Community Football Weekend by Kevin Sheedy
05 May, 2008
Find out where your favorite AFL players are heading this weekend!
Community Football Weekend Fixtures & Country Football Fixtures
If I were Prime Minister for a day, I would schedule a public holiday to celebrate 150 years of Australian Football.
But I am not, that’s another Kevin, from Queensland. So instead we will create a whole Community Football Weekend (May 9-11) so that every club across Australia can join in the celebrations of 150 years of our great game.
I have travelled all over the Australia – the big cities, the country towns, the islands, the bush teams – and I have seen first hand the passion of local football supporters, and also the pride people have in their local clubs.
The weekend of May 9-11, this Community Football Weekend, is the time for all that passion and pride to go on parade.
No AFL home and away matches will be played, providing the opportunity for Australians from Port Hedland to Port Arthur to head back to their original or local community football club and celebrate this historic year.
Make no mistake, no matter what happens at the higher levels with new franchises and so on, community football remains the heart and soul of our game. The players have got to come from somewhere.
Last year more than 638,000 people played Australian football right around the nation and many more coached, officiated, volunteered and supported our game at all levels.
So this weekend is not just for the players, it’s an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the game with, and to say thanks to, all the people who support community clubs.
Football at any level would not exist without the tireless efforts of the 60,000-plus volunteers around the country, who each week devote their time, their enthusiasm and their passion to ensuring so many can participate in our game.
By encouraging the entire football community to get together it is anticipated we can set an attendance record of more than 2 million people.
Community clubs and leagues across the country have scheduled special events to mark 150 years of Australian Football and also to celebrate their own history.
The Kalgoorlie Football Club in the Goldfields Football League in Western Australia has organised an evening event, which will celebrate the history of their club with an interactive presentation.
Birregurra Football Club in the Colac and Districts Football League in Victoria will celebrate its 125th anniversary on Community Football Weekend with a carnival day and barbeque.
As part of the planned celebrations, more than 300 current AFL players will also be visiting grass-roots footy matches.
Many players will be returning to their former community clubs to catch up with old friends and teammates and join in some of the activities that clubs have planned.
Australian clubs are not the only ones joining in the celebrations; international Australian Football competitions including leagues in Canada, Japan, Finland, Sweden and Dubai have all planned matches around the weekend.
The Bromma Vikings from Sweden will take on the Sadermalm Blues in the Stockholm Australian Football Federation. The clubs will hold a traditional Aussie Family BBQ following the match on Saturday, May 10.
Our game has developed substantially since the first match of football was played in a paddock in Melbourne 150 years ago; the skills of the players, the number and size of AFL clubs as well as enormous growth in the overall interest in the game.
Community Football Weekend aims to encourage football enthusiasts to stop and reflect on the pivotal role that grass-roots football has played, not only in the Australian Football community but in local communities everywhere.
