We caught up with Carlton FC Head of Football and Global Institute of Sport industry advisory board member Brad Lloyd on the opportunities within football operations.
Brad Lloyd is a guest presenter on Global Institute of Sport’s Certificate in the Business of Australian Football, a two-day professional education short course which will next run on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th February 2023 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, GIS’s Australian hub.
The course will cover four key modules: AFL Recruiting, List Management, Football Operations, and Football Department Leadership. There will be a key focus on football department leadership, including how to build and run a football department, and the challenges and opportunities that come with running a department. There will also be a focus on soft cap planning (department budgets) and player salary cap management.
On the career opportunities within football operations, the highly experienced football administrator Brad Lloyd said:
“Football operations is a role that sits at the core of the football department and ensures all departments run effectively. Key roles include the general oversight of the department’s key functions including coaching, high performance and list management. Football operations, compliance and administration are other key functions which ensure the department runs efficiently. It’s vital for those working within the football department make sure that all areas run at capacity whilst collaborating with each other.”
Putting these roles into context, Brad went on to explain the importance of the draft and trade period in preparing for a successful season:
“Draft and trade periods are a crucial part of the football strategy of AFL clubs. Ensuring there is a strong level of talent that fits into club salary caps is a vital piece of building an AFL list. Building AFL lists take a number of years and needs to be monitored and acted on closely not only during the trade and draft periods but throughout the season. Player retention, player attraction and draft periods are an important part of a club’s planning.”
