COLLINGWOOD Football Club president Eddie McGuire has questioned the wisdom of a new AFL team in western Sydney and called for a rethink of the proposed Gold Coast team given Australia's slowing economy.

McGuire said the economic forecast had nosedived since clubs and the AFL Commission unanimously endorsed the $100 million expansion plans.

He was particularly concerned about The Age's exclusive report on Saturday that the league was considering launching the Sydney Celtics, a team with strong Irish connections.

"The fact it was on the front page of The Age and actually had a comment from the chairman of the AFL Commission, it made me spit my cornflakes and hit the back of the wall," he told SEN radio. "Now is the time for cautious steps in the economy and footy, I reckon."

McGuire's comments are the first sign that some clubs are reconsidering whether to back a team on the Gold Coast in 2011 and another in western Sydney the following year.

He said although the AFL was cashed up from selling its television rights, clubs were now feeling the pinch of difficult financial times.

"Every club in football at the moment, their sponsors are putting the squeeze on," he said.

The National Basketball League this month announced it would review its franchise after the financial collapse of the Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets.

Five National Rugby League clubs in Sydney — Parramatta, St George Illawarra, Penrith, the Bulldogs and South Sydney — have said they were under threat of extinction because of the financial crisis in rugby league.

McGuire said television ratings for the AFL in Sydney and Brisbane were lower than a children's movie and the AFL could not count on another television rights windfall.

An AFL spokesman said the expansion was already in train and had continued wide support.

"Our view is that our game cannot afford not to expand into these key growth markets," he said. "We've already started signings for the Gold Coast for up to 20 young players and the next commission meeting coming up will determine the draft conditions for the Gold Coast for 2009."

McGuire said while he strongly supported the idea of a Gold Coast team and saw some merit in a western Sydney side, clubs were worrying it was not the time for the AFL to take risks.

"The reasons why we should do this haven't changed, all I am saying is the world has changed in the last six months and, depending on whether you're bullish or bearish on the economic forecast, some are saying this could be the worst depression since the Great Depression."

Richmond is planning an exchange program for players who do not establish themselves in Aussie rules with Ireland's Gaelic Athletic Association, according to the Irish Independent.

Richmond football director Greg Miller and accountant Peter Jess will go to Dublin to meet GAA officials before the resurrected hybrid series in October, the Independent reports.

"We don't see any of our senior listed Richmond players going to Ireland to play Gaelic football in the AFL off-season," Miller said. "Our idea is more about facilitating opportunities for players at a lower level. (Former Richmond defender) Ray Hall … hasn't been able to play for Richmond since 2006 because of a hip injury but he's an athletic sportsman who could be well suited to playing Gaelic football for a period of time."