Australian Rules Football Junior Carnival in Jakarta

The Australian Embassy is pleased to support the inaugural Allan Taylor Cup, an Australian Football Carnival for Indonesian youth on Saturday, 20 June 2009 at Buperta Park, Cibubur.

Eight junior teams from various locations in Jakarta, including Bogor, Bintaro and Depok, will compete in the one day carnival organised by the Jakarta Bintangs Australian Rules Football Club. The Jakarta Bintangs will also conduct an Auskick training session on the day giving all interested boys and girls a chance to try Australian Rules Football.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer, Oceania Australian Football League (AFL) Development Manager Andrew Cadzow and former professional AFL player Craig Starcevich will attend the carnival and officially launch AFL Indonesia. The AFL representatives will also conduct a number of training clinics at schools in Jakarta on Friday, 19 June 2009.

“This Carnival commemorates the late Allan Taylor, a former Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, who loved sport and was a passionate advocate of strengthening people-to- people links between Australia and Indonesia” said Bill Farmer, who is also a Patron of the Jakarta Bintangs.

“We are looking forward to working with the Jakarta Bintangs to set up a fully fledged junior football league for the kids of Jakarta and further promote the game to other parts of Indonesia, starting with Bali and Balikpapan”, said Andrew Cadzow.

Through the support of the Australian Government’s Australia Indonesia Institute (AII) and the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program (AYAD), the Jakarta Bintangs have visited hundreds of schools throughout Jakarta promoting Australian culture and sport and developing around 200 committed junior players.

The ultimate aim of the program is to have an adult Indonesian AFL team ready to participate in the International AFL Cup in Melbourne in 2011.

AII is an Australian Government initiative, which has been promoting the development of people-to-people links between Australia and Indonesia for the past two decades. AYAD is an AusAID initiative to assist young Australians to promote sustainable development and skills exchange in the Asia Pacific region.

Media Inquiries:
Sanchi Davis (Cultural Attache) Tel. (021) 2553 5260 mob. 0811 936 302
Chris Bandy (Junior Development Officer, Jakarta Bintangs) mob. 0813 389 7277