The 2024 NAIDOC Cup got underway on Awabakal land at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Wednesday.
More than 140 players and officials from Northern NSW Football and Football NSW celebrated the opening of the three-day event featuring special guests from the First Nations community.
Coinciding with NAIDOC Week, the competition has returned for a third year to showcase proud First Nations male and female participants in the under-14s and under-16s age groups.
“The NAIDOC Cup is a fantastic opportunity for our talented and proud First Nations footballers to shine, showcase their talent and represent themselves, their family, their culture and their heritage,” NNSWF CEO Peter Haynes said.
The opening ceremony featured Uncle Norm Archibald who provided the ‘Welcome to Country’ before NNSWF Chairman Mike Parsons welcomed everyone to the tournament.
Glendale High School students then performed two special cultural dances.
Each team was presented their jerseys by A-League veteran Jason Hoffman, with Northern NSW Football’s shirt designed by Jodie Reynolds and Football NSW’s designed by Ameena Kanj.
The celebrations continued with Football Australia First Nations Technical Director Tim Aitken addressing the crowd.
NNSW Legacy Development Officer - First Nations Football Programs, Michael Hugo looked forward to the annual tournament.
“We are taking big steps within the First Nations football space and it is great to see that we continue to move forward together to provide positive experiences for First Nations footballers across the region,” Hugo said.
The first round of matches will take place on Thursday with games kicking off at 10am.
All eight matches will be streamed live on BarTV.
The 2024 NAIDOC Cup is supported by the NSW government through the $10 million NSW Football Legacy Program.
