AFL presidents talk post-Goyder future amid chairman’s Qantas furore
AFL club presidents have been discussing candidates to replace the game’s chairman, Richard Goyder, who will miss this weekend’s finals to attend his son’s wedding in Broome.
Port Adelaide club president and former Sunrise presenter David Koch and Geelong president and former Medibank chief executive Craig Drummond are among the leading contenders being canvassed among the presidents.
Executives and club presidents have been privately talking about the future leadership of the sport after criticism was levelled at Mr Goyder for the corporate meltdown at Qantas, where he also serves as chairman.
Tim Goyder was re-appointed to a three-year term at the AFL’s AGM in March. Daniel Carson
He has faced heightened scrutiny this week after the furore over potential anticompetitive behaviour by Qantas, poor customer service and allegations by the consumer watchdog that it sold tickets on cancelled flights.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce brought forward his exit from the company this week, and big superannuation investors have put the board on notice about the “significant damage to reputation” the airline has sustained in the past 12 months.
As chairman of the AFL commission, Mr Goyder runs the sport’s eight-person board, with the clubs effectively considered the shareholders. He was re-elected for another three-year term at the AFL AGM earlier this year.
The first round of the AFL finals is this week, with three high-stakes games at the MCG between Thursday and Saturday and one at the Gabba in Brisbane. Mr Goyder will not attend, with sources saying he called clubs to inform them, and had no control over the date of the wedding.
“There is complete and utter disbelief that the chairman would schedule a family wedding in
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