Rain affected clubs receive support from AFL

Bellingen's home ground was under water after heavy rains continually lashed the North Coast of NSW. Photo: Marc Bowd

AFL North Coast clubs will receive immediate financial relief from the AFL in the wake of heavy rain and flooding events that have hit the region. 

The AFL’s Community Relief Fund has made an initial pledge of $50,000 to support impacted clubs across the region navigate the aftermath of the weather events that have devastated their communities since the early months of 2025.

14 clubs from across the Mid North Coast will receive the financial relief payments designed to aid clubs at a local level as they recover from the weather events.

This includes clubs utilising their relief funding to cover insurance excess payments, hire alternative venues so training can continue and to support loss of revenue through multiple match day cancellations.

“The AFL is conscious of the impacts these weather events are having on families and local businesses across the Mid North Coast,” Head of AFL NSW/ACT Andrew Varasdi said.

“Volunteer assistance and funding that is normally raised to assist football clubs is importantly needed elsewhere, and so to ease the load, it is imperative for the AFL to support our local clubs via the Community Relief Fund.

“Local AFL clubs are the heartbeats of many local communities, and we hope the provision of these funds not only help clubs get back on their feet and return to playing footy but also bring the wider community together during the recovery stage of this difficult time.”

Affected clubs across the Mid North Coast have been informed of their financial assistance via a letter from the AFL’s Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dillon.

Brad Greenshields, the Community Football and Competition Manager for AFL Northern NSW said the financial assistance is a big step in assisting North Coast clubs to overcome the obstacles they’ve been forced to face.

“Clubs have been forced to pay for alternative training venues, replace equipment or have lost income from avenues they usually rely on such as canteen sales while their home grounds have been constantly closed due to the wet conditions,” Greenshields said.

“There are players who haven’t been to training yet and as a result haven’t registered. Clubs have been unable to use the cash flow that those registrations normally provide.

“This injection of funds will provide a much needed boost to clubs that have experienced a downturn in income and increase in expenditure that wasn’t budgeted for at the start of the year.”