The AFL Commission received a presentation today from Melbourne FC President Don McLardy and Chief Executive Officer Peter Jackson.

The presentation detailed a number of significant challenges facing the club and substantial changes required to improve the performance of the club at every level.

“Mr Jackson was very forthright in his assessment of the current status of the club and the overall impact on the AFL competition as a whole,” Mr Demetriou said.

“We received an outline of the fundamental reconstruction of the club.

“In principle, the AFL Commission will support the club in its reconstruction and we will use the next few weeks to work through the issues identified by the club including the level of financial support required to turn around its fortunes.

“Any support provided by the AFL will be highly conditional,” Mr Demetriou said.

“We want Melbourne to be a strong, vibrant football club and we are committed to doing all we reasonably can to ensure Melbourne returns to a level of performance which its supporters and members deserve”.

Mr Demetriou said the AFL Commission wished to acknowledge the contribution to the club of Mr McLardy as President after he announced his resignation today.

“Don became President in very difficult circumstances following the passing of his close friend Jim Stynes and at a time when the club has dealt with a number of challenging issues on and off the field,” Mr Demetriou said.

“Don has started to bring about significant change at Melbourne and we wish to thank him for his contribution to the club during a very difficult period in its history”.