EIGHT million dollars have been raised to help those in need following last Friday's State of Origin for Bushfire Relief double-header.
$6.4m of those funds raised were from donations raised in the lead up to the game for the AFL Community Relief fund, while the rest was raised by club-led initiatives and will be distributed to a range of recipients.
"As these fires were unfolding, I had many discussions among senior people in football and the universal response from across the football community was, what can we do to help," AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.
"Our clubs, the players, broadcast, commercial and licensing partners, Marvel Stadium venue partners, and all our fans come together and have raised an amazing amount of money and I want to thank every single one of you."
A special night for such an important cause. ?
— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) February 28, 2020
Congratulations to all involved in supporting the families + communities affected by the bushfire crisis.#AFLOrigin pic.twitter.com/UY7lnJh4CE
The Red Cross has received $1m, while $740,000 has been distributed for immediate relief to 262 community clubs and Auskick centres.
The donations were kicked off by the AFL, clubs and the AFL Players' Association tipping in a combined $2.5m, while corporate sponsorship ($1.49m) and ticketing revenue ($1.1m) were also significant.
Port Adelaide and Adelaide raised over $1m from the charity T20 cricket game, while Essendon was able to raise $300,000 for Dyson Heppell's head shave.
"On behalf of our AFL community, thank you to everyone involved in fighting the fires and supporting communities in this time of need," said McLachlan.
