Today the key stakeholders of the Central Australia Football Club (CAFC) presented to AFL Northern Territory and AFL Central Australia executive a proposal to enter a team into the NTFL in the future.
The aims of the new Club are two fold:
- To provide greater football opportunities for CA players
- Engage, mentor and support young men in CA into meaningful programs into the community
From day one the philosophy is that players involved will have to be working, training or studying in order to be allowed to play.
The proposed CAFC has entered into a joint venture with Tjaiya Rratja – Right Tracks (under the umbrella of the Desert People Centre) which is a program used to attract and retain young Aboriginal males in meaningful activities like schooling, training and apprenticeships.
The new Club will be provided with an opportunity to play a number of trial games in Darwin in the NTFL at the beginning of season 2012/13 with the possibility of some of these games being played in Alice Springs.
AFLNT CEO Tony Frawley welcomes the application and advises that this is a true indication of AFLNT’s strategy and vision for representative football across the NT.
"The advent of the Central Australia Football Club means that the AFLNT’s strategy of having representative teams from all parts of the Territory to make up the NTFL will be close to reality."
"It follows on from the formation of Wadeye Magic andKatherine Hawks. It has always been our aim to have a 12 team NTFL and this team enables us to achieve this."
Rob Clarke from the CAFC steering committee says this is a unique opportunity to make the NTFL a truly representative competition.
"In the event of the Central Australia Football Club entering the NTFL this will create a combined interest and followingfor all Centralian people and an amazing opportunity for young Centralians to become more engaged within the community and display their football prowess in a State based league. This combined with the Right – Tracks program will have a positive effect on the whole Centralian community."
AFLNT were very clear that with advent of the new Club that the current structure of Central Australia football and NT Thunder is not impacted on, which includes protection of current revenues and programs. The concept must be financially viable in both the short and long term and improve the structure of football in the whole of NT.
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Further Information regarding Alice Springs involvement: Rob Clarke 0407 890 317, AFL NT: Tony Frawley 0418 378 456