MEDIA RELEASE
EMBARGOED: Tuesday, 29 March 2016
FUTURE STARS AT THE HEART OF INDIGENOUS FOOTBALL WEEK
A national fundraising campaign for John Moriarty Football: A Game Changer
29 March - 3 April 2016
In an Australian football first, a group of young Indigenous footballers from remote parts of
the Northern Territory will walk out with the Caltex Socceroos at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
qualifier at Allianz Stadium in Sydney tonight to mark the launch of Indigenous Football
Week (29 March – 3 April), a major fundraising initiative for John Moriarty Football.
Proudly supported by Football Federation Australia and Professional Footballers Australia,
Indigenous Football Week will highlight the achievements of Indigenous players past and
present, as well as the next generation of incredible talent.
Critically, the initiative aims to raise more than $100,000 for John Moriarty Football, a notfor-profit organisation that works to improve education and life outcomes for young
Indigenous footballers and their families in remote Australia, at the same time ensuring
Indigenous football succeeds in Australia.
Supporters can visit the John Moriarty Football website (jmf.org.au) to donate, and can
encourage family and friends to do the same by uploading and sharing a photo or video of
their feet, barefoot, with a ball, or juggling or playing, to Facebook and Instagram using the
hashtags #BarefootJMF and #GameChanger. SMS donations can be made by texting
GOAL to 0455 021 021.
Indigenous Hyundai A-League star Jade North, and elite young up-and-comer Shadeene
Evans, joined the group of young Socceroo fans, Football Federation Australia CEO David
Gallop, Professional Footballers Australia Chairman Craig Foster, and John Moriarty,
founder of John Moriarty Football, to officially announce the initiative at Allianz Stadium this
morning.
David Gallop. CEO, Football Federation Australia, said that Indigenous football is a
powerful agent of change and an emerging source of exceptional Australian football talent.
“We’ve seen the rise of many inspirational Indigenous players who have brought formidable
craftsmanship and skill to the game over the years, including Harry Williams, Travis Dodd,
John Moriarty, the first Indigenous player selected to represent Australia, and current
players such as Jade North, James Brown, Lydia Williams, Kyah Simon, and Adam Sarota,
to name a few,” said Gallop.
“Football Federation Australia is proud to support an initiative which celebrates Indigenous
footballers’ contribution to the game, and which, through John Moriarty Football, nurtures
the next generation of breakthrough Indigenous talent.”
John Moriarty, founder of John Moriarty Football, said that the funds raised during
Indigenous Football Week will go far in furthering programs that create life-changing
John Moriarty Football
2/108 Cammeray Road, Cammeray NSW 2062, AUSTRALIA [email protected]
Ph +61 2 9908 2416 Fx +61 2 9908 7231 www.jmf.org.au
THE NANGALA PROJECT LTD. ABN 39 149 339 284
opportunities for young Indigenous players, opening pathways for them to make their mark
on Australian football.
“Our organisation works in two remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory,
employing and developing local coaches to support Indigenous families and the wider
community. We deliver more than 800 training sessions and games per year within a
program that includes nutrition, mentoring and wellbeing for 300 kids aged 2 to 16.
“Indigenous Football Week will help us expand our reach to support and nurture more
young Indigenous athletes with the talent and potential to succeed through sport; whether
at grassroots or the highest national and international levels of the game.”
Rising football star Shadeene Evans, 14, is the first elite athlete to emerge from the John
Moriarty Football program. Hailing from the Northern Territory’s remote Gulf of Carpentaria,
Shadeene was scouted by Matildas coach Alen Stajcic in 2015 and has moved to Sydney’s
Westfields Sports High School and the NSW Institute of Sport as the next step in her
burgeoning football career.
“It is young players like Shadeene who are taking hold of the opportunities John Moriarty
Football is creating, and we hope to support more young players just like her,” said David
Gallop.
“We are urging football fans across Australia to get behind Indigenous Football Week and
donate to John Moriarty Football to strengthen the future of Indigenous football in Australia,”
he said.
Craig Foster, Chairman of the Professional Footballers Australia, football analyst, and
former Socceroo said that football offers a global window, a multicultural fellowship, and the
widening of Indigenous Australia’s horizons culturally and intellectually.
"We talk of Indigenous athletic talent and the global opportunity that only football can offer
to play on the World Cup stage and this is true, but John Moriarty Football is not about what
the game can gain from engaging Indigenous Australia, but the opposite.
“In this century, as Australia finally awakens to our responsibilities towards Indigenous self
determination, football offers the platform to expand the world of first Australians.
“This is important both for Aboriginal Australians to have the chance to show the world what
they can achieve but also for the nation.
“There is no better place to do so than in a Socceroos or Matildas shirt. This is not only
about talent, it is about showcasing the beauty and wonder of indigenous Australia through
the global game.”
-ENDS-
For more information, images or interviews, please contact:
Rachael Hoy, [email protected], 0416 400 737.
Adam Mark, Football Federation Australia, [email protected], 0409 390 340
About John Moriarty Football
John Moriarty Football (JMF) is a program delivered by The Nangala Project, a not-for-profit
initiative that works to relieve poverty and disadvantage amongst Australian Indigenous
John Moriarty Football
2/108 Cammeray Road, Cammeray NSW 2062, AUSTRALIA [email protected]
Ph +61 2 9908 2416 Fx +61 2 9908 7231 www.jmf.org.au
THE NANGALA PROJECT LTD. ABN 39 149 339 284
children and their families. JMF leads the way in Indigenous football, using the sport as a
constant in children’s lives to create a grassroots environment for change. The
organisation’s on-ground teams promote and develop school attendance, self-respect and
engaged families in the pursuit of building healthier Indigenous communities.
John Moriarty Football
2/108 Cammeray Road, Cammeray NSW 2062, AUSTRALIA [email protected]
Ph +61 2 9908 2416 Fx +61 2 9908 7231 www.jmf.org.au
THE NANGALA PROJECT LTD. ABN 39 149 339 284