The Adelaide Football Club has aligned its Indigenous school attendance programs and its AFL Next Generation Academy with the Department of Education and Childhood Development (DECD) and Wiltja Secondary College to support young aspiring AFL players from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in achieving higher outcomes in both football and education.

From next month, students from the APY Lands who are keen to further develop their skills in Australian Rules through the Club’s Next Generation Academy will also have the opportunity to attend Wiltja in Adelaide to continue their education.

The partnership brings together the work of the Crows’ federally funded Ready Set Crow program, which links with Wiltja to support students from the APY Lands to further their education in Adelaide, and the Club’s Next Generation Academy, which aims to increase opportunities for young people to learn about and play the game of Australian Rules.

Andrew McLeod, who leads the Crows’ Indigenous programs, said the extension to the relationship would support the engagement, retention and education of remote students.

“The Ready Set Crow program offers mentoring and support for students looking to transition from remote communities to secondary school study in Adelaide. While the Next Generation Academy is targeted at young people from Multicultural and Indigenous communities who may not have as much opportunity to be involved in football programs,” he said.

“Linking these two programs with the support of Wiltja Residential will provide an extra layer of encouragement and incentive to students of the APY Lands who wish to be involved in football to also continue their education.

“It allows the Club to bring together and foster both education and football pathways for students which is sure to see positive outcomes.” 

The Ready Set Crow program has the backing of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and is advocated by DECD, schools and key education stakeholders.

To read more about the Club’s Next Generation Academy click here.

To read more about the Club’s Ready Set Crow program click here.