HAVING overseen the expansion of the national competition as AFL president, Allen Aylett yesterday declared his former club had to embrace the future and move to the Gold Coast.

Aylett, who was twice Kangaroos president and is a member of the North Melbourne team of the century and a club legend, has called on the club to grasp its "mind-boggling opportunity".

Complicating matters, Aylett's son Rick is the Kangaroos' chief executive and is central to the negotiations between the AFL, the board and the shareholders over the Roos' future and the Gold Coast relocation.

"This is a second-to-none opportunity for the Kangaroos to be the central part of one of the most exciting things in AFL history and it is not something the Kangaroos can afford to miss," Aylett said in a statement yesterday.

"It is a chance for the Kangaroos to become debt-free, to consolidate its financial future, to protect and preserve all that is good about the club, and to build a powerful two-city club with a passionate supporter base in Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

"Whatever the opportunities are in Melbourne, they are so much greater on the Gold Coast. To partner with the AFL, which is committed to setting up a successful club on and off the field on the Coast, is a mind-boggling opportunity."

Aylett defended the AFL's role in agitating for the move, saying the league was acting in the best interests of the 16-team competition and that developing the south-east Queensland region was crucial.

"I've been around football for a long, long time … I've seen it all and I understand what's going on.

"Thirty years ago, I pushed for the VFL to become a national competition and to move into Queensland, and now it is time to expand our presence in this market again," said Aylett, who, coincidentally, was on the Gold Coast yesterday at a conference.

"North Melbourne Football Club has had a magnificent history and has been a most successful club on the field over the past 35 years.

"A move to the Gold Coast will allow us to ensure that the future is just as exciting and just as successful as the past, and to guarantee that the Kangaroos become a greater force than ever before."

He said shifting to Queensland with AFL assistance would wipe out the club's $4.5 million debt and on the field would create a rare new home-ground advantage.

The club could become a twin-cities club with a base in Queensland, a spiritual home at Arden Street and a stand-alone VFL team in Melbourne.

"This is something the North Melbourne Football Club must do … we must get on the front foot, grasp this opportunity with both hands and run with it."