By Danny McCarthy
The next stage of the #girlsplaytoo campaign has kicked off with the launch of a custom designed football for fledging female footy players.
The balls will be rolled out across the state to support AFL Queensland’s push to launch 50 new female teams in 2015.
AFL Queensland Female Programs Coordinator Breeanna Brock said ball handling plays a big part in getting girls engaged with AFL.
“Australian Football is a game for everyone and we believe that getting a football into a young girl’s hands is the spark that ignites a love affair with football,” she said.
Brock said the vibrant lime and pink footballs send a clear message; AFL is also a female game.
“Football is seen by some as a very masculine game, but the statistics show this isn’t necessarily the case. 50,000 Queensland women and girls played AFL last year and the numbers continue to rise,” she said.
The goal of reaching 124 female football teams across the state begins by encouraging younger players to take up the game, and the new #girlsplaytoo footballs could be AFL Queensland’s secret weapon.
“If you think about young boys, they are playing with, and even sleeping with their footballs as soon as they can crawl. We hope that with these female-friendly footballs we can achieve the same result,” Brock said.
The next part of the #girlsplaytoo campaign will be custom guernseys, the same colours as the ball, that will continue the push to get more girls and women playing Australia’s game.
