Andrew Demetriou
From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
Andrew Demetriou (born April 14, 1961) is the CEO of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer of Greek-Cypriot heritage.
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Playing career
Recruited from Pascoe Vale, Demetriou played for the North Melbourne Football Club as a winger, playing 103 games and booting 47 goals between 1981 and 1987.
He had a brief move to Hawthorn playing for the club in 1988, playing just 3 games and kicking 1 goal.
His career was one of few highlights and several tribunal appearances, although he was made famous by being flattened in a shirtfront by Leigh Matthews.
Administration career
At the end of the 2003 season, Demetriou was elected CEO of the Australian Football League, taking over from the outgoing Wayne Jackson.
In 2005 he was instrumental in securing a record breaking TV rights deal. In the same season, the league posted record breaking TV ratings and attendances.
Demetriou's policy of aggressive marketing of the code in the traditionally non-Aussie Rules areas of New South Wales and Queensland has been questioned by many.
Controversies
In 2005 Demetriou slammed the Sydney Swans and their coach Paul Roos by labelling their play as "unattractive" and "ugly". He also claimed that the Swans would not win a premiership the way they were playing, and then a heavy loss to St. Kilda in Round 10 of that season sent the Swans into deep crisis, with the Swans copping heavy criticism following the 43-point loss. This was the turning point in their season, with the Swans losing only two more home-and-away games for the season and reaching the AFL decider. The Saints were themselves sent into deep crisis following a 15-point loss to Essendon [1]. In the Grand Final, the Swans matched their losing score against the Saints against the West Coast Eagles, but this time, they won the match (West Coast kicked 7.12.(54)). A sign held by fans after the final siren said: "DEMETRIOU YOU WERE WRONG! GO THE SWANS!". He also labelled outgoing Eagles captain Ben Cousins a "fool". [citation needed]
External links
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| Preceded by Wayne Jackson |
Australian Football League CEO 2003- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1961 births | Living people | Chief executives | Hawthorn Hawks players | North Melbourne Kangaroos players | Australian rules football executives | Greek Australians | Australian rules footballers | Cypriot Australians
