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The AFL is trying to secure its own top level internet domain address.

Expensive application a long term investment in property and 'protection'.

The AFL is the first Australian organisation to confirm it will fork out a small fortune for a new top-level internet domain that will see all its website addresses eventually end in .afl.

It successful the move could see clubs having their own sub domains such as Collingwood.afl or Sydney.afl.

The new generic top-level domains (gTLD) will be released by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the first time since the original domains, such as .com, were launched in the 1980s.

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In order to obtain one, organisations need to not only pay a $US185,000 one-off fee, plus $US25,000 annually, but also prove to ICANN they have the technical capacity to administer it as a registry operator would, including providing proof of round-the-clock global connectivity and robust business continuity strategies.

Commercial and public sector organisations have been debating the merits of obtaining .brand domains since the new possibility was announced in 2011.

Some like Canon originally jumped at the idea of a .canon domain and of offering its resellers dedicated brand-linked websites. But Woolworths, Telstra and Qantas expressed doubt over the new scheme. Qantas told this writer last year that its Qantas.com address enjoyed enough brand recognition to not warrant a change, while a Telstra blog post by its legal counsel Isobelle Fabian noted "brace yourselves - .anything is coming". Others expressed concern over the viability and security of the new gTDLs.

The AFL has joined with the ARI Australian Registry Services (formerly AusRegistry International) to provide the technical infrastructure, and with Melbourne IT to prepare the application.

Andrew Catterall, general manager strategy & marketing, AFL, said the football franchise was seeking to safeguard its online brand, indicating the move was pre-emptive to prevent cyber squatting.

"We're securing a trusted environment and taking claim on that opportunity. We're protecting it."

He said the application fee and associated IT costs to migrate all of the current properties and establish new ones under the new structure would be part of a long term investment.

"We made a decision that for our specific case it's a long term investment – we make long term investments in media, stadiums, community participation. The marketing and commercial opportunities we can develop overtime and they will play out in any range of ways.

"If we're successful we'll create club environments, opportunity for our partners, special events and other promotions – all that stuff will play out. It will take a number of years to migrate to it."

Catterall would not disclose if the organisation would be prepared to fight legally for the right to the domain name in case competing interests were successful in securing it.

Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services, said his firm was helping many applicants prepare submissions in secret. It hoped to secure 100 contracts by April.

"It's very busy but a little frustrating. We always thought there would be some real opportunity for someone to come out and show some leadership here – but I understand companies are playing their cards close to their chest."

He said ARI signed 21 contracts in the first week since submissions opened in January. The contracts stipulate ARI will be the infrastructure partner if cases are approved. Vetting will be done by five auditing firms globally, according to Melbourne IT.

Kinderis said 60 per cent of the applications were from major company-owned brands, with the remainder made up of cities – believed to be Sydney and Melbourne, as well as increasingly popular international tourist destinations in the Middle East – and generic terms.

Rights to generic term domains such as .insurance and .dentist were sought by entrepreneurs planning start-up companies that would register and administer other users.

Kinderis warned anyone thinking they could just "buy" a gTLD to give up.

"It's a huge technical responsibility in securing your own piece of the internet. You must meet the eligibility criteria. Expect to pay a consultant $100,000 to help put together an application. It's an Olympic bid just to get your application in,"

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AFL moves to secure internet name rights