Wet weather fails to dampen spirits at inaugural NAIDOC Cup
First Nations footballers took centre stage as Football NSW won the inaugural NAIDOC Cup on Wednesday.
Northern NSW Football and Football NSW selected one male and one female squad each with players aged between 14 and 16 to play each other on Awabakal land at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
Football NSW won the girls match 4-3, with Tataya Curry-Jones and Larissa Ryan scoring hat-tricks for Football NSW and NNSWF respectively.
Dianna Bloxsome scored the decisive goal for Football NSW.
Football NSW dominated the boys fixture, running out 10-0 winners.
Fidel Lucas Hawke scored a hat-trick, with Obinna Nwamadi and Lucas Turk scoring doubles.
Brayden Connors, Anthony Melissari and Jacob Fakhoury also scored for the visitors.
The matches were also officiated by an all-Indigenous match official team including level two referee Samantha Newell and Football Mid North Coast assistant referees Cayne Elford and Mahlia Hoskins.
The event was created in partnership with Football NSW and driven by NNSWF’s Indigenous Reference Group.
Football NSW’s Inclusion and Diversity Coordinator Annabel Meadley recapped what was an amazing experience for the players as well as memorable day recognising our First Nations people.
“The inaugural NAIDOC Cup went incredibly well.
“Although the rain was consistent throughout the day, it didn’t dampen the spirits of everyone involved.
“There was a sense of excitement in the air as the very first NAIDOC Cup got underway.
“Both Northern NSW and Football NSW looked fantastic in their First Nations designed jerseys.
“After the opening ceremony and welcome to country, the day’s football kicked off with the girls’ game at 1:30pm. It was a nail-biting match full of action that was highly entertaining. The boys’ game kicked off at 3pm, it was great to see some tremendous young First Nations players out on the pitch. The Football NSW boys strung passes together exceptionally well for a team that had only a single training session together.
“On a whole it was a fantastic initiative and one we cannot wait to see continue to flourish in years to come.”
Broadlex Cleaning and Property Services are the Official Sponsor of the
Football NSW NAIDOC Cup Teams 2022
