A new era for AFL kicks off in Vanuatu

Vanuatu’s AFL community is celebrating the launch of the AFL Vanuatu Talent Academy, an initiative supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports as part of a four-year partnership with the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL Vanuatu Vice President, Collins Gesa, spoke enthusiastically about the initiative, and the impact it would have on the game in the years ahead.

“With this new Talent Academy, AFL will flourish and expand in Vanuatu,” he told Vanuatu media.

The Academy will build on the work of the school-based AFL Pikinini Kik Program, identifying promising young female and male players and working with them to develop their raw talent into skills that could take them to elite-level competition. Coaches and umpires will also have the opportunity to join in high-performance training and development activities.

“Vanuatu now joins Fiji, Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the AFL South Pacific High-Performance Pathway, marking a significant step in the growth of Australian Rules Football in the Pacific,” said the Australian High Commissioner in Vanuatu, Max Willis.

AFL’s new home ground

Speaking at the launch event, the Minister for Youth and Sport Development, Tomker Netvunei, announced that Port Vila’s Kawenu Field was set to become the homebase for AFL in Vanuatu.

“My department and the Vanuatu National Sports Authority have agreed to a new partnership with [the] AFL to manage and develop Kawenu Field on a long-term arrangement,” he said.

AFL Vanuatu's program manager, Nancy Patterson, told the ABC’s Pacific Beat the field will be developed into a first-class facility, benefitting schools and the wider sporting community, as well as housing the Talent Academy.

“We have around 3,000 participants in our programs and, in the past, the challenge was always the field, the oval – so this is good news for everyone,” said Patterson. “We’re looking forward to the long-term benefits of the Academy, and the upgrades to the field…maybe, in the future, we can even have international footy competitions there!”

Big dreams for young players

The work being done at a local level by AFL Vanuatu will create opportunities for talented young footy players to participate in regional competitions. Players who impress may also be approached to take part in training camps hosted by AFL Queensland, or to join the Talent Academies of the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns, with the possibility of one day running onto the field for those clubs in either the AFLW or the AFL.

It’s a journey that follows in the footsteps of players like PNG’s Hewago Paul Oea, who debuted for the Gold Coast Suns in 2022 and remains part of the club, and Zimmorlei Farquharson, currently playing with the Western Bulldogs in the AFLW.

“Being part of pathways like this changed my life, and now I get to live the dream of playing a sport I love for an AFL Women’s club,” said Farquharson.

Speaking to the ABC, Patterson added that she was grateful for the support being provided by the governments of Vanuatu and Australia, and proud to see that all the hard work put in by AFL Vanuatu had made an impact.

“[They] have recognised AFL,” she said, “They know that AFL will be a great thing for all young people in Vanuatu,” she said.