TOM HAYES
FOOTBALL
By TOM HAYES AFL Victoria is currently going through a transition period, with the imminent closure of the Gippsland Football Commission. After months of continuous back-and-forth, the decision to close the entity is being finalised because it is not operating. Since 2019, the Gippsland Football Commission has been seen as the ‘middle-man’ that sat between AFL Victoria and the Gippsland leagues and clubs. “The entity is just being de-registered because we are not actually using it for anything now that there is no commission,” AFL Gippsland regional manager, Cameron McPhan, said. The Gippsland Football Commission is to be absorbed by AFL Victoria soon, with the confirmation pending. Throughout the process, AFL Victoria discovered that five of the 10 regional commissions are no longer in use – the Gippsland Football Commission being one of them. Based at Morwell Recreation Reserve, the home of the Gippsland League’s Morwell Tigers, the office has eight people. Cameron McPhan, Simon Whelan (operations) and a participation team of six staff occupy the office space. While they will still work from that office at the Morwell Recreation Reserve, they will work under the banner of AFL Victoria, rather than AFL Gippsland. Despite the closure, it is believed there will be no changes to the competitions that play under AFL Gippsland. AFL Victoria is now looking to form a new advisory committee, searching for local people to be involved to make local-based decisions. “Essentially it’ll act a little bit like a commission in terms of the decision-making, so we’ll get local people … but I also want to get the right people,” McPhan said. “They will be like an advisory committee, they’ll help me with strategic decision-making in the region, hence why I want it to be local. “Unlike the commissions in years gone by, they won’t have financial or legal obligations; it’ll just purely be assisting with decision-making.” AFL Victoria will be looking for Gippslanders to join the new advisory committee in due course, so keep an eye out if you’re interested.
