It is a tough one to solve as building a sports web site is not a small undertaking and not really part of “core-business” of a sports team (which is winning games).

From my reports Telstra is hard at work right now to launch reduce some of the issues you list but as you can see from NBA & MLB it is not a problem unique to AFL.

I think 2010 will be an interesting year as the negotiations open up on “web rights”.

I do think League wide deals have their place as you state some teams do not have the technical capacity to deliver a website like Essendon.
From what I’m hearing a few more clubs what to regain that creative control so if the AFL wants to sell a League “Umbrella model” they will need to be more flexible.

Stay tuned this space will be a big talking point for media sites in 2010.

@seancallanan Sean I think Lions are very immature when it comes to the web & don’t really get it. Would be worse if they went alone. #AFL

The site is terrible and reflects a very immature vision of what the web can do. Content is OK but does not reflect any kind of strategy. The information architecture is terrible. I can never find anything and I build IAs for a living and am on the Club site a lot! The general usability of the content itself is low with lots of annoying little issues such as no phone numbers on the membership pages or no link to the damn homepage!

Add this to the issues they inherit from the Telstra template (homepage layout that gives no sense of priority, cluttered with ads everywhere, no clear calls to action) and it is a terrible experience that reflects how little they understand the web and how to use it effectively. Given how bad it could look I’m kind of glad they are at least bound by the Telstra template as it possibly keeps a bad site from being worse.

I want to add my two cents to the conversation.

In a perfect world, every sporting club around the world would have their own, unique website – straying away from the umbrella model which you mentioned can be restrictive.

The only problem is money. Sporting clubs receive a hell of a lot of money from media companies (such as Bigpond in the AFL’s case) wishing to buy exclusive online media rights.

Because the Essendon Football Club is financially well off, they can afford not to sign the Telstra Bigpond deal and do their own thing. All power to them.

The other 15 clubs are in a different boat and most simply couldn’t afford not to receive the Telstra payments.

It’s a shame, because it stifles creativity and doesn’t allow clubs to create a fully customised website that gives their fans the best online experience.

At present, the 16 club sites appear as bland templates with “copy+paste” feel. The only difference between two pages is the colour and the written material.

Plus, a dodgy Bigpond video player that never works and you can’t help but feel screwed every time you visit the AFL or a club website.

It’s a shame the AFL doesn’t realise or doesn’t care seriously enough about online media. They could be doing a great job, but as long as the money is coming in from Telstra…. well….. quality and imagination disappears.

Essendon do provide the exception to the rule in this case. Many AFL teams are now wishing they stood alone back when the Bombers made a stand.
I think many clubs will follow the Essendon approach once the Telstra web deal is completed. To be able to deliver to your fans is critical as clubs strive to provide more value for members.

While you mention afl.com.au (and Collingwood and Hawthorn), it is worth noting that there is one exception in the AFL to the umbrella model.

That’s Essendon. Their official site, http://www.essendonfc.com.au/ is the only club site that sits outside the umbrella, and have done so for almost 15 years.

Doing so allows Essendon to control its own brand, as well as implement a variety of developments that are the envy of every other club in the AFL – such as their own facebook style social community section (The Hangar), the ability for fans to comment on every news story, and live scoring that includes injured players answering questions directly from the fans as part of the match commentary.