Coffs Harbour is set for five days of Australian football action when the 2014 KickStart Championships and Australia Post All Nations Cup begin on Friday April 11, with hundreds of players from across Australia and Oceania taking part.

The 2014 carnival will see all states and territories represented at the two national round-robin tournaments with the grand finals being held on Wednesday April 16.

Supported by the Coles AFL Indigenous Program, the KickStart Championships provides players with an opportunity to test themselves against the best emerging Indigenous players from around the country at Under 15 level.

The inaugural Australia Post All Nations Cup is a feature event of the year for the Australia Post AFL Multicultural program and all six teams competing feature players from multicultural backgrounds.

Former AFL players Anthony Koutoufides, Aaron Davey, David Rodan and Setanta O’hAilpin will attend the camp as coaches and selectors and AFL stars Michael O’Loughlin and Kevin Sheedy will join the players on Tuesday April 15 for a cultural and leadership session.

Media are invited to attend the carnival’s official opening ceremony which will be held on Friday April 11 at Coffs Harbour International Sports Stadium. Competing teams will be welcomed by Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Denise Knight and the ceremony will feature performances by local Indigenous and multicultural dancers. Aaron Davey and David Rodan will be available for interview and details are as follows:

Aaron Davey and David Rodan

Opening Ceremony, National KickStart Championships and Australia Post All Nations Cup

Coffs Harbour International Sports Stadium

9am, Friday April 11

AFL Head of Diversity Jason Mifsud said the carnival aims to provide talent opportunities for players from diverse backgrounds, as well as develop the participants into confident young men and leaders in their communities.

“The inaugural Australia Post All Nations Cup and the KickStart Championships are key components of our diversity strategy and will drive significant outcomes for participants and communities.”

Goodlife Health Clubs is a supporting partner of the AFL Diversity Program and is offering a month’s free membership to each participant in the KickStart program and Australia Post All Nations Cup to encourage health and wellbeing and further develop the physical conditioning of the players.  

Details on National KickStart Championships:

Each team in the KickStart Championships has selected the best 25 Indigenous players from their state camps based on football ability, leadership qualities, school attendance and community involvement.

The Under 15 KickStart Championships structure has been developed to provide a supported talented player pathway that compliments the NAB AFL Under 16 Championships and exposes Indigenous coaches, doctors, physiotherapists and trainers to an elite AFL Program environment.

Twenty-five of the best performing players will be selected for the Indigenous Flying Boomerangs squad by former Melbourne star Aaron Davey.

This year players from the South Pacific region will take part in the KickStart Championships (PNG, NZ, Oceania) competing in their own round-robin tournament. A curtain raiser game to the grand final will be played between a combined South Pacific team against an Indigenous combined side.

Details on Australia Post All Nations Cup:

The Inaugural Australia Post All-Nations championships involves six states competing in a round-robin competition. To be eligible for the All Nations Cup Squad, players must have been born overseas and come from a non-english speaking background.

The All Nation Cup is a fantastic opportunity for players from Multicultural backgrounds  to fast track their football development through a highly enjoyable on and off field program.

The junior stars form the basis of selection for the Australian players in the World Team in the NAB AFL Under 16 Championships.

 

National KickStart Championships Schedule

Australia Post All Nations Cup Schedule

Friday April 11
9:00am Opening Ceremony
10:30am NT v SA
11:30am  VIC/TAS v  QLD

12:30pm NSW/ACT v WA

2:30pm VIC/TAS v NT
3:30pm  WA v QLD
4:30pm SA v NSW/ACT   

 

Saturday April 12
10:30am NSW/ACT v QLD
11:30am  NT v WA
12:30pm SA v VIC/TAS
1:30pm NT v NSW/ACT
2:30pm QLD v SA

3:30pm VIC/TAS v WA

4:30pm NZ v PNG

4:41pm PNG v Oceania (Combined South Pacific team including players from Fiji, Vanuatu, Nauru, Tonga and Samoa)

5:22pm Oceania v NZ

Sunday April 13
9:00am Education Sessions

11:45am Oceania v NZ

1:30pm NSW/ACT v VIC/TAS

2:30pm NT v QLD

3:30pm SA v WA

 

Monday April 14
9:00am Educations Sessions
2:00pm Semi Final
3:00pm Semi Finals

4:00pm PNG v Oceania

Tuesday April 15

9:00am Education Sessions

2:00pm Preliminary Final

3:00pm Preliminary Final

4:00pm NZ v PNG

 

Wednesday April 16

8:00am South Pacific v Combined KickStart curtain-raiser

10:15am National KickStart Championship grand final

Friday April 11
9:00am  Opening Ceremony
10:30am VIC/TAS v QLD
11:30am  NSW v WA

12:30pm NT v SA

2:30pm WA v QLD
3:30pm  SA v NSW/ACT
4:30pm VIC/TAS v NT  

 

Saturday April 12
10:30pm NT v WA
11:30pm  SA v NSW/ACT
12:30pm NSW/ACT v QLD
1:30pm: VIC/TAS v WA
2:30pm: NT v NSW/ACT

3:30pm: QLD v SA

 

Sunday April 13
9:00am Education Sessions

1:30pm NT v QLD

2:30pm SA vWA

3:30pm NSW/ACT v VIC/TAS

 

Monday April 14
9:00am Education Sessions
2:00pm Semi Final
3:00pm Semi Finals

 

Tuesday April 15

9:00am Education Sessions

2:00pm Preliminary Final

3:00pm Preliminary Final

 

Wednesday April 16

9:00am Australia Post All Nations grand final

 

 

For more information about the tournament and all media enquiries, please contact Amy Hattam – amy.hattam@afl.com.au or 0423 505 083.