1 minute read
Chairman’s Report
Looking ahead, we face challenges in reigniting our programmes to levels previous to Covid, without substantial increases to our current revenue streams. The AFL New Zealand Board and Staff continue to be proactive, and we are confident this will be achievable.
Our relationship with the AFL remains vital to the organisation’s growth and the appointment of Ben Drew as International Manager has had an immediate, positive effect. Opportunities to align resources and pathways with AFL NSW/ ACT will be explored to maximise the effect this can have on development within New Zealand.
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Wheels are in motion following a recent visit in late 2022 to New Zealand, that included the commencement of new coaching opportunities delivered by the AFL and AFL NSW/ACT.
Broadcast has maintained its strong position within the New Zealand landscape with Sky Sport continuing to grow the AFL footprint across its channels. The 2022 season showcased up to six live AFL games per week as well as three live games of the AFLW per week for the season. This coupled with magazine shows and replay coverage resulted in 2022 providing more airtime and exposure than any other period in our broadcast history. AFL New Zealand in conjunction with the AFL will look to replicate this in 2023. This linked with our streaming platform Watch AFL, has us in a great position to capture the hearts and minds of new customers experiencing AFL for the first time.
From a financial perspective, AFL New Zealand was able to navigate through the financial year with a modest profit of $2K in comparison to the previous year’s loss of $33K.
A reduction in administration costs, whilst maintaining similar levels of funding support to the previous year, provided the biggest influences over our financial position.
We appreciate the support provided by our major funders, the AFL, Foundation North, Sport New Zealand, and the Covid support initiatives introduced by the Federal Government over the past three years.
Our commercial partners have shown faith by their long-term commitment to support AFL in New Zealand. AV Jennings deserves a special mention, now in their eighth year in support of the AV Jennings AFL KiwiKick and Schools Programmes.
A special thank you to new commercial partners D3Tape, Glasscorp, Hurst Media, Dynamic Sports and Zena and we truly value their support.
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