AFL Commission
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Global |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | AFL House, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Melbourne Docklands |
| Chairman | Mike Fitzpatrick |
| Replaced | Australian National Football Council |
 |
|
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of Australian rules football and the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite national competition. Mike Fitzpatrick has been chairman since 2007, but will be replaced by Richard Goyder on 4 April 2017.
The AFL Commission is responsible for the administration of the competition of the same name, and its constitution also proclaims it as the "keeper of the code", the body universally responsible for the sport of Australian football. It was formed in 1985 as the VFL Commission, and gained its current name in 1990 (in conjunction with the renaming of the competition). The AFL Commission took over the role of the Australian National Football Council in 1993, and in 2005 also replaced the International Australian Football Council. The eight commissioners are elected by the 18 AFL clubs, with each club entitled to make nominations.
The Commission was formed to set policy and has directed the AFL (known then as the VFL), the game's most professional league in December 1985.
In 1993 the AFL Commission assumed national governance of the sport (see Principle 2 below) following the earlier disbanding of the Australian National Football Council. At the same time, control of the AFL passed from the AFL Board of Directors (effectively the 18 AFL clubs) to the Commission [1], with the abolition of the Board of Directors and adoption of new Memorandum and Articles of Association for the AFL. This was a significant change of power as previously the Commission required explicit approval by the League (teams) for major items, such as further Expansion, Mergers, Relocations, Major Capital Works and similar items. The AFL also created an International Policy in 2005 in an attempt to govern the sport worldwide.
In its role as national and international governing body, the AFL Commission also controls and delegates development funding for Australian state and international bodies and leagues. As most of this funding is sourced the revenue and activities associated with the AFL competition, much of the funding is directed to the competition's developing markets. Semi-professional state competitions are generally self-sufficient and receive a much lower percentage of the AFL's funding.
...
Wikipedia