World Footy News

Late in 2007 and early in 2008 AFL Britain was formed from the British Australian Rules Football League with the intention of splitting the duties of the committee such that the individual football leagues could operate somewhat independently within the broader framework of AFL Britain. This was to free up AFL Britain to concentrate on longer term strategic goals rather than day to day running of the London leagues, as well as to provide an umbrella structure over the very fractured footy landscape, particularly in England.

12 months on and the 2009 committee has been elected, with outgoing President Sam Percy stepping aside as he predicted a year ago, having overseen some of his goals but true unity remaining elusive. He now intends to focus on the running of the AFL London leagues, while committee-member Glen Ocsko has moved up to take on the role of President.

Interestingly Ocsko has made it clear that bringing the various interests in the UK together is a priority, something that has been stated by successive Presidents but is yet to fully achieved. Ocsko did not come out of the traditional BARFL structure and comes to the position with a track record of successfully working across the UK footy spectrum, and back in 2007 when the BARFL re-structure was proposed, it was Ocsko who suggested an alternative structure to try to find a way forward. Any lingering suggestion of old BARFL biases must surely be put to rest with his appointment and if stakeholders are truly interested in working together there can be no excuses this time. Only time will tell whether he can unite the parties. The following is part of Ocsko's open letter that appears on the AFL Britain website here.

"We will be redeveloping our short and long term strategies, establishing policies and procedures that will support clubs and leagues as well as working hard to ensure that all stakeholders in Britain are involved in shaping the future of Aussie Rules in Britain. It might sound like a boring task, but we are in a fantastic position to look at just what AFL Britain needs to be to support the game in this country and make it happen. It's not just about writing documents, nor is it about just getting stuck in and interfering where it is not needed - we now have the opportunity to step back and look at the bigger picture.

This point about involving stakeholders is a vital one, and something I care passionately about. The only way forward for us is for all those working to grow the game here to be working together in partnership - real partnership, involving a shared vision, shared aims and objectives and a shared commitment. The past has seen some very well documented issues arise, now is the time for us to move forward together and in the same direction. There will no doubt be a lot of work to do to ensure these partnerships are successful, and there will be a fair amount of negotiation done along the way, but if every person, club and organisation work together then 2009 promises to set up Australian Rules Football in Britain for many years to come".