In the hopes of getting more kids involved with the sport, the Football Federation of Victoria is using some pretty nifty tactics.
This weekend, it’s offering the first 2000 people to walk into a Sportsmart shop this weekend with an AFL sherrin a chance to swap it for a soccer ball.
Born out of the need to continue the momentum from the Socceroos’ AFC Asian Cup success the FFV are calling the imitative the “footy trade-in weekend”.
“We want to see mums, dads, girls and boys, continuing their interest in football and experience the world game for themselves by giving them a round ball to play with at home, the local park or even at school,” FFV CEO Peter Gome says.
He hopes that the ball swap will push young athletes to pick up the sport for good, maybe joining their local clubs.
“There are tens of thousands of Victorians already playing football socially but we would like to see these people joining their local clubs, playing in our competitions, having fun with their friends and we want to provide opportunities to those who aspire to play for the Socceroos or Matildas one day,” Mr Gome says.
Those interested can hand in their Aussie Rules footy at one of four Sportsmart locations [Moorabbin, Casey, Northcote, and Kilsyth] and receive a new “real” football.