As part of it’s ambitious strategy to capitalize on the population growth of the city of Palmerston AFLNT today relocated two football development officers from it’s office at TIO stadium to an office in Palmerston.
According to AFLNT CEO Tony Frawley placing full time staff in Palmerston is a clear example of AFLNT’s intent to further develop the game at every opportunity.
"The predicted growth of Palmerston is astonishing and it would be remiss of AFLNT not to capitalize on this growth for the good of the game.
"We are also committed to ensuring that structured football programs are accessible to all Territorians. Palmerston is a football loving city and we believe that placing two full time game development staff in the city full time is further demonstration of our commitment to growing the game and driving up participation in Palmerston.
"We also believe that having full time staff based in Palmerston will provide an opportunity for us to work more closely with local schools and Palmerston Magpies with a view to increasing junior participation numbers," said Frawley.
In addition to placing full time staff in Palmerston AFLNT has recently met with a number of relevant Government departments to source and secure a suitable site for a football oval in the South East Palmerston region.
"Our initial discussions with the various arms of Government are progressing well and we are confident that a multi-user oval with modern facilities will be built in Zuccoli in the next three to five years,which aligns perfectly with our strategic vision for the region. We would expect a relocated NTFL club or a newly formed club to be the lead tenant of this facility."
Frawley was keen to point out however that there is still a lot of planning to be done to map out the future of football in Palmerston with the most important aspect of the strategy productive dialogue with the Palmerston Magpies
"We continue to be mindful of the Magpies concerns regarding the advent of a second team and we will continue to consult with the club to ensure that our strategy remains focused on working with the Magpies to strengthen their club structures."
AFLNT’s expansion into Palmerston is in line with the overall expansion of the organization with five additional commercial operations, game development and football operations staff taking up new roles at AFLNT.
"As the popularity of the code grows so does our headcount as we continually strive to ensure we are adequately resourced to keep up with the phenomenal growth of our great game in the NT," said Frawley.