West Coast Eagles star ruckman Nic Naitanui was on hand to launch the 2014 Eagles Cup, Faction Footy and the new Eagles Schoolboys Cup programs at Patersons Stadium last night.

Entering its 19th year, Eagles Cup is an interschool competition which involves nearly 500 schools across various districts of Western Australia.

The winning school in each district is given the chance to be presented with a trophy by a West Coast Eagles player.

This is the sixth year of Faction Footy, where 250 schools compete against their fellow school mates. Each school runs their own Faction Footy competition and has seen over 26,000 primary school students become involved last year alone.

The Eagles Schoolboys Cup, a new partnership for the West Coast Eagles, involves year eight and nine students from across the state, with representation from every district and region in WA. The competition began in 1983, and will see over 135 schools involved in 2014.

These programs are integral to the development of grass roots football among the community and gives the development of West Australian football a brighter future.

All the West Coast Eagles football development programs are proudly supported by our Principal Community Partner BHP Billiton.

Nic Naitanui said he was excited to launch the programs and noted the positive influence these have on kids.

“It’s a great competition and its success and longevity is a credit to all involved,” said Naitanui.

“I remember when Coxy came out to my school when I was in year three, it was a great day, so to be able to come out to schools to inspire these kids is fantastic and a great honour.”

Thanks must be given to the teachers giving their time to primary and secondary school football. A great number of students are now linked to junior community clubs through this partnership formed through our school football programs.

Our Education network in conjunction with WAFC Game Development staff every week work tirelessly during the term two sporting calendar to provide a fun and safe environment for our kids to enjoy and learn our great game, and the support in this area cannot be underestimated.

Thank you to all the teachers, parents and children for contributing so greatly to the each of the Eagles Schools Competitions, and to our Principal Community Partner BHP Billiton for making it all possible.