Macarthur FC kicked goals on and off the field during its inaugural year, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The team was just one game away from playing in the A-League grand final.
Off the field the Bulls performed just as well, according to a report on the second year of the club’s community partnership with Campbelltown Council.
The partnership is for five years and for around $500,000 or less a year. The sponsorship for the last financial year was $475,000.
In return, the club is committed to hosting and promoting major sporting events, showcasing Campbelltown’s sporting facilities and encouraging community participation in sport and recreation
Macarthur FC has to provide an annual report to the council on the program delivery, community benefit and outcomes.
Key themes of the programs include improving health and wellbeing outcomes for young people, providing a strong foundation for young and upcoming football players, and increasing player participation for football and other sporting codes that include active involvement at a grassroots level.
The partnership also provides children and young adults’ access to football pathways and high performance programs.
The report tabled at the last council meeting focused on six specific programs.
They were Bulls in Schools, Indigenous programs, Macarthur FC food truck, community cohesion, community events, engagement and fan day and school holiday clinics.
“Covid-19 impacted many of the face-to-face programs that had been developed for the community and as a result, where possible, Macarthur FC adapted their program to ensure the community benefit and key messages were still delivered,’’ said the report to council.
The first season of the Bulls in Schools program saw more than 20,000 students across 53 schools participate.
Across the Campbelltown local government area around 6,500 students from 14 schools took part, with 8 per cent from an indigenous background and 41 per cent where English is a second language.
“The Bulls in Schools program is designed to promote health and wellness messaging using active school football programs as the driver. The program is delivered free of charge to local primary school children across the Macarthur region, with a specific focus on the Campbelltown LGA,’’ the report said.
The program aims to double in size with an anticipated 40,000 school children to enter the program within the next 18 months.
As part of the Indigenous programs, which aim to provide footballing opportunities to local members of the community, multiple senior teams represented the Campbelltown area at national Indigenous footballing tournaments in regional NSW and Queensland.
In November 2020, the club held its annual fan day at Campbelltown Stadium and around 2,000 community members attended and were able to watch an exhibition match between the Macarthur FC squad and Macarthur Football Association.
Discover football clinics for children aged 5 to 12 years from the Campbelltown LGA were held at Campbelltown Athletics Centre and Macarthur Square Shopping Centre and attracted more than 120 participants.
If this participation rate continues I can see the Council will need to be making provision for many more playing fields particularly as the current small lots in the housing estates have not space for activities at home- no more cricket in the backyard so participation in organise sport will become even more important than previous.
It is a pity the NRL does not have a similar plan and subsidies from Council