The AFL Merit Award is the AFL’s longest standing and most prestigious award that can be bestowed upon a volunteer in Australian Football.
The award is for people who have contributed outstanding service to Australian Football. Each state affiliate can nominate two volunteers to receive merit awards each year. The merit awards are personally signed and approved by the AFL Chief Executive Officer (Andrew Demetriou) and the Chairman of the AFL Commission (Mick Fitzpatrick).
The criteria for merit award winners is determined by each state. Any nomination must be approved by both the state affiliate CEO and the AFL’s executive and commission before being accepted. Generally, the criteria takes into account length of service, roles during service and the contribution that the nominated volunteer has had on a club/league/community during their commitment and service to that club/league/community.
The first AFL Merit Award was presented in 1931. Since then only 582 people have been awarded with an AFL merit award for outstanding service to Australian Football. In 2009, 11 volunteers were approved as AFL merit award winners including Ian Wright.
Last Modified on 19/02/2010 10:56
