World Footy News

“Imagine all the people… sharing all the world.”

What does John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ have to do with linking up international Australian Football clubs all over the world? Well this song was the inspiration for Pyramid Power’s Wesley Hull to embark on a virtual voyage of discovery, contacting clubs across Australia and around the world through social media and asking them to become part of their network as a “big brother club”.

Pyramid Power is no stranger to crossing boundaries and linking communities together. The club is a small junior football club located in the small town of Gordonvale near Cairns and 80-90% of the kids come from remote and impoverished communities in the Torres Strait and the Cape York Peninsula and are boarders at the town’s indigenous college. Others come from the nearby Yarrabah aboriginal community.
 

Having witnessed how AFL could provide a bridge into the community for their young players, Hull started thinking about using social media to bring the little community into the wider world, raising the club’s profile and creating opportunities and pathways for the kids that might otherwise not exist. After a little research, Hull gradually uncovered a network of national and international teams.

“I literally thought, “Why not? What harm could it do?”’ says Hull. ‘From there I chased a goal of 25 international and 10 domestic.”

Currently, Pyramid Power has 22 confirmed international “big brother” clubs and 4 domestic, and the number is rising exponentially as clubs get involved and share the word around their own leagues and networks.

“What staggers me is not the idea- that was relatively easy,” admits Hull. “It is the amazing response we have had from overseas and national clubs. Not just the goodwill and messages of support, but offers of player scholarships, player exchanges, joint promotional opportunities and shared ideas.

“I have had CEO's, presidents and general team people applauding our initiative. That is gratifying, but also mind-blowing to think of people across the globe recognising us...little Pyramid Power.”

As well as opening up the kids’ eyes to the wider world and making the game more enjoyable for them, Pyramid Power’s initiative is also a great way for the kids from remote communities to interact with people around the world who love AFL as much as they do, and is helping to supplement their educational, social and cultural learning.

Pyramid Power currently has big brother clubs in the USA, Canada, Japan, China, Vietnam, all across Europe, and as far away as Chile and Argentina. Hull is also hoping to extend the invitations to Australia’s neighbours and invite teams in New Zealand and across the South Pacific islands to become big brother clubs too.
 
If you would like your club to become part of Pyramid Power’s network, get in touch with Wesley Hull on facebook.

More about Pyramid Power’s incredible story can be found on the AFL Queensland website - The Mouse That Roared.