WA country footy is kicking offThursday, March 27, 2014 - 4:38 PM

Country football gets under way this weekend with two Leagues starting their regular seasons in Newman and the Peel Region.

The Alcoa Peel Football League continues to be one of WA country’s strongest and is expected to include a strong influx of ex-WAFL players when games start on Saturday.

The Newman National Football League kicks off tomorrow night with the Tigers and Saints playing at Capricorn Oval at 7pm. The remaining 23 Country Leagues will start during April.

WA Country Football League General Manager Joe Georgiades said each league determined the best time to commence its fixtures.

“It is best for each League to decide on a start date that fits in best with the local community as they all have different factors to consider,” he said.

“A late Easter holiday this year has seen a few leagues push their starting dates back to late April.”

Mr Georgiades has travelled extensively throughout the State in the lead up to the 2014 season to engage with country leagues and discuss the challenges facing senior football in regional WA.

“None of our 25 Leagues are immune from their own set of unique issues,” Georgiades said.

“Country football is very lucky to have great levels of community interest and fantastic volunteers in each region administering competitions. Without them games simply couldn’t go ahead. Their contribution is absolutely crucial.”

The WA Country Football league will also celebrate the 50th year of the Landmark Country Championships in 2014 by selecting a Team of 50 Years of Country Week, which will be announced at a dinner presentation on April 4.

The Landmark Championships will again be the pinnacle event for country football in 2014, with large numbers again expected to descend on Perth in mid-July.

“The Landmark Carnival has a great history of bringing country people together, so we are looking forward to a big year of celebration and looking back over the history of carnivals past,” Mr Georgiades said.

Country Football included 51,479 participants in 2013, which was 32% of WA’s total football participation of 161,429, making football WA’s number one participation sport.

By region this included:

• South West: 13,217 participants (8.2% of WA participation),
• Pilbara: 6,901 participants (4.3% of WA participation),
• Midlands: 6,351 participants (3.9% of WA participation),
• Goldfields: 6,006 participants (3.7% of WA participation),
• Kimberley: 5,777 participants (3.6% of WA participation),
• Great Southern: 4,949 participants (3.1% of WA participation),
• Midwest: 4,556 participants (2.8% of WA participation),
• Wheatbelt: 3,822 participants (2.4% of WA participation).

For links to League fixtures click here: http://www.wafootball.com.au/competitions/wacfl/fixtures-and-results