Applications Open for Telstra Footy Country GrantsTuesday, December 3, 2024 - 12:40 PM

The West Australian Football Commission has again joined forces with Telstra and the AFL to launch the second year of the Telstra Footy Country Grants.

The 2024 program proved extremely successful with $2 million distributed to community clubs across the country.

Telstra has committed $8 million over four years to help strengthen, sustain and grow local footy.

All community football clubs across WA can access funding to assist volunteers, grow participation and improve club environments.

WAFC Club Development and Volunteers Specialist Jenné Russell has declared the Telstra Footy Country grants a great initiative.

“The benefit the funds had on football communities in year one was extremely impactful, with many clubs obtaining items that would likely have been out of their reach without the grant,” Russell said.

“With the opening date for 2025 funding brought forward, clubs have a greater opportunity to apply for much needed funding when it’s needed most.

“We invite all community football clubs to apply and look forward to sharing stories from successful applicants throughout the year.”

Clubs are encouraged to apply for items such as start-up costs for new female teams, items to modify ovals for junior football and projects to increase participation in round one.

Huntingdale Junior Football Club received a grant to replace their old manual scoreboard with a new portable electronic scoreboard.

Huntingdale JFC President Kristy Drew believes the upgrade will make a huge difference.

“We are so excited with the arrival of our new scoreboard as it’s not only going to look amazing at our facility, but it will also assist our club greatly in reducing the number of game day volunteers required for home games,” Drew said.

“Four game day roles will be consolidated into one, thereby reducing the workload on our Team Managers in allocating volunteers for home games.

“We are incredibly grateful to WA Football and Telstra Footy Country Grants for their support and contribution to this project for Huntingdale Blues and cannot wait to light it up in Season 2025.”

In 2024, 59 clubs in WA benefited from the grant program, with funded items including electronic point of sale systems, indigenous and pride themed jumpers, start-up costs for new teams and electronic scoreboards.

If you think your club could benefit from the Telstra Footy Country Grants, get in touch with your club committee.

There are four rounds of applications, with round one opened on 1st December and closing on 2nd February.