After 11 years at the helm, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has called it a day.
Officially confirming his retirement from the top job this week to be effective after the grand final in September, the verdict on his tenure at the AFL will fall then.
A friend and colleague of Demetriou, former community development manger for the AFL Nick Hatzoglou characterised him as a strong but supportive leader that focused a lot of his time on promoting multiculturalism in the sport.
“Andrew was instrumental in helping me in establishing the AFL multicultural program,” Mr Hatzoglou tells Neos Kosmos.
“Once Andrew was there we always understood we’d have a sympathetic voice in expanding the game and taking it to a new audience.”
“He was very supportive and it was inspiring to have a CEO at that level of the AFL that was very supportive of the program.”
One of the best moments Hatzoglou remembers of his time at the AFL was organising a Peace Team under Demetriou in 2008. The team was made up of
13 Palestinian and 13 Israeli players all playing in mixed sides, showing how sport can unite people outside of politics.
“Without Andrew’s support I don’t think that concept would have got up,” he says.
Currently, only 15 per cent of AFL players are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, but the multicultural program sees players hit the grass roots levels of AFL, promoting tolerance and unity.
Demetriou’s selection as CEO in 2003 marked a change in the way the AFL viewed its game and its persona, hiring a child of Cypriot migrant parents.
He often credits his parents for his success today, as they instilled the Hellenic values of working hard, being loyal and looking after your family.
Demetriou values his time with his family so much that at the time the Essendon saga was going on, he was oblivious, sitting with his family in a beachside cafe in Cyprus with his phone turned off.
Questions about where Demetriou will settle post-AFL still remain unanswered.
Job offers have been floating in already, and an industry change might be on the cards. He has been connected to a move to Crown Casino and says if formally offered the board position that might be his next move.
Rumours have circulated that the boss might be looking to enter into the future of A-League club Melbourne Heart now that it has connections to Manchester City.
“I’ve got a couple of things that I’m looking at,” he said.
“I’ve got to work. I’ve got four children at school. I want to be waving goodbye to the children in the morning, not them waving goodbye to me.”
The AFL has big shoes to fill, and with just a couple of months to look for a new CEO, many are expecting Demetriou’s right hand man to get the nod – AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick.
Nick Hatzoglou thinks it will be a tough job to find someone that will take the sport forward like Demetriou did.
“Andrew was a very powerful figure who oozed confidence and you always knew he was in charge of the ship, so I am sure they will do their due diligence to make sure they get the right person to get the sport to the next phase of their growth and development,” he says.
Demetriou was previously the AFL Players Association boss and football operations manager.
In his time as CEO, the league’s annual revenue has expanded from $170.9 million to $446.5 million, the sport enjoys a billion-dollar TV rights deal and has overseen multi-billion dollar expenditure on new stadia.
The competition has expanded to 18 teams with the inclusion of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.
