North Melbourne CEO Carl Dilena says Andrew Swallow would have a big decision to make if the club was successful in its long running bid to play AFL football on Good Friday.

The Roos’ captain, a practising Christian, told the media he believes the religious holiday should remain footy-free, but it seems he’ll have trouble convincing his club to back off.

“We respect Andrew’s stance given his religious beliefs and background but we will continue to push for a Good Friday match now and into the future,” Dilena told NMFC.com.au.

“I think if push came to shove, Andrew would be there in the middle tossing the coin for us.  There’s no doubt about that.”

"I just don't think football should be played on Good Friday. It should be left a day where there's no football at all,” Swallow said on Monday.

Swallow has support in high places with AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou also against the move.

For North Melbourne though, the opportunity is too great to ignore.

“The NRL has back-to-back games on Friday and other sports right around the world also play on Good Friday.  We respect those who are against it, but we feel there are many positives for the idea.

“The AFL and the clubs do some great work with helping the Royal Children’s Hospital raise money for their annual appeal and North Melbourne is closely aligned to the My Room cancer ward.  We feel a game on Good Friday would be best used to tie into the whole fundraising initiative and really help further promote the cause,” Dilena added.

“A match between North and Carlton, given our close proximity to the hospital, would be logical in our opinion.  It’s something we’d love to explore and we feel there’s great merit in it.”