Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Head of AFLNT Sean Bowden agrees it's not ideal to play Alice Springs footy solely in the region, but moving the game into other communities poses challenges

Transcript

Head of AFLNT Sean Bowden agrees it's not ideal to play Alice Springs footy solely in the region, but moving the game into other communities poses challenges · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: And there has been discussion in recent weeks about footy
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  Speaker 1: being played in community, particularly in Central Australia, and I
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  Speaker 1: know that well. Alice Springstown Counselor Michael Little used a
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  Speaker 1: council meeting last week to call for a bit of
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  Speaker 1: a pause on the upcoming season being played in Alice
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  Speaker 1: Springs because of the chaos it brings. Now joining me
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  Speaker 1: on the line is the AFLNT chairman Sean About and
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  Speaker 1: good morning to you, Sean.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, good morning Katie Sean.
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  Speaker 1: I know that there has been well some unreased I
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  Speaker 1: guess should say in Central Australia, or some bad behavior
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  Speaker 1: I guess should say, over recent weeks. What kind of
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  Speaker 1: impact does that have on footy?
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  Speaker 2: Well, at the moment, probably the first thing to say
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  Speaker 2: is there's no football being played in other springs YEP.
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  Speaker 2: Season finished in September last year and won't resumement still
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  Speaker 2: until late April early May. But when the footy is
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  Speaker 2: being played, the community competition nowadays is played in Olla Springs,
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  Speaker 2: so community members will travel in in large numbers and
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  Speaker 2: support their team and many of them travel home, but
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  Speaker 2: some of them don't, and that's what we acknowledge is
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  Speaker 2: an issue that there is this flow on from people
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  Speaker 2: coming into Alice Springs, and as people would understand, there's
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  Speaker 2: already very difficult socioeconomic issues in Alice Springs and it's
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  Speaker 2: not this isn't caused by football, but football does have
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  Speaker 2: a role to play, and we want to be a
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  Speaker 2: force for good in the debate, and we want to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that whatever we're doing is done in the
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  Speaker 2: right way, in a way that respects the people of
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  Speaker 2: Alice Springs as much as it respects the community members.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, And you know, I think you hit the
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  Speaker 1: nail on the head. Foot is such a wonderful thing
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  Speaker 1: for everybody, and you know, a real fabric of the community.
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  Speaker 1: So you want to make sure that it's having that
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  Speaker 1: positive impact, which in so many ways it does. Sean,
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  Speaker 1: I know that there's been that discussion obviously, Ala Springs
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  Speaker 1: Counselor Michael Little talking in that council meeting Life last
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  Speaker 1: week and saying that there does need to be that
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  Speaker 1: pause on the upcoming season for Alice Springs and looking
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  Speaker 1: at playing some of those games in other communities, But
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  Speaker 1: does that lack of infrastructure in some of those communities
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  Speaker 1: prevent that from happening.
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  Speaker 2: It's a massive issue. The infrastructure card in it. It's
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  Speaker 2: not just the infrastructure, it's the general capacity to put
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  Speaker 2: competitions on out in the remote areas where you need
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  Speaker 2: if we're involved, you need match managers, you need umpires,
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  Speaker 2: you need to get out there. You also need to
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  Speaker 2: have the basic communities for people. You need toilets and
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  Speaker 2: change for the players, you need shade for the supporters,
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  Speaker 2: you need water available and of course we have to
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  Speaker 2: confer very closely with the police and the medical services
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  Speaker 2: out there. There's a whole lot of things that do
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  Speaker 2: need to be done.
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  Speaker 1: Now.
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  Speaker 2: We're not adverse to having that discussion and we'd like
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  Speaker 2: to have it. We want to find the balance between
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  Speaker 2: playing football on the terrific oveles the Ella Springstown Council
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  Speaker 2: works with us to play on in Springs and the
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  Speaker 2: ables that we've got in the remote communities. We want
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  Speaker 2: to try and find a balance with the fixture. But
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  Speaker 2: it's not as simple as simply saying let's go and
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  Speaker 2: play out Bush. And one thing we're not going to
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  Speaker 2: do is take away the opportunity for the young men
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  Speaker 2: and women and their families of Central Australian Regional Central
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  Speaker 2: Australia to play football. We have some young men that
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  Speaker 2: come in on a Thursday or Friday, they'll play some
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  Speaker 2: junior football in the CIFL, they'll play some senior football
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  Speaker 2: and CFL, and then they'll play for their community team
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  Speaker 2: on the Sunday and then they go home and this
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  Speaker 2: is the highlight of their week. So we have to
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  Speaker 2: find a way to make sure that continues to happen,
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  Speaker 2: and also to work really closely with the presidents of
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  Speaker 2: the CIFL to improve that competition. They also, by the way,
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  Speaker 2: rely on community footballers. So it's a nuanced discussion and
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  Speaker 2: we're really welcome it, and we'd like to know. I've
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  Speaker 2: known Michael for a very long time and he's a
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  Speaker 2: terrific advocate for his people and for the community, and
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  Speaker 2: I think what he's done is open up an opportunity
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  Speaker 2: for us to have the discussion again.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, so obviously the you know, the league isn't due
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  Speaker 1: to start, as I understand, till April, so you've got
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  Speaker 1: a bit of time up your sleeve. What are the
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  Speaker 1: plans in place when it comes to those discussions, and
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  Speaker 1: you know the potential here because I think that point
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  Speaker 1: you've made is a really important one. That you can't
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  Speaker 1: just say, all right, we're going to have this footy
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  Speaker 1: game played out in this community on this day. You've
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  Speaker 1: got to actually make sure that all the support is
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  Speaker 1: out there for that game too, and the staff members.
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  Speaker 1: It's a logistical challenge in terms of getting people out there.
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  Speaker 1: So what you know, what sort of plans have you
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  Speaker 1: got underway or what discussions are going to happen.
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  Speaker 2: Ow AFL CEO Sam Gibson and our football leader leeld
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  Speaker 2: Or will be down in Alice Springs shortly and I
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  Speaker 2: understand their meeting with every all the key stakeholders, the
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  Speaker 2: Alice Springstown Council and others. They'll also be meeting with
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  Speaker 2: some of the community leaders. And there's some great community
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  Speaker 2: leaders around football. Papunya, you Undermose, Santa Theresa, Tea Tree,
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  Speaker 2: all these places. They love their football. So we're going
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  Speaker 2: to have those discussions with them. We're going to seek
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  Speaker 2: to find that balance where we can play a mix
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  Speaker 2: of games out Bush and if not, if we can't
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  Speaker 2: do it this year, we want the pathway that we
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  Speaker 2: can do it in the following years and the years
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  Speaker 2: after that. We don't want to lose this opportunity. That's
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  Speaker 2: opened up to have the discussion about the infrastructure. It's
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  Speaker 2: really important. I think you and I have talked about
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  Speaker 2: it before, and we want to make sure that we're
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  Speaker 2: in the debate, that we're at stakeholder with the other
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  Speaker 2: really important leaders in all the springs, that we're able
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  Speaker 2: to get this right, which will be a benefit i'm
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  Speaker 2: sure for the residents of Alice Springs who there is
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  Speaker 2: really difficult issues going on down there at the moment
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  Speaker 2: and we know that. And also we keep footy as
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  Speaker 2: a bit of a beacon for the community members, for
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  Speaker 2: the young people and their families.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I reckon it is such a tough juggle
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  Speaker 1: here as well, because like you've said, footy is a
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  Speaker 1: bit of a beacon, particularly for some of those young
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  Speaker 1: ones who look forward to it every weekend. Well doesn't
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  Speaker 1: matter what age you are really playing your footy, but
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  Speaker 1: the large majority I would assume as well, you know,
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  Speaker 1: absolutely well behaved and doing the right thing, and you
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  Speaker 1: don't want to punish everybody or you don't want to
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  Speaker 1: change things for everybody. It needs to be something that's
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  Speaker 1: very much you know, good for the people of value,
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  Speaker 1: good for the communities, and good for everyone playing.
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  Speaker 2: Footy absolutely, And one of the big important discussions we
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  Speaker 2: have to have is with the police leaders down in
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  Speaker 2: Alice brings in Central Australia and we have to get
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  Speaker 2: a better understanding I think just from my review of
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  Speaker 2: the matter over the last week or so of the
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  Speaker 2: data and where the issues really do lie. We know
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  Speaker 2: we had an issue at the Grand Final last year
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  Speaker 2: for the community competition, but that was a peak issue.
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  Speaker 2: Most of most of the games are played in great spirit,
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  Speaker 2: highly talented football and football is going on out there
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  Speaker 2: with big crowds on a Sunday, which brings economic activity
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  Speaker 2: in life to the town on a Sunday. So it's
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  Speaker 2: what's happening before and what's happening after? And I think,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and I know the police are really up
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  Speaker 2: for this discussion and we'll be in it with us.
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  Speaker 2: And if we can get football back into the communities,
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  Speaker 2: I think also that's a great thing for the communities.
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  Speaker 2: I mean in the top end we play the community
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  Speaker 2: competitions out at Gove, at what air Man and greater
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  Speaker 2: on the Tewei and the police tell us that when
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  Speaker 2: foota's happening community the community is great. So we don't
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  Speaker 2: want to lose sight of that that that's a real
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  Speaker 2: option and something that we want to drive towards.
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  Speaker 1: So at this point in time, are there many games
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  Speaker 1: that do get to be played outside of Valles Springs
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  Speaker 1: when the footy season is on, or is it a
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  Speaker 1: situation where there really isn't.
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  Speaker 2: At the moment, there are games, and there is still
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  Speaker 2: a moving sort of unfixted community competition where teams and
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  Speaker 2: communities will move around playing each other. Muty Jewel who
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  Speaker 2: play in the ap Lands competition, and I believe they've
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  Speaker 2: put the hand up to playing the community competition out
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  Speaker 2: of Alice Springs this year, so that might be a
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  Speaker 2: bit of a another different moving part. And I mean,
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  Speaker 2: wouldn't it be great to play football down at Airs Rock.
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  Speaker 1: Oh go to be amazing the rock there?
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  Speaker 2: Yea, that'd be just incredible. So we want to embrace
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  Speaker 2: those opportunities. And I saw ash Barty was down at
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  Speaker 2: Mudy Julu a few days ago and just you could
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  Speaker 2: see she's with the kids there and just what it
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  Speaker 2: did for those kids to have someone like her there
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  Speaker 2: and that sort of role model. And we want to
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  Speaker 2: make football that sort of motivator and activator for these communities.
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  Speaker 2: So it is happening if we can get it. It'll
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  Speaker 2: be up to communities really to tell us ultimately how
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  Speaker 2: they want it to happen. But if we can play
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  Speaker 2: a series of community competition games in the bush, we're
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  Speaker 2: going to explore that really carefully.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Sean Bowden, AFLNT Chairman, I really appreciate your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning. Thanks for having a chat with us and
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  Speaker 1: sort of giving us a bit more detail about the situation.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Thanks, Krtie.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate the opportunity, no worries, Thank you.