AFLNT yesterday met with five AFL clubs at the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre to discuss the final stage of establishing Next Generation AFL Club Academies across the Territory in 2017.
Five Victorian AFL clubs have been allocated regions in the Northern Territory with the aim of attracting boys and girls who are not currently playing football or are underrepresented in the AFL.
Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, and Melbourne have been provided with seed funding to begin establishing club-based academies in their specific regions in 2016, with the objective of expanding the program in 2017 and beyond.
AFLNT CEO Michael Solomon said the academies were part of the AFL’s broader commitment to invest in the community foundations of the game.
“The academies will look to build strong links between local communities, grassroots football and the elite level, to ensure our game is representative, inclusive and embraces gender and cultural diversity,” Solomon said.
“It is important we provide clubs with an incentive to develop a presence in these communities, and help attract talented indigenous players who would not otherwise play AFL or are underrepresented.”
Solomon said the details of the talent concessions were yet to be finalised, but it was envisaged the model would operate similar to the system in place for the Northern State Academies.
AFLNT High Performance Manager Wally Gallio said it was great to host the clubs who met in Darwin before flying out to their designated regions.
“For football to grow and prosper in the Territory, we must reinforce the pathways for Indigenous Australians,” Gallio said.
The clubs will now work with AFLNT to utilise staff based in their specific region to take advantage of AFL programs and resources already in place.
The Academies will enable AFL clubs to be actively involved in introducing kids to the game and provide aspirational pathways for coaches, umpires and administrators.
The allocation of regions is designed to align AFL clubs with underage talent programs, and where possible ensure clubs who have existing relationships with certain communities can build on those relationships.
The following clubs and their allocation is listed below:
CLUB REGION
Collingwood Barkly
Essendon West Arnhem
Geelong East Arnhem
Hawthorn Katherine
Melbourne Alice Springs
Please find attached a map detailing the allocation break down for each club.