Letter from AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou
It’s that time of year when the AFL and community leagues across the country are heading towards the end of another season.
I think this is an appropriate time to thank all of those people at local community clubs and leagues and NAB AFL Auskick centres who have combined to achieve another record year of participation.
An estimated 733,000 boys, girls, men and women have participated in our game across this year and that result has only been made possible through the work of countless volunteers who have given their time and energy to ensure others can take part in our game.
For more than 150 years, Australian football has been an integral part of our culture and community life in the suburbs and regions around the country. It brings people of different ages and backgrounds together and provides an opportunity to celebrate.
Despite these challenging economic times, I’m proud to say the game continues to grow, with record numbers taking part in organized competitions and programs around Australia.
Of these, 170,000 boys and girls are taking their first steps in the game through the NAB AFL Auskick centres. All this would not be possible without the wonderful support of the thousands of mums and dads who give up their time to support them.
As their children progress through junior levels, they continue to encourage and support them and help out with the many duties required to keep football clubs alive.
I want to acknowledge not only all the local community clubs, players, coaches and officials but also the 100,000 plus volunteers who devote more than five million hours a year to ensure our game continues to flourish.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of community football. Without their passion, enthusiasm and devotion, the game would simply cease to exist in many suburbs and towns across the country
The AFL understands that the success of our game relies on the ongoing support of clubs and leagues at all levels of the game. I want to assure you that we will continue to fund state leagues and work with them to develop better programs for coaches and umpires at a local level and to ensure young kids across the country are given the best possible chance to reach the elite level.
For those teams competing in finals, congratulations and best of luck. For those whose seasons have finished, well done on another year and good luck with your preparations for 2010.
Whether you’re enjoying kick to kick in the school yard, playing in the under 16s or engaged in a fierce rivalry at senior level or one of the tens of thousands of volunteers working across the hundreds of leagues across Australia, I want to say thank you for your ongoing support of Australia’s indigenous football code.
Last Modified on 14/09/2009 12:37
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