Joss and AFL Facility Grants announced

AFL NSW/ACT, in partnership with the JOSS Group, have awarded ten successful applicants grants up to $10,000 to assist clubs with small projects such as new clubrooms, storage improvements, irrigation systems and electronic scoreboards.

Now in its third year, The JOSS Group & AFL Community Facility Grant Program has supported over $1 million worth of projects for community clubs and has a strong emphasis on regional NSW/ACT.

 AFL NSW/ACT Infrastructure Planning Manager, Anthony Brooks said this year, there was a great diversity of projects among the many applicants who applied for the grant program.

 “The applicants were judged according to criteria which included the positive short term impact of the project and the immediate benefit to the club,” he said.

“A program  like this will attract a lot of high quality applicants who are seeking support to improve their club environment for the 2013 season.”

Since partnering with Joss Group in 2010, the grant program has supported over $1 million worth of projects for community clubs and has a strong emphasis on regional NSW/ACT.

“The Joss Group’s generous commitment to community Australian Rules Football is highly valued by AFL NSW/ACT,” he said.

“We’ve continued the partnership with the Joss Group because they’re a fantastic community business and are passionate about AFL.”

Starting from scratch, Maitland Saints AFC continues to build its reputation within a community filled with NRL supporters.

Club President, Kevin Greanes said this is a tremendous opportunity for the club to build a greater name within the community and provide acceptable facilities while maintaining a high level of safety for all of its members.

“We are a fairly new club with a support base of 100,000 people and more than 200 players; the funding will really help us to build up on those numbers and promote AFL within the community.” He said.

“There are many things which we hope to improve and maintain in the club, particularly Installation of netting behind the goals preventing any balls from flying out of the grounds.

“We look forward to developing future relationships with other organisations—this grant will really give us the push we need and we are very grateful to AFL NSW/ACT and the Joss Group for their wonderful support.”

AFL NSW/ACT General Manager, Tom Harley is pleased to see the continued success of the grant program.

“AFL NSW/ACT is committed to supporting community clubs and volunteers across metropolitan & regional NSW/ACT,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to partner with clubs who are actively improving their infrastructure and providing their players with first class facilities.

“We would like to congratulate the applicants on their selection and wish them luck with the upcoming developments.”

For more information on the grant program, contact Anthony Brooks, AFL NSW/ACT Infrastructure Planning Manager on (02) 8333 8003.

For more than 35 years, Joss Group has specialised in construction and facilities management for sporting groups and government departments throughout NSW/ACT.