Footy sponsorship deals on hold

Port Adelaide Football Club president David Koch. Source: The Advertiser

AFL clubs - including Port Adelaide - are being forced to put off lucrative sponsorship announcements as corporate Australia fears linking itself to the damaged AFL brand.

The Power this week was to finally reveal a major sponsor with international links.

That deal has now been put on hold.

The potential backer - like so many others around the AFL - has stepped back as the fallout from the Australian Crime Commission report on drugs and organised-crime links in sport continues.

One former AFL club president told The Advertiser if the damage to sport continued and threatened the growth of television rights, an 18-team AFL competition would be impossible to sustain.

Port's eagerness to get assurances from the AFL that it is not implicated in the ACC report is complicated by league executives being bound by confidentiality agreements with the crime authority.

Power chairman David Koch, a noted figure in the Australian business community, yesterday accepted his club was not alone in having sponsorship deals and presentations put on hold.

February and March is renowned for AFL clubs rolling out sponsorship announcements.

There has been none since Essendon declared last Tuesday it was under investigation for alleged performance-enhancing drug use on a team scale at Windy Hill last season.

"Sponsorships are on hold because business is wary of being attached to a club under suspicion," Koch told The Advertiser yesterday.

"While the whole issue is shrouded in secrecy  and every club tainted by the issue the business world will hold off to see the fall-out."

It is not only potential sponsors, but current sponsors reviewing their place in the AFL.

Toyota spends as much as $7 million a year as a major sponsor of the league and Adelaide Football Club.

Toyota says its wants clarity from the ACC report so it can assess how it remains involved in Australian sport.

Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman said he had spoken to two sponsors who wanted assurances that their brands would not be tarnished by being associated with the AFL.

"Sponsors will only be involved if your brand can hold up in the eyes of the community," he said.

Both Chapman and Koch shared concerns for how the AFL's major revenue stream  media rights currently worth $1.25 billion  would be hit by the ACC report.

"Imagine trying to sell television rights now ... our brand has been hurt and will continue to while there is a dark cloud over every player," said Chapman.

Koch added: "The business world is not stupid. It knows sporting clubs will push the boundaries.

"But they also want to know the facts and be sure the game is being cleaned up."

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