFL yesterday took the hard decision to suspend the competition, McGuire refused to sling mud at the NRL decision-makers north of the border for their stubborn refusal to make the same decision for rugby league.
ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys is determined to keep the game running for as long as possible and yesterday flagged the extraordinary idea of moving the whole code into a village in central Queensland to live alongside each other in isolation before running out to compete against each other on weekends.
Should the NRL have to follow the AFL into suspension, the financial consequences will be even more dire for the industry, and McGuire praised the code for "having the best go they possibly can".
"I don't think it's time to be nitpicking on anyone else, they've been making their decisions with the best information they have in front of them," McGuire said.
"We had our information over the weekend and the decision was to stop."
CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
How is coronavirus transmitted?
The human coronavirus is only spread from someone infected with COVID-19 to another. This occurs through close contact with an infected person through contaminated droplets spread by coughing or sneezing, or by contact with contaminated hands or surfaces.
What are the symptoms of someone infected with coronavirus?
Coronavirus patients may experience flu like symptoms such as a fever, cough, runny nose, or shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia with severe acute respiratory distress.
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/collingwood-eddie-mcguire-on-afl-shutdown-decision/b357bd6c-5586-41df-8266-0b0c1261a03b
0 Comments