A New Beginning

Today on the International Day of People with Disability, the Swan Districts Football Club have announced that there will be a new team lining up in the mighty black and white in 2022.

Our new team will play in the Perth Football League’s Integrated competition. Integrated Football encourages the inclusion and participation of athletes with an intellectual disability.

A large crowd at the clubs breakfast this morning celebrating the International Day of People with Disability were the first to learn about the new team from Swans President, Mr Peter Hodyl.

Hodyl told the 70 people attending the breakfast that “This is a momentous occasion in the history of the Swan Districts Football Club. We are the first team in the WAFL and likely to be the first across all of Australia’s state leagues to provide the opportunity for people to play integrated football.”

The new team will wear the famous black and white stripes and will have the opportunity to play and train at Steel Blue Oval, as well at the Ron Jose Oval in Midvale.

Like our Wheelchair Football team who played off in the inaugural Wheelchair Football grand final last week, the team will be managed and overseen by the Swans Social Impact team and will be run as an outreach and engagement program focused on supporting people with a disability to improve physical and mental health, as well as creating the opportunity to develop new skills, friends and connections with the community.

Swan’s Head of Social Impact, Matt Hewitson, shared that the launch of the new team was a culmination of a lot of hard work over many years by the Swans Disability, Access and Inclusion Committee, lead by Eliza Outred, who have helped to drive and champion the Swans annual Count Me In Round and our continued focus on creating a sense of belonging and inclusion at Steel Blue Oval for people with a disability.

Player registrations will open in the new year, and the club plans to hold an information and welcome session for players, families and support workers later in January. For initial enquiries, please contact Swans All Abilities Sports Coordinator Toby Anscombe on tanscombe@swandistrictsfc.com.