To our Purple Army,

I hope that you and your family are healthy and safe.

At the outset, it is important to acknowledge that the impact of the Covid-19 crisis goes far beyond our industry.

We understand and are very mindful of this as we provide you an update on the Club’s activities and plans at this time.

We hope that those of you who are adversely impacted at the moment are coping as best as you possibly can.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of the 2020 season there continues to be significant commentary and speculation about how clubs will or won’t survive the crisis.

With that in mind, I wanted to provide you with an update on the pathway ahead for the Fremantle Football Club.

The AFL is continuing to work with all 18 clubs to ensure the game’s sustainability, not just for the next few months but with a clear focus on the long-term.

The challenges for the AFL and the clubs have been and remain enormous.

You are all aware of the reality of the situation and that a massive reduction in football related revenues associated with a standard season means the existence of our Club, and the code itself is at stake.

A recent and crucial outcome achieved by the AFL to help all clubs survive the Covid-19 crisis was to secure a significant funding facility from the NAB and ANZ, using Marvel Stadium and other assets as security.

The banks placed strict conditions on the AFL in return for the draw down capacity the funding facility provides. With that in mind, the AFL has, understandably, in turn placed stringent controls across all clubs who access the facility over time.

The confirmation of the line of credit saw all 18 clubs sign the AFL’s Covid-19 Pandemic - Letter of Financial Support, which was precipitated by a drastic cost cutting program across the entire industry.

Closer to home, as outlined in a recent letter to you, it saw us having to stand down more than 75 per cent of the Club’s workforce and slash the hours and salaries of remaining staff, as we looked to restructure the business to ensure we had the best possible opportunity to survive.

As you would expect, we continue to stay in regular contact with every one of our incredibly valuable people who have been stood down. This is a tough time for all but for none more so than this group who currently cannot do what they love doing most.

The Letter of Financial Support provides strict guidelines which all clubs are required to operate under and adhere to and were critical in helping the AFL both procure and maintain the funding lines the industry will need to get through this crisis.

The practical way in which this will work, is that the AFL will provide an identical fund to all clubs to cover the renegotiated player payments for the remainder of the year, however all other previous funding provided to clubs by the AFL has been withdrawn until 31 October.

What that means is that we are now required to pay for all other staffing costs and operational expenditure associated with the administration of our Club for the remainder of the year.

There are some clubs, as you will have heard, who believe they have sufficient cash flow to get through the entire year off their own bat, while other clubs will require assistance from the AFL within a matter of weeks.

When a club does require funding assistance, it will take the form of an interest free loan up until 31 October this year. The key implication of becoming an AFL assisted club, is that any loan funds obtained from the AFL will ultimately be interest bearing from 1 November, 2020.

The more a club requires to borrow, the more it will have to pay back and the more challenges that presents in the future.

The clear message I want to convey to you is that we will do everything we possibly can, for as long as we can, to remain debt free and what the AFL deems as an “unassisted club” for as long as possible.

We will look to achieve this through strong financial management, managing our costs as tightly as possible, and at the same time looking for ways to retain and even build revenue, while continuing to be focussed on being the best AFL club we can be on and off field.

We will also be relying on the patience, understanding and support of our loyal and passionate members and supporters like we never have before.

Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Fremantle was one of a handful of clubs that was debt-free and held cash reserves.

But the reality of the situation is, that at some stage in 2020, we are likely to require to seek some funding assistance from the AFL.

Rest assured however that in the event that we are required to incur some form of debt, your Club will do everything it can to ensure it takes on as little as possible and has plans in place to eradicate it as soon as practical.

It is abundantly clear that the stronger financial position that the Club is in and the less debt we have when we emerge from this crisis, the better off the Club will be in the short and long-term.

The retention of revenue, including broadcast, sponsorship, membership and ticketing revenues, is proving challenging, given there still remains a level of uncertainty over the timing and make up of season 2020.

We do know that the AFL and all 18 clubs will do everything possible to ensure that we play the remaining 144 games and finals.

First and foremost is that the health and safety of the wider community, and our players and staff are not compromised or put at risk in any way.

Any decision by the AFL on when the season could resume will be based on advice from Federal and State governments and relevant health experts, as it should be.

Whether games are played every night of the week involving clubs in hubs or clusters to get a high volume of games and the season up and running, or double and triple headers, the one thing we do know is this year is going to look like no other.

The rule book is out the window and it’s going to allow us to make some bold decisions as an industry.

We'll know more in a couple of weeks whether that will be soon or if we have to wait a little bit longer to get the season going again.

Understandably you want to find out as much as you can about how the format of the season will affect your membership entitlements.

But at this stage we are yet to have clarity on whether, for example, the 144 games are played in empty stadiums or a combination of some games with members and supporters in the stands and some without.

Given the current uncertainty about when the season will resume, we are continuing to deal with a lot of unknowns at the moment.

We genuinely understand and appreciate the challenges all of our members are facing and hope to be in a position by the end of April to present you with a range of options that are being worked on based on a number of different scenarios.

We don’t know exactly what that looks like at this stage, and clearly there is going to be different circumstances for everyone.

We will continue to work with each and every one of our members, taking into account your individual circumstances, to ensure we do the right thing by you.

Our members and supporters are the reason we exist as a club and you are the reason we will get through this.

The response of our members and supporters to date has been unbelievable…wanting to do whatever you can, contributing whatever you can, regardless of what the season looks like, and remaining committed to our club.

It’s been overwhelming, humbling and incredibly encouraging and inspiring for all of our staff and players.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, in what are uncertain and unsettling times for each and every one of you. We will continue to provide you any important updates regarding your membership as soon as it comes to hand and communicate with you regularly throughout this time.

In the meantime, our digital media team and the players are doing everything they can to keep you connected by delivering engaging content across all of our platforms that, hopefully, brightens a small part of your day.

Our players are coping incredibly well as they look to keep in the best possible shape they can, both physically and mentally, as they deal with the unusual challenge of also not having certainty as to when they’ll be back. I can assure you our reduced football department staff are doing all in their power to provide as much support to our players as is required.

As always, please take care and do everything you can to ensure those near and dear to you remain healthy and safe.

We’ll be back in touch soon.

Kind regards,

Simon Garlick
CEO