The West Coast Eagles and WA Football Commission recently hosted a ‘Welcome to AFL’ event at Domain Stadium in the lead up its Multicultural Round clash against Brisbane.
Naitanui Academy players and their parents were invited to the event to learn more about WA’s various football pathways and receive an update on the academy’s progress.
Guest speakers included superstar Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui and West Coast game development manager Adam Selwood.
Naitanui spoke about what it was like to be a multicultural player in the nation’s biggest sporting competition and how special it was to give back to the multicultural community.
“Having the Naitanui Academy named after myself is a huge honour and a fantastic initiative by the football club,” he said.
“To provide opportunities for young multicultural players within the game is really important. It will be great to track their development over the next few years,” Naitanui said.
Selwood used his time at the lecturn to provide the children’s parents an update on their development.
“As part of our Naitanui Academy program, we have been able to establish a high performance group that allows young multicultural players the opportunity to learn more about an AFL environment, both physically and socially,” Selwood said
“This will not only allow them to become improved footballers but also greater leaders within their schools, which is a positive outcome for their communities.”
Naitanui also spent time chatting with parents and conducted a tour of the club’s facilities following the event.
West Coast will celebrate Multicultural Round in a variety of ways at Domain Stadium this weekend.
A troupe of Acholi dancers will kick-start the revelry at Gate 10’s Fan Zone, Naitanui Academy players will coordinate a skills competition at Fan Zone and Kicking Goals students from Port Hedland and Newman will contest a curtain raiser fixture against students from Kiara College.
The Acholi dancers will return for a half-time show and a group of Elan dancers will perform for the crowd at three quarter time.
Our players will wear a Fijian-inspired warm-up top when they enter the ground, which will feature a flag depicting their family’s heritage to highlight the cultural diversity that exists within the club.
The multicultural celebrations will continue post-match at the WA Football Commission’s Gala Day, where the entire squad will run various football clinics, games and activities across metropolitan Perth.
