The Ballarat Football Netball League has officially decided to take back control of its own administration in a move that's expected to bring savings for the competition's member clubs.
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Soon-to-be-appointed BFNL general manager Shane Anwyl said the league had informed AFL Goldfields of its decision to not renew its service agreement.
Anwyl expects to have two co-workers by his side to operate the league in 2021.
"There is a bit of uncertainty around what the role of Goldfields is going to be going forward. That hasn't been clarified yet," Anwyl said.
"The league is in a position where we need to be planning for 2021 in the hope we will be playing competition next year.
"Those plans have to kick off now and the league made the decision to move forward on its own, which we think is in the best interests of all the clubs as well because there'll be some significant savings to the league by doing this."
In May, BFNL chairman Adrian Bettio flagged that the competition would maintain its autonomy and identity following all nine members of the AFL Goldfields Commission standing down.
AFL Goldfields general manager Gerard Ryan said the regional body remained available to provide services to leagues.
"However, the primary focus of AFL Goldfields and its staff is to deliver the strategy of AFL Victoria which is to grow community football through club development, coach development, supporting facility development and participation programs such as Auskick," he said.
"There will continue to be support available for the leagues who wish to administer their own competitions wherever they require it, but it is not the primary role of AFL Goldfields to manage or deliver competitions."
While the Central Highlands Football League managed to play a handful of junior rounds earlier this year, all grades of the 2020 BFNL season were called off due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
