AFL CHIEF executive Andrew Demetriou has spoken of the issues facing the game over the next decade in his address at the AFL season launch at Crown on Thursday night.

"I can't wait for a decade that will bring with it exciting opportunities, challenges and new frontiers to conquer and, more importantly, new ideas on how we do so," Demetriou said.

He said 2009 had capped off an extraordinary decade for the game, with record attendances, television audiences, membership and participation.

Demetriou said the AFL had also helped secure new agreements with the MCG and Etihad Stadium, delivering benefits to clubs and supporters, and announced new clubs on the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.

He looked ahead to the next decade and how the game might look in 2020.

“It’ll be faster and more spectacular than ever before. We’ll watch it and follow it using technology that we can only dream about. We’ll have players from all corners of the world,” he said.

"Imagine Majak Daw captaining North Melbourne. Imagine AFL players regularly drafted from South Africa. Imagine Kevin Sheedy at age 72 unveiling his latest batch of Western Sydney's version of the Baby Bombers."

He said two of the biggest issues facing the AFL over the next 12 months were the next broadcasting rights agreement and Australia’s bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

In relation to the new broadcasting agreement, which will start from 2012, Demetriou said the benefits to the game and the existing AFL clubs will be considerable. 

"This new agreement, when it's finalised, will underpin the future of competition and be invested back into the game and the generations to come," he said.

"This is a critical point that sometimes gets overlooked by those fascinated by dollar signs. As a community organisation, the AFL is not driven by the money generated by broadcast rights.

"What drives us is the impact that this revenue can have when re-invested in our clubs, supporters and volunteers, community facilities and better career paths and opportunities to attract the best athletes."

He was also particularly forthright on where the AFL stands if the World Cup is secured by Australia.  

"Over the coming years we'll also have to confront a changing sporting landscape in Australia. We have to be ready for the possibility of the World Cup. The AFL has always said we are happy to accommodate major sporting events. We have a track record to prove it," Demetriou said. 

"But we do not - and will not - accept second place for Australian football. We welcome other sports and major events but we won’t allow seven million fans to be deprived of Australia's indigenous game. Nor put at risk the jobs of so many associated with our game."

Demetriou thanked AFL clubs, corporate partners and supporters for their loyalty over the past 12 months in the midst of the global financial crisis.

“We are blessed with the world’s best supporters, whose loyalty, passion and commitment never wavers. We should never take their support for granted. And we don’t,” he said.

"Australian football has come a long way in 151 years, but the game's magic will never die. If you doubt it, look into the eyes of a young fan next time you go to the football. You might just see yourself and remember how you too fell in love with the game.”

He also paid tribute to Kinglake Football Club for reaching their grand final after the horror of the Black Saturday bushfires that devastated parts of Victoria in 2009.

“While it may have stumbled at the final hurdle, it was nothing compared to the insurmountable odds it overcame just to get there. Football wasn’t the winner in Kinglake - the community was."