The club will also alter the term limit requirements pertaining to presidents to permit them to serve five years,even if that extends beyond the 12-year cap on serving on the board. This would theoretically allow a president in their 11th year to become president and continue serving for five years.
“Just so we are very clear here:this has got nothing to do with me. This is not for me. This is my final year,but constitutions exist to govern clubs for a longer time,I want to make this right and get them in place because these are important changes,” LoGiudice said.
“[At] the last AGM we said we would fix[voting rights] because there were a lot of grey areas around who could and could not vote. What we are doing is clearly identifying those fully-paid members,including AFL members with club support,that can vote.”
“You need to bring in the best people to govern the football club and it really shouldn’t matter[if they have been members for two years].”
Outgoing Carlton president Mark LoGiudice
The Indigenous recognition in the constitution recognises the role of First Nations people in the formation of the game and acknowledges the traditional owners of the land.
“These are changes we believe are well overdue,given the community expectations,and it is just the right thing to do,” LoGiudice said.
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“The two biggest points when I say well overdue is recognition of our Indigenous community,so Indigenous recognition in our constitution and gender recognition.
“Constitutions are the DNA of the footy club and in our DNA there’s two things that we haven’t recognised,is our Indigenous community and we are properly rectifying gender recognition.
“So it is recognition of all our female athletes,supporters,and members which we haven’t had in the past. It corrects all the gender references in the constitution.
“And it is not just about the Indigenous players - it is about the traditional owners of the land and the contribution of the First Nations people to the formation of the game.
“This is not just about Eddie Betts.
“We think we are the first club to do this. I am not aware of anyone else who has done this. I have not gone through every club’s constitution,but I believe we are the first.”
LoGiudice said he was eager to get this completedbefore his term as president ends this year.
“This was important to me to fix,” he said.
“I guess I have been driving this with Chris Townshend over 18 months,knowing this was going to be my final year,and we wanted to get this done. It is an important piece of work that needs to be finished.
“I have been very focused on the off-field of the football club,getting the AFLW licence,we are now debt free,we are no longer an assisted club of the competition,the master plan is under way,we have a fully-funded redevelopment of ICON park,or we have $47 of the $50 million sitting there to develop and it is actually happening.
“I would love for us to have won a lot more games,but we sit back and think I have left it a better place. The finals will come,the premierships will come,[but] we have re-established the foundations of the business.”
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