Originally Posted by
chammond
Not really. All the clubs are controlled by the AFL to the extent that, as businesses, they are guaranteed by the AFL. Without that guarantee, and the related distributions that keep most of the clubs afloat, it's doubtful that any rational person would do business with an AFL club. The actual structure of club control reflects the club's background. Former VFL clubs tend to be an incorporated association (or similar) owned by the membership. Nth Melb changed their structure to allow a private corporate ownership, which didn't really work. Expansion clubs have all got AFL control (to a greater or lesser extent) written into their licences. The Swans were dead in the water in 1992, and the other clubs would only (by a majority of one!) continue to carry them if the AFL had total control. Without the AFL control and guarantees, we'd be lucky to have a 5 or 6 national club competition.
I'm surprised that you are surprised by all this . . . . it's old news, and has been discussed to death on RWO over the past 17 years. Unless you have to be as old as me to remember it?
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