SOME of the region's best soccer players are set to put their talents on display during the annual National Indigenous Football Championships in Nowra.
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Players from across the region and beyond will represent the Gomeroi Maliyan-go sides in both men's and women's competitions.
Similar to rugby league's Koori Knockout, the annual competition promotes community and participation, as well competition.
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Gomeroi Maliyan-go team manger Kaliela Thornton said 35 players from local clubs such as North Companions, Tamworth FC and the Kootingal Kougars, would join forces with players from as far away as Broken Hill and Goondiwindi.
"We have been training for a month or so now for this three-day tournament," Thornton told the Leader.
"Training has been a bit tough given the distance between everyone, but we have persevered and everyone has been training.
"Most of the side's members have a Gomeroi background, so there is a lot of pride in the team.
"For example, we got our new team name from my grand father, who is an upstanding citizen and an elder.
"It's really nice to pay tribute you like this and I'm sure a lot of the other teams competing will have very similar stories.
"It's always fantastic to see all the different nations there and it should be a lot of fun."
Thornton said the tournament would also act as a breeding ground for new players.
"For us, it's really important to create new pathways for the next generation of players," she said.
"At the moment, soccer is not too popular within the Indigenous community.
"Hopefully, this tournament can act as a platform to grow in the future."
The tournament will begin on Thursday and the grand finals will be held on Saturday afternoon.
"We're not putting too many expectations on ourselves, but we have some pretty talented players, so who knows," Thornton said.
"All we are hoping to do is have a bit of fun and hopefully help grow the game a little bit."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
