Indigenous Football Week sparks calls for greater Aboriginal representation in game

John Moriarty, 82, can still remember when he fell in love with “the beautiful game”.

He spent part of his childhood in a boys’ home for Indigenous children in Adelaide. It was next to a football ground and there he began playing the round-ball game.

“We had no shoes but we beat the other team eight-nil or something like that,” Moriarty said.

A member of the Yanyuwa people of Borroloola in the Northern Territory, Moriarty was just four years old when he was taken away from his mother, becoming another member of the Stolen Generations.

During the most traumatic years of his young life, football became his sanctuary and salvation.

Moriarty’s natural talent and athleticism were quickly recognised. He was offered a pair of boots and a new pathway.

“I’m forever grateful for that.”

In 1960, Moriarty became the first Aboriginal player selected to represent Australia in football.

His passion continues today through John Moriarty Football (JMF), a grassroots initiative that delivers football and educational programs to more than 1,200 Indigenous children in remote and socially disadvantaged communities every week.

The program has unveiled talent such as teenager Shay Evans, who debuted for the Young Matildas in 2018 and plays in the W-league.

Indigenous Football Week

As part of Indigenous Football Week (November 9 -15), JMF is offering a new Community Scholarships Pathways Program.

“These are regional scholarships aimed at supporting young athletes who show a real aptitude for the game, but also want to study hard at school,” JMF co-founder Ros Moriarty said.

The football scholarships provide educational support, including tutoring, mentoring and school equipment.

The aim is to improve school attendance and provide healthier outcomes and life opportunities.

Former AFL star Adam Goodes is a patron for 2020 Indigenous Football Week.

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A dual Brownlow medallist and two-time premiership champion with the Sydney Swans, Goodes said sport was an incredible vehicle for him when he was at school.

“It kept me engaged with my schooling, and what the JMF program is doing for Indigenous kids is giving them an incredible structure to their day,” he said.

Goodes said the scheme was also designed to cultivate a healthy mindset.

“What I say to these kids is that you can continue on your sporting journey, but by getting an education, you can also have a career or run your own business,” he said.

Goodes grew up playing football but switched to AFL when his family moved to a small country town in Victoria that did not have a soccer club.

Had he continued, Mr Moriarty said, Goodes could have been a Socceroo.

“I’m sure Adam would have. He would have been a top star,” Moriarty said.

“He’s agile and, though large in size, he can move very quickly.”

Goodes was more modest.

“I love the optimism,” he laughed.

“I always think at the back of my mind how nice it would’ve been to keep playing soccer and whether I had the talent to progress.

“Though I’m just as proud to have played for the Swans.”

Goodes has since returned to his childhood sport, playing in a local football club for over-35s.

He wants to see more Indigenous athletes playing the world game at the highest level.

“JMF and Indigenous Football Week are doing their best to raise awareness and show positive outcomes, but to see change at that top level, we have to invest more in the grassroots,” Goodes said.

Indigenous representation and commitment

Former Socceroos captain and JMF board member Craig Foster said it was concerning Indigenous players remained “underrepresented at a national team level, compared to other professional sports”.

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That is despite Australian football still being the largest participation-based sport in the country, with about 3.7 million players.

Foster said more needed to be done to address the issue, starting with Indigenous reconciliation.

“Let’s face it, we need a huge amount of change in Australian football and it’s not just Indigenous football but Indigenous Australia,” he said.

Foster said with Australia co-hosting the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup alongside New Zealand, now was the ideal time to make that meaningful change.

More than 1 billion people watched last year’s Women’s World Cup in France and JMF wants to see Indigenous football at the forefront of the 2023 event.

Foster said that had to start with a genuine commitment in partnership with Indigenous Australia.

“We need a reconciliation action plan (RAP) and deep commitment to Indigenous Australia right across the game,” he said.

He said this included supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for all Australians to unite and acknowledge the First Peoples of Australia and give them a voice in the nation’s constitution.

Goodes, who faced racism during his AFL career, agreed.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us as a nation to showcase our Indigenous ancestry and culture,” he said.

“We have some incredible people, like the Moriartys and Craig [Foster] who can really make a difference,” Goodes said.

It is worth noting New Zealand already has the Treaty of Waitangi — an agreement signed in 1840, acknowledging Maori ownership of their land and ensuring their rights are upheld.

Working towards a ‘meaningful contribution’

An FFA spokesperson said the FFA was working towards making a “meaningful contribution to reconciliation”. They said it would include “a reconciliation action plan”.

Last month, the FFA released its final version of its 11 principles for the future of Australian football.

It outlines the governing body’s vision for the sport over the next 15 years, which includes better outcomes for the Indigenous community.

“It was important to ensure that we were able to specifically make a commitment towards the Indigenous community as part of the vision and strategic agenda moving forward,” the FFA said.

Indigenous coach development

There have already been some positive collaborations between JMF and the FFA, including community coaching and leadership training programs.

The programs have a 50:50 male-female policy, a strong Indigenous focus, and offer new employment opportunities to local communities.

“Women in leadership across the game is one of the reasons we have a 50:50 male-female policy in coaching,” Ros Moriarty said.

“That really permeates the need for it to happen at decision-making levels and that’s really important to us.”

It’s a career path Wiradjuri woman Tiffany Stanley is pursuing after playing stints in football and rugby league.

“We can relate to the kids,” she said.

The 26-year-old from Dubbo hopes to see more Indigenous coaches in the game.

“I would have loved to have had an Indigenous coach be there for me and teach me when I was playing,” Stanley said.

“Just to show the kids that they can do anything they want to do.”

That, according to Moriarty, is just one way football can create positive change.