St Kilda Football Club has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting community football, renewing its ongoing partnership with AFL South East.
Comprised of several leagues, AFL South East includes the South East Juniors, Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League, South East Women’s Football League and the Frankston District Junior Football League (FDJFL).
The Saints and AFL South East will continue to build upon the partnership to introduce further initiatives to help support football throughout the wider Frankston and Mornington Peninsula regions.
St Kilda Executive General Manager of Commercial Chris Larkins said the renewal of the partnership was important for the club to continue its support of community football.
“Our partnership with AFL SouthEast enables us to create some really exciting initiatives for the community,” Larkins said.
“We’re really proud of the region we represent, and want to continue to build a connection between community and elite football and this partnership allows us to do just that.”
A raft of new programs will be available to participants, including a Little Saints Round which will support under-8s to under-10s through activations, giveaways, virtual messaging and player appearances.
There will also be commercial partner Saints Pass discount offers and access to SaintsEdge, a program specifically designed to help aspiring young footballers accelerate their junior careers.
“Initiatives such as SaintsEdge have also played a big part in allowing us to create an environment for younger kids to experience elite AFL footy in world-class facilities,” Larkins said.
“We currently have 150 kids signed up in the Frankston District area alone, and we are hoping to grow out the program in the coming months.”
AFL South East Region General Manager Will Dakis said that the partnership with St Kilda would help community football continue to grow.
"Our relationship with the Saints continues to go from strength to strength and we are very excited that St Kilda has reaffirmed their commitment to community football through the partnership with AFL South East," Dakis said.
"St Kilda’s work with their Next Generation Academy and our FDJFL development teams has provided a fantastic opportunity for our male and female junior players to experience an elite development program run by an AFL club offering an excellent entry into the talent pathways."
