The Nations of Origin’ tournament, that is run by Northern NSW Football’s Community Football Department tournament, was held at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility yesterday.
The tournament has been designed to promote reconciliation within communities and engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal members in PCYC through games of football.
The concept is a way to commence reconciliation between young people and provide an avenue for young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people to commence the discussion within their families and communities on their cultural identities.
One of the outcomes of this event was the need to support the development of programs and activities that build relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal young people.
The day began with a traditional Welcome to the Country ceremony with performances by Indigenous dancers & the traditional smoking ceremony.
The Nations Of Origin Football Fives tournament welcomed 11 nations (23 teams) with both male and female Aboriginal players representing their Nation in a U14 age group.
On the day participants wore uniforms adorning the local totems of the Aboriginal Nation with all teams consisting of 5 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background and 3 people of non-Aboriginal descent.
The tournament consisted of 5 round robin matches followed by semi-finals for all teams and then finals.
All players, coaches, managers and spectators had an enjoyable day with the process of reconciliation well on the way between our young participants.
