World Footy News

The Surrey Park Panthers, a club playing in the fourth division of Melbourne's Eastern FL, will this year play host to a new league-within-a-club, aimed at introducing Indian migrants and students to Australian rules football.

Coordinating the project is WFN writer Ash Nugent, who says the competition is both about promoting Australian rules football, as well as building understanding between the Australian and Indian communities. The main target group for recruitment is Melbourne's large Indian student community, who come to Melbourne for tertiary studies after completing secondary school in India.

Initial sessions based around teaching basic skills, then kicking off a competition described as "a serious league but with a strong social element", that will also provide opportunities for players to move into senior football with the Panthers.

Nugent says the emphasis of the as-yet unnamed league will be to introduce Indians to Australian rules in a comfortable environment. "The league will be a division of Surrey Park, a league within a club, and all members of this league will be Surrey Park FC members. This means that if there is anyone who is eager to play senior football and they're talented enough, there are minimal barriers."

There will be a minimum of two teams, selected after some initial weeks of skills sessions. When basic skills are developed, the sessions will be replaced my matches. No dates are set, but organisers hope that matches will start within a month or so.

Nugent says that while the project is aimed at Indian students in Australia, they also require volunteers from the broader community who can help with aspects such as coaching, as well as Indian Australians with football knowledge who can help bridge the cultural gap between the Indian and Australian communities. The initial emphasis is on Men's footy at a playing level, but female involvement behind the scenes will also be integral to the competition's success.

A representative from the Federation of Indian Students in Australia (FISA) is involved and Nugent reports that both the Surrey Park FC and the EFL have been very enthusiastic from the outset.

Two identical information sessions will be held, the first on Saturday March 20th at 10am and the second on Wednesday March 24th at 7.30pm. Both sessions will take place at Surrey Park's clubrooms at Surrey Park Reserve, corner of Canterbury and Elgar Rds in Surrey Hills.

Nugent explains that the info sessions aren't a sign-up, but instead are a chance to ask questions and will explain everything from what footy is, to when and how the league will be run, to what to wear to training.