Once the AFL is back on its feet after the coronavirus catastrophe, it must put the first 20 per cent of all recovered income into a future fund to protect itself from foreseeable major setbacks to come, says a former heavyweight.

As the then VFL’s corporate planner, John Hennessy wrote the position paper that led to then penniless South Melbourne’s ground-breaking relocation to Sydney in 1982 and launched the competition's national expansion.

Sydney Swans, newly arrived from South Melbourne in 1982. Credit:Peter Mayoh

He says the AFL has a chronic problem with cash-strapped clubs and is facing more setbacks outside its control, including from climate change. “So, let’s plan for the new normal,” he said. “Plan to be around in 2100.”

Although one of the most successful sporting competitions in the world, “the AFL has a largely unrecognised, major long-term issue: it is not really sustainable,” Hennessy said.