By: Troy Swainston – Chief Executive Officer – Eastern Football League
BACK in 2016, the first EFL Club Wellbeing Survey was completed by our clubs and we had a fantastic response from clubs.
Since 2016, we have seen our senior female football competition grow to four divisions and netball grow to over 1,000 participants. Female participation now equates to over 25 per cent of total participants in the Eastern Football League. With this shift, the club environment and culture is evolving for the better and we wish to see just how far we have come over the last three years.
The League is currently resurveying the clubs (93 responses so far) and we are excited about the evolution of our clubs and the positive impact they are having on their respective communities. The survey results will assist the League and partners Eastern Health and SALT to determine the support and training that will be most relevant and useful for our clubs moving forward.
In the EFL Strategic Business Plan, a key priority that we are working towards, is all clubs having female representation by way of football and netball at their club. Why not start the discussion at your club now in preparation for season 2020? The first step is to appoint a great coach who will focus on the basics of the game and organise a couple of come and try sessions at your club in the months of August/September.
As we head into the back-end of season 2019, we have many clubs fighting for the remaining finals spots and others fighting to avoid relegation so it should make for an exciting finish. The weather will no doubt play its part with some potential upset results along the way. The new five-division structure has certainly delivered more competitive matches (25 points of less) than ever before and whilst there are a few quirky issues in eight-team competitions, ensuring competitive matches week in and week out is the key priority.
Good luck to all teams on the weekend and remember to tune into our match of the round – Balwyn v. Rowville – on 1377 SEN+ or watch the live stream via the EFL website.
