NMWBloods
15th April 2003, 05:22 PM
Wayne Jackson has announced his resignation as chief executive of the AFL.
Jackson made his announcement on Tuesday afternoon at 4pm after first telling AFL staff of his decision earlier in the day ? on the eve of his 59th birthday.
While there has been much speculation about Jackson?s future in recent months ? the timing of his announcement is still a surprise.
It was widely anticipated Jackson would not announce his decision to retire from one of the highest profile jobs in Australian sport before the end of this season at the earliest.
Jackson ? who had a serious tractor accident while on his family farm before the 2002 season ? had previously said he would make a decision on his future around the time of his 60th birthday in April of 2004.
However Jackson told AFL staff he wanted to retire as soon as possible after having held the league?s top job since October 1996 ? when he replaced Ross Oakley.
Jackson is not leaving to take up any other position and has told the AFL commission he will be available to do consultancy work for the league in future ? such as the recent report by former Adelaide chief executive Bill Sanders into the state of umpiring in Australian Rules Football.
He will remain as chief executive of the AFL until his successor is named ? which is not expected to be before June.
Jackson?s number two at the AFL ? football operations manager Andrew Demetriou ? is the early favourite to succeed Jackson and if he were to be appointed by the AFL commission - Jackson?s departure would come sooner rather than later.
However if the AFL commission decides to appoint Jackson?s replacement from outside the organisation ? as has happened on the past two occasions when a new AFL CEO has been named - there is likely to be a longer transistional period.
Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson and Geelong chief executive Brian Cook are considered to be the other top 'inside' contenders for the high-profile position.
Jackson took over as AFL chief executive in October 1996, joining the league from the South Australian Brewing Company where he had been managing director.
Despite having been on the AFL commission since 1995 ? at the time his appointment was considered a shock as then football operations manager and now Carlton president and Telstra Dome boss Ian Collins had been expected to be named as Oakley?s replacement.
The former West Torrens player and member of the SANFL Commission was barely known outside of Adelaide when he took over from Oakley and his less abrasive style soon proved more popular with fans.
Jackson took over the AFL at a difficult period in the game?s history and his time in charge will be remembered as one of stablisation for the competition.
The season before Jackson took over was mostly remembered for the enormous division and bitterness caused by Fitzroy?s forced merger with Brisbane after Fitzroy had effectively been declared bankrupt when the club?s major creditor called in an administrator to recover its debt.
And then there was the failed Melbourne-Hawthorn merger which came after the AFL offered incentives for clubs to merge but was defeated by angry Hawk members, who voted against the proposal.
But under Jackson any talk of mergers ended and once he oversaw the introduction of Port Adelaide into the competition in 1997 ? Jackson repeatedly stated his priority was to maintain the current 16 team competition.
While this made Jackson far more popular with the fans than his predecessor ? the crowning glory of his period as chief executive was to secure the single biggest cash injection the game had ever seen.
This was due to the massive $500 million, five year television deal Jackson secured with Channels Nine, Ten and Foxtel ? ending Channel Seven?s 40 year strangehold on the television rights.
However Jackson?s time in charge of the AFL was certainly not controversy free as he oversaw the demise of the league?s former home base at Waverley Park in favour of the building of a new stadium ? what is now the Telstra Dome ? at Docklands on the western edge of the Melbourne CBD.
This move infuriated not only St Kilda and Hawthorn fans ? whose teams were based at Waverley and were forced to move ? but also many football fans in the sprawling south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, who lost what they considered to be their local AFL ground.
And once the Docklands? Stadium opened for the 2000 season it was beset by one controversy after another ? from the cost of playing home games there for tenant clubs, to the hardness of the ground?s surface, to whether the ground?s retractable roof should be open or shut during matches ? issues which continue to dominate AFL politics right now.
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=85360
Jackson made his announcement on Tuesday afternoon at 4pm after first telling AFL staff of his decision earlier in the day ? on the eve of his 59th birthday.
While there has been much speculation about Jackson?s future in recent months ? the timing of his announcement is still a surprise.
It was widely anticipated Jackson would not announce his decision to retire from one of the highest profile jobs in Australian sport before the end of this season at the earliest.
Jackson ? who had a serious tractor accident while on his family farm before the 2002 season ? had previously said he would make a decision on his future around the time of his 60th birthday in April of 2004.
However Jackson told AFL staff he wanted to retire as soon as possible after having held the league?s top job since October 1996 ? when he replaced Ross Oakley.
Jackson is not leaving to take up any other position and has told the AFL commission he will be available to do consultancy work for the league in future ? such as the recent report by former Adelaide chief executive Bill Sanders into the state of umpiring in Australian Rules Football.
He will remain as chief executive of the AFL until his successor is named ? which is not expected to be before June.
Jackson?s number two at the AFL ? football operations manager Andrew Demetriou ? is the early favourite to succeed Jackson and if he were to be appointed by the AFL commission - Jackson?s departure would come sooner rather than later.
However if the AFL commission decides to appoint Jackson?s replacement from outside the organisation ? as has happened on the past two occasions when a new AFL CEO has been named - there is likely to be a longer transistional period.
Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson and Geelong chief executive Brian Cook are considered to be the other top 'inside' contenders for the high-profile position.
Jackson took over as AFL chief executive in October 1996, joining the league from the South Australian Brewing Company where he had been managing director.
Despite having been on the AFL commission since 1995 ? at the time his appointment was considered a shock as then football operations manager and now Carlton president and Telstra Dome boss Ian Collins had been expected to be named as Oakley?s replacement.
The former West Torrens player and member of the SANFL Commission was barely known outside of Adelaide when he took over from Oakley and his less abrasive style soon proved more popular with fans.
Jackson took over the AFL at a difficult period in the game?s history and his time in charge will be remembered as one of stablisation for the competition.
The season before Jackson took over was mostly remembered for the enormous division and bitterness caused by Fitzroy?s forced merger with Brisbane after Fitzroy had effectively been declared bankrupt when the club?s major creditor called in an administrator to recover its debt.
And then there was the failed Melbourne-Hawthorn merger which came after the AFL offered incentives for clubs to merge but was defeated by angry Hawk members, who voted against the proposal.
But under Jackson any talk of mergers ended and once he oversaw the introduction of Port Adelaide into the competition in 1997 ? Jackson repeatedly stated his priority was to maintain the current 16 team competition.
While this made Jackson far more popular with the fans than his predecessor ? the crowning glory of his period as chief executive was to secure the single biggest cash injection the game had ever seen.
This was due to the massive $500 million, five year television deal Jackson secured with Channels Nine, Ten and Foxtel ? ending Channel Seven?s 40 year strangehold on the television rights.
However Jackson?s time in charge of the AFL was certainly not controversy free as he oversaw the demise of the league?s former home base at Waverley Park in favour of the building of a new stadium ? what is now the Telstra Dome ? at Docklands on the western edge of the Melbourne CBD.
This move infuriated not only St Kilda and Hawthorn fans ? whose teams were based at Waverley and were forced to move ? but also many football fans in the sprawling south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, who lost what they considered to be their local AFL ground.
And once the Docklands? Stadium opened for the 2000 season it was beset by one controversy after another ? from the cost of playing home games there for tenant clubs, to the hardness of the ground?s surface, to whether the ground?s retractable roof should be open or shut during matches ? issues which continue to dominate AFL politics right now.
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=85360