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The Australian Football League (AFL) has revealed a doubling of its operating loss for the 2020/21 financial year to $43 million - an increase driven by having to spend $76 million on dealing with the fallout of COVID-19 over the past two years.

The underlying operating loss follows a $22.7 million shortfall in 2020.

The AFL’s Chief Financial Officer Travis Auld declared last year’s figure as the “best-case scenario result”, with critical decisions made to ensure the competition remained viable at a time when the pandemic had caused chaos on several fronts.

Auld went on to say “critical decisions were made in 2020 to underpin the financial strength of the industry, with the introduction of debt facilities to the value of $660 million.

“These facilities were extinguished in 2021 following the continued focus on managing the overall cost base and driving revenue growth, while delivering the season safely in a pandemic environment.

Despite the uncertainties of the year, the sport hit record membership in 2021, with 1,113,441 club members a figure that shows one in every 23 Australians is a member of an AFL club.

Overall, revenue rose $63.3 million to $738.1 million, largely because of increased broadcast returns. The 2020 season had been slashed to 17 home-and-away rounds plus finals, while last year - despite some matches being played in empty stadiums - the season proper returned to 22 home-and-away matches.

Operating expenses were reduced by $22.3 million, with less requirement for travel and accommodation expenses compared with 2020 when the pandemic bubbles were established.

In delivering the results to clubs ahead of next month’s annual general meeting, $300 million was allocated to the clubs and $18.1 million to the NAB AFLW.

Advising that 2021 had been a testing year, but the fact the code was able navigate the season in the successful way it did showed the resilience of the sport, its fans and its stakeholders,

AFL Commission Chair, Richard Goyder stated “if I could summarise our 2021 year in one word, that word would be resilience.

“As we navigated through the ongoing effects of the pandemic, it continued to test the resolve and, at times, our patience, as we collectively worked through the week-to-week, and sometimes day-to-day uncertainty that the pandemic presented.

“The game’s collective unity and determination enabled us to withstand what some would say was an even bigger test than the year prior. Our football community, from our players, coaches and officials and our committed broadcast and corporate partners, all made the relevant sacrifices to ensure the health of the community was put first and we still delivered matches for the fans.”

Image: The AFL's 2020 Grand Final at the Gabba.

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