The SA Football Commission manages and controls the affairs of the League, including its major financial investments and the appointment of committees.

The Commission’s actions are bound by the Associations Incorporation Act, the SANFL Constitution and the League’s own regulations.

The SA Football Commission comprises seven non-executive members and the CEO. SA Football Commissioners are appointed for a three-year term by the ten League directors.

These directors are: 

• Tom Zorich (Central District)
• Gary Metcalf (Glenelg)
• Bohdan Jaworskyj (North Adelaide)
• Joe Tripodi (Norwood)
• John Firth (Port Adelaide Magpies)
• David Flanagan (South Adelaide)
• Richard Allen (Sturt)
• Paul Sperling (West Adelaide)
• Kurt Slaven (Woodville-West Torrens)
• Rob Kerin (Community Football)

LEIGH WHICKER 

SA Football Executive Commissioner and SANFL General Manager 

• General Manager since 1984 and full-time employee of the SANFL since 1981.
• Appointed Executive Commissioner with the formation of the South Australian Football Commission in 1990.
• Served as an integral member of the Football Park Steering Committee, which was responsible for the planning, development and completion of a new football stadium at West Lakes in the early 1970s. 
• Established the catering operations at Football Park (now AAMI Stadium), which has since evolved into a business turning over more than $11 million each year.
• Appointed the first full-time Sturt Football Club General Manager in 1966.
• Served as League Delegate (Director) to the SANFL from 1968 to 1972.
• Played 43 league games with Sturt from 1963 to 1966 before injury forced him to retire prematurely.
• Awarded SANFL Life Membership in 1996 and AFL Life Membership in 2004.   

ROD PAYZE

SANFL President and SA Football Commission Chairman 

• President and SA Football Commission Chairman since 2003.
• Commissioner since August 8, 1995. Appointed Deputy Chairman and SANFL Vice President in 2001.
• Past chairman of the SANFL Boundaries Commission.
• Served the West Torrens Football Club as a member of the selection committee (1979) and League Selection Committee Chairman (1971). 
• Played 84 senior games for the West Torrens Football Club from 1960 to 1966.

Rod retired as the Department of Transport, Urban Planning and the Arts CEO in 2000 after a long career in the public service.

Past directorships include: director of RAA of SA Inc and RAA Investments Pty Ltd, board member of the Passenger Transport Board, Chairperson of the Westwood Project Committee, Chairperson of Southern Partnership.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers (Australia) and the Chartered Institute of Transport & Logistics (Australia) and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Adelaide University and a Master of Science from Northwestern University, USA.

JAMIE COPPINS 

SANFL Vice President and SA Football Commission Deputy Chairman 

• Appointed onto the SA Football Commissioner in 1995 and promoted to Commission Deputy Chairman in 2008.
• Served as the North Adelaide Football Club CEO and SANFL Director (1992-1995)
• Served as North Adelaide Board Chairman (1985-1991) and held various positions within the club from 1974-1984, including Chairman of Selectors and and Deputy Chairman of the Board. 
• Life member of both the SANFL and North Adelaide Football Club.
• Played 127 league games with North Adelaide from 1963 to 1971 and gained selection in the All-Australian Amateurs in 1962.

Jamie retired from the home building industry after 34 years, 24 of which as the owner and director of building and property development companies. He was also involved as an owner/operator in the hotel industry for 16 years. 

PHILIP GALLAGHER 

SA Football Commissioner 

• Member of the SA Football Commission since 2000.
• Served as the Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Finance Committee since inception. 
• Served as Norwood Football Club's League Director (1995-1999), Club Chairman (1996-1999), Board Member (1990-1999), Match Committee member and Selector (1986-1995). 
• Awarded life membership of both the Norwood Football Club and the SANFL.
• Played 292 games and kicked 216 goals over 14 seasons (1973-1986).
• Captained Norwood from 1981-1982, played eight State matches and was a member of four Norwood Premiership teams. 
• Inducted into the Norwood Football Club Hall of Fame in 2006.

Philip has been in private practice as an accountant since 1975. He has operated his own practice since 1985, after completing a Degree in Accounting in 1981 and being admitted as a Chartered Accountant in 1984. 

Philip’s practice specialises in management advice, tax planning and compliance, as well as providing all business requirements for small businesses. 

DAVID SHIPWAY 

SA Football Commissioner 

• Appointed a member of the SA Football Commission in 1997, a year after he became the Affiliated Leagues Council Chairman. 
• Served as West Adelaide Football Club's Management Committee member (1985), Club Chairman (1988-1989) and Club President (1990-1994). 
• Awarded West Adelaide Football Club Life Membership in 2000.
• Served on the SANFL’s Future Direction of Football Committee (1992-1994), which oversaw the League’s licence with the Adelaide Football Club in 1991 and the subsequent introduction of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL in 1997.
• Inducted as an SANFL Life Member in 2008. 
• Strong interest in country football development and was actively involved in the affiliation of the South Australian Amateur Football League with the SANFL.

David is the Managing Director of B L Shipway, a family company which supplies hydraulic equipment to the state’s agricultural, manufacturing, mining and defence industries. Outside of football, David served as a member of the Premier’s Small Business Advisory Council in the Brown-Olsen governments for four years. 

He has also been involved for 14 years with the Carbine Club of SA, a sporting club that raises money for children’s charities and has served as the club’s President for two terms (2001-2002 and 2007-2008). He is an ambassador for CanDo4Kids, which provides services to blind and deaf children, and also has a long-standing involvement with Bedford Industries. 

DION McCAFFRIE 

SA Football Commissioner 

• Appointed a member of the Commission in February 2004.
• Chaired sub-committees reviewing the SANFL’s underage structure (2008) and the League Tribunal (2007-2008).
• Involved in football administration since the 1980s.
• Served 13 years as a member of the West Adelaide Football Club's Management Committee.
• Appointed West's Chairman and President in 1993 and 1994 respectively – positions he held until joining the Commission.
• Served as SANFL League Director for 11 years and was a member of the SANFL Boundaries Commission in 1990.
• Awarded SANFL Life Membership in 2005.

Dion has been a Solicitor and the Partner of Andersons Solicitors for 30 years. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide in 1975. 

BRIAN CUNNINGHAM 

SA Football Commissioner 

• Appointed to the Commission in February 2006.
• Became involved in football administration in 1992 when he was appointed Chief Executive of the Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club.
• Appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL in 1996.
• Served as a key member of the team that developed the business case proposal and won the tender through the SANFL for South Australia’s second AFL licence in December 1994 and oversaw the conversion of Port Adelaide from a suburban club to a national sporting entity with an annual $25 million budget.
• A driving member of the team that developed the $4.5 million Allan Scott Power Headquarters in 1998-99 through the PAFC Foundation. 
• Inducted into the SA Football Hall of Fame (2005) and awarded SANFL Life Membership and Port Adelaide Life Membership.
• Played 256 League games for Port Adelaide (1971-1983), served as Captain for four years (1979-1982) and played in four Premierships and six State Games.

Between his playing and football administration days, Brian worked in the media, senior management in the public and private education systems and also as a secondary school teacher. Since 2005, he took up the role as the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST) in the SA Government. 

In mid-2008, he was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Department of Trade and Economic Development, a position he currently holds. 

PETER CAREY OAM 

SA Football Commissioner

• Served as a SA Football Commissioner since March 2008.
• Associated with the Glenelg Football Club both as a board member (1997-2000) and a member of its Selection Committee (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000).
• Holds the Australian record for the number of games played at League level – he played 448 games and kicked 521 goals for Glenelg between 1971 and 1988.
• Captained Glenelg for six years and played in three club Premierships (1973, 1986, 1987). 
• A three-time club best and fairest (1975, 1979, 1981), Glenelg’s leading goalkicker (1973), an All-Australian (1979, 1980), a 19-time State Team player, Fos Williams Medallist (1981) and best on ground during the 1973 Grand Final.
• Awarded the OAM for services to Australian Rules football in 1989.
• Inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2009

Since 2007, Peter has worked as State Manager for Coca-Cola Amatil in South Australia. From 2002-2007, he held the same position within the company in Tasmania.