West Australian Football Commission

The West Australian Football Commission (WAFC) is the governing body of Australian rules football in the state of Western Australia. The organisation is registered as a not-for-profit association.

The WAFC assists in administering the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and is the owner of Australian Football League (AFL) teams Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles.

History
Football in Western Australia was broke in the late 1980s and reliant on State Government handouts. State sports minister, Graham Edwards, demanded changes to the game's administrative structure, which led to the establishment of the WAFC in 1989. Future Hall of Famer Peter Tannock was chair of the WAFC for its first 10 years.

When the WAFC was formed, the Eagles were insolvent and unsuccessful, the WAFL was in serious trouble and Subiaco Oval needed an overhaul desperately. By 1991, the Eagles and WAFL were rescued from financial ruin and planning began for a second WA AFL team. Both the Eagles and Dockers had $4 million upfront licence fees upon joining the AFL, which attributed to the financial troubles of the WAFC.

In 2020, a parliamentary committee inquiry into the WAFC was established after it was revealed that a third of its revenue went to commission staff payments. Sports Minister Mick Murray had concerns that not enough money was being spent on grassroots football by the WAFC. The WAFC sought to make drastic spending cuts following the revelations but the organisation defended its staff structure and salaries. As of 2020, the State Government provided $11 million a year to the WAFC as part of the proceeds from Optus Stadium. The inquiry found that the Eagles and Dockers had "too much power" in deciding the make-up of the WAFC board and the election of commissioners had to be reformed to be more representative of community football.

Districts
The WAFC has three Regional Development Councils in the Perth metropolitan area, with each council consisting of three districts.