By DAVID NAGEL
A WATERSHED moment has taken place in the history of the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League with the collective resignation of the MPNFL Board on Thursday (July 2) night.
The board’s resignation, which was called for by member clubs of the two leagues under its governance – Nepean and Peninsula – will be formalised at a special general meeting expected to be held in the middle of next week.
It is there that the AFL South East Commission will assume governance in a caretaker role, providing the function of the board while a comprehensive review of future governance and administration structures takes place.
The MPNFL, which was formed as the Peninsula Football Association in 1908, has been through one of the most turbulent times in its history.
As late as November 2014 the MPNFL was responsible for the administration of three leagues – Casey Cardinia (CCFNL), Nepean (NFNL) and Peninsula (PNFL).
But the collective withdrawal of the Casey Cardinia clubs at that time, to become the South East Football Netball League (SEFNL), and now the actions of Nepean and Peninsula clubs … has left the MPNFL Board and administration abandoned.
The way forward for the MPNFL is this.
The Nepean and Peninsula leagues will be administered with current resources at the MPNFL’s head-office in Somerville for the remainder of this season, but will be overseen and governed by AFL South East Region General Manager Jeremy Bourke.
AFL South East’s Financial Audit Committee will immediately undertake a full assessment of the MPNFL’s financial position, which will run concurrently with the administration and governance review.
The Nepean and Peninsula league clubs will eventually have their own independent boards, retaining each league’s identity, but will work with the commission to provide a collaborative approach that will benefit both football and netball in the region.
Things have certainly changed quickly since the AFL South East Commission, born out of a 2011 ‘Review of Football in Country Victoria’, joined the local sporting landscape in December 2013.
One of 13 AFL Regional Commissions set up to oversee the planning and development of football in each region, the commission gave clubs a voice, and it’s one that has been shouted from the rooftops over the last two seasons.
Key complaints against the MPNFL include poor governance and strategic planning, the handling of finals fixturing, a Player Points System (PPS) fiasco involving Somerville, and an overall lack of communication and transparency.
It’s understood the MPNFL Board was offered to be the original board that would report to AFL South East back in 2013, but refused the offer.
It’s been all downhill from there.
