Historical Evidence of the Social Contribution of Annual General Meetings to Australian Football Communities.

This paper examines the historical social contribution of Australian football clubs, and the extent of this as evidenced through Annual General Meetings (hereafter referred to as AGMs) during the period 1890–1910. Australian football club AGMs were an important part of the administration process where the committee would report to members on the performance of the club. These AGMs were highlighted extensively in local suburban newspapers. Results show that suburban newspaper narratives did reinforce that AGMs were more than merely formulaic procedural sessions that reported financial and team performance, but that they also reinforced the social and entertainment aspects of Australian football. The paper contributes and extends arguments about the social importance of Australian football, through AGMs, for which little prior research exists, and suggests that this should be made more prominent when the histories of clubs are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]