Struggling Port Adelaide's future has been guaranteed for the next three years with a $9 million AFL welfare package.

Port will be given $3 million a year until 2013 ahead of the club's move from AAMI Stadium in suburban Adelaide to the redeveloped inner-city Adelaide Oval.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the league would provide $1 million a year direct to the club starting this year.

The remaining $2 million a year will come from an AFL loan to the South Australian Football Commission, which will then provide the money to Port as a grant.

It is part of a $12 million financial package for South Australian football.

Crosstown rivals Adelaide will also be provided with $1 million a year until they also shift to Adelaide Oval.

Demetriou said the financial support would help Port shore up their future ahead of the ground move, with the club drowning in red ink and attendances spiralling downwards for home matches at AAMI Stadium.

"We don't want them not to be competitive on the football field for three years ... hopefully this financial injection gives them that opportunity," Demetriou said on Thursday.

"We need to ensure both clubs are protected until they get to Adelaide Oval.

"We need ... to shore up South Australian football to keep them going, keep them strong so they compete at the highest level."

But Demetriou said Port's package would come with strings, including a board revamp with two new members, a new governance structure and financial targets the club must reach.

Port's licence is owned by the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

As a test run for the eventual move to Adelaide Oval, Port Adelaide will play their round 24 match this year against Melbourne at the ground.

Port president Brett Duncanson said the bailout was a welcome relief for the cash-strapped club.

"The reality is that we have faced challenging times. But through a lot of hard work we have begun turning around our bottom line while still generating significant revenue for football in South Australia," Duncanson said in a statement.

"We have worked hard to help ourselves but the reality is that we needed to get something back to allow us to move forward."

Demetriou said the AFL was happy with how the Crows were travelling financially.

Their financial package is just to help ease the strain ahead of their Adelaide Oval move.

"They are a very, very well run club. There are absolutely no conditions with the Adelaide Football Club," Demetriou said.

"They are a club which will lose money this year mainly as a result of AAMI Stadium and the transition from AAMI to Adelaide Oval."

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