A new partnership between adidas and Indigenous Football Australia, which oversees the strategy and expansion of Australia’s most successful and longest-running Indigenous football initiative, John Moriarty Football, will ensure more Indigenous children in remote and regional communities benefit from the power of football.
The partnership will see adidas and Indigenous Football Australia (IFA) work together to unlock the potential of Indigenous girls and boys through the delivery of John Moriarty Football (JMF) and create more equitable access to the game of football for grassroots and elite young players.
adidas will sponsor JMF scholarships and provide high quality football equipment, including footballs, boots, and bags; as well as custom uniforms. The uniforms will incorporate the iconic three stripes of adidas, sitting alongside JMF’s logo, designed by Australia’s foremost Indigenous design studio, Balarinji.
adidas is passionate about the future of the partnership with IFA, with the goal to drive inclusivity and create a fairer future for sport. Built upon adidas’ belief in the transformational power of sport and a shared ambition for equitability, adidas and IFA have committed to work in collaboration to build Indigenous football in Australia through a series of local initiatives, designed to foster inclusivity and create opportunities in these communities.
Each week JMF delivers to over 2,000 Indigenous girls and boys aged 2 to 18 years in 19 remote and regional communities, and 20 primary and secondary schools, in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
JMF co-founder, co-chair and the first Indigenous footballer to be selected for Australia, Yanyuwa man John Moriarty AM, said: “This is an historic moment for Indigenous football in Australia. This support from global brand adidas will help create sustainable social change and provide pathways to improved physical and mental health, wellbeing, education and community engagement for Indigenous girls and boys, families and communities.
“This year JMF celebrates 10 years of delivering transformational change through football in some of Australia’s most remote and disadvantaged Indigenous communities. The partnership will support IFA to continue to scale JMF so we can reach all states and more than 4,000 Indigenous children,”
adidas athlete, A-League player, Young Matilda and inaugural JMF Scholarship holder, Marra woman Shadeene Evans, said: “John Moriarty Football gave me my first pair of football boots and changed my life. I’m so proud to be wearing my new adidas JMF jersey and continue to inspire young Indigenous children to believe they too can have promising futures. It is programs like JMF that give remote Indigenous kids a reason to study hard and pursue a better future through football.”
The partnership will officially launch during NAIDOC Week Celebrations on Wednesday July 6th 2022. The 2022 NAIDOC Week theme is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!
