2014 changes to Community Football
– Junior Club Football – to extend to Under-17s in 2014 (from existing Under-16s in 2013)
– Senior Club Football – the Under-18s competition to become an Under-19s competition in 2014
The 2102 Health Check of Community Australian Football in Sydney conducted by AFL NSW/ACT highlighted an opportunity for AFL NSW/ACT to consider a strategy to retain more participants progressing from junior to senior football and, two years later, progressing within the senior clubs from their current Under-18s to open aged teams.
AFL Sydney Manager, David Lawson explained: “Best practice across Australian football competitions has confirmed that extending the junior football environment to Under-17 has retained players in their familiar, junior environment when so much else is happening in their lives.
The consequential extension of Under-18 football to an Under-19s competition is to build a sustainable base at the entry point to Senior Clubs.
Lawson explains: “An Under-19s competition will allow another year of physical and skill development before open age competition, and will allow the Under-18s HSC students to mix studies and football as ‘bottom aged’ Under-19s footballers. In addition, elsewhere in Australian senior clubs have found the integration of Under-19s teams into their senior club environment easier than integrating Under-18s teams.
“Overall, these changes are all about retaining the club footballer along the pathway. Their is nothing stopping the talented footballer progressing through the excellent Academy programs and/or proceeding into open aged competitions.”