DARREN MONCRIEFF
Monday, August 1, 2011
A SQUAD of 17 Aboriginal young footballers has been finalised ahead of the All Africa Games in Maputo next month.
The team, which range in ages from 18-25, will fly out of Perth on September 1, two days from the start of the 10th annual games in the Mozambique capital.
The team will play an exhibition match against Mozambique, which wears a reverse Essendon strip, in the 9-a-side version of the game.
They will play on the soccer pitch in the middle of the Games' main arena, National Stadium, which can hold around 42,000 people.
The touring group, organised by Aussie Rules International, will also carry the Australian and Aboriginal flags in the Games' opening ceremony.
The Aboriginal team will consist of three footballers from the Northern Territory (one from Hermannsburg in Central Australia and two from Wadeye), two from Western Australia and 10 from Victoria.
TOURING TEAM: Two members of the Aboriginal football team with AFL great Gilbert McAdam model the guernsey the team will wear in Mozambique next month.
The footballers will stay at the athletes' village among the 5000 competitors from across the African continent.
They will also be teaching participants the basic skills of football as part of the Youth Camp Program.
Each of the 17 players have had to raise the $5000 needed for the trip.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 01/08/2011 19:27