Australian rules football and SANFL administrator Max Basheer dies aged 98

Max Basheer — the football administrator who oversaw the creation of the Adelaide Crows and the purpose-built stadium Football Park — has died aged 98.

Basheer safeguarded the SANFL through crisis after crisis, eventually emerging with two of Australia's leading AFL teams.

He was born in Adelaide in 1927, raised in the timber town of Kalangadoo in the state's South East, and lined up as a footballer at Prince Alfred College.

Despite his successful start as a lawyer, Basheer found a passion for the tribunals of Australian rules football.

During his decades overseeing the SANFL, he orchestrated the sport's move from cricket-dominated Adelaide Oval to the brand new Football Park at West Lakes, including a long battle for the right to play there under lights.

"We had a judicial inquiry, we had a royal commission no less, and we finished up in the Supreme Court, and that was six and a half years after we started," he told the ABC in 2003.

More drama emerged in the early 1990s when the Port Adelaide Football Club attempted to defect to the AFL.

Basheer's SANFL emerged victorious with its own AFL team, the Adelaide Crows, but the Power did eventually follow.

He attended the final SANFL match at Football Park ahead of football's return to the Adelaide Oval.

"If it's for the better of football to move to Adelaide Oval, if there's a lot more money to be made for the two AFL clubs and the SANFL, I think we all have to support it," he said.

Basheer has been honoured in the AFL Hall of Fame, and with the naming of a stand at Adelaide Oval.

A legal legacy

His former firm DBH Lawyers said Basheer was a "much-loved and respected" member of the legal profession, and that his death had been received with "great sadness".

"Max was a cornerstone of our practice, then known as Duncan Basheer Hannon, until his retirement in 2019 at the age of 92," managing partner Amy Nikolovski said.

"His distinguished career was marked by integrity, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to serving his clients and community."

DBH said Basheer would be remembered "with gratitude and admiration for the legacy he leaves behind".

"Across more than six decades in the law, Max earned the respect of colleagues, adversaries, and clients alike," Ms Nikolovski said.

"He was renowned for his sound judgement, calm presence, and enduring contribution to South Australia's legal profession and to the football community as the longest serving Administrator of the SANFL."

The company extended its condolences to Basheer's friends and family, including "his daughters Jayne and Ann, and granddaughters Sophie and Georgie who he was so proud of and who brought his greatest joy".

Peter Humphries said his family were close friends with the Basheer family in Kalangadoo before the pair worked together in the same law firm later in life.

"I've literally grown up knowing Max virtually [since] the day I was born," Mr Humphries said.

"He was one of these people that was well known and well liked.

"Back in the day when he was still involved in football, walking along the street with him, you took a long time to get anywhere because everyone to say hello to him."

Mr Humphries said Basheer died on Sunday night.

Click here to read article