By Cam Lucadou-Wells
St Kilda Football Club has committed to kick-starting a surge of Australian Rules football activity in Greater Dandenong.
The club has signed a 12-month memorandum of understanding with City of Greater Dandenong including for junior footy clinics in schools, modified Auskick programs and appearances by Saints AFL and AFLW stars.
On 5 November, councillor Jim Memeti said the MOU was based on “shared goals to increase the health and wellbeing of our community”.
“St Kilda Football Club has been providing programs in Greater Dandenong for a number of years, and this agreement formalises these arrangements.”
He hoped it may arrest the decline of Aussie Rules in Greater Dandenong, mining a wealth of sporting talent among its diverse communities.
“I remember back in the 1980’s Parkmore used to have about 50 junior teams at one club. Now we wouldn’t have 50 footy clubs in total.”
Many champion football players have come from a diverse background, and many top-tier players such as Adam Treloar and Shane Savage hail from the Dandenong region, Cr Memeti said.
The programs will be funded by St Kilda with a $30,000 in-kind contribution per year from the council.
“Council will help facilitate these programs by providing access to local facilities and ongoing promotion of the partnership’s programs and activities,” Cr Memeti said.
A St Kilda Football Club spokesperson said the club will continue delivering its All Nations in-school program, diversity squads for boys and girls, All Nations scholarships and multicultural youth traineeships.
The agreement signified its commitment to promoting health and wellness in Greater Dandenong, the spokesperson said.
“Greater Dandenong will have an elite sporting club have a presence in the region to provide inspiration for the community.
“We’ll have the opportunity to deepen our connection into Melbourne’s south to inspire the next generation of players, members and supporters.”
