Long-serving AFLPA delegate retires from footy

21 May 2004 - Jane Woolard

But the 193cm Jakovich also played a very big role off the field, for the AFL Players' Association.   For the last five years of his career, Glen was an AFLPA delegate, responsible for keeping his teammates up to date with AFLPA policies, initiatives and issues and providing player feedback to the AFLPA on important issues.

Glen said: "It's been a good time to be involved in footy from a player's perspective and obviously as a delegate, you get a little more involved in (things like) the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).    I've seen a couple of CBAs put into place … and the game has grown, developed in all facets in the last five years more than it has probably in the last fifty years."

Glen describes the AFLPA's education and training grants as "one of the biggest winners that the AFLPA achieved," mainly because the grants encourage players to "get a life outside of footy; and help them make the transition back into normal society, if their career comes to a sudden end or comes to an end like mine has now."

And the association itself has led the way in terms of achievements for players, Glen says. "It (the AFLPA) would probably be one of the leaders in what it achieves for its players and the voice is heard when it speaks to the AFL and to a lot of the other codes."

After a long career, Glen is keen to keep involved in football.

"Football's my trade so I'd like to stay involved in it.  I'm just going to take a bit of a rest, a bit of a break but I'm still in the system as far as the football season's still in flight, it's not as if it's the end of the footy season that I retired; so I've got a couple of commitments with sponsors and things like that, so that'll keep me quite busy.  But next year I've got a job as an ambassador role with the football club, and that consists of developing junior football and grass roots footy, and corporate sponsorship."

The AFLPA congratulates Glen on such a wonderful career and thanks him for his contribution as an AFLPA delegate.