Football Far North Coast kicking participation goals

FOOTBALL Far North Coast (FFNC) has wrapped up its 2024 season, surpassing expectations with 9,855 participants registered and a notable increase in female player participation. This included 7,932 players, 167 match officials, 877 coaches and team officials, and 879 volunteers. FFNC general manager Steve Mackney said female player participation saw a notable increase. "Female player participants have also increased to 33.3 per cent, compared with males 66.7 per cent, up from 30.9 per cent in 2023 and higher than the state average," Mr Mackney said. Despite these successes, FFNC is urgently calling for more volunteers across its clubs, as numbers have dwindled since COVID-19 and the floods. Photo: SUPPLIED "I acknowledge that when disaster happens, volunteering gets dropped to the bottom of the list, when people are just working to survive, get back in their homes and recover," Mr Mackney said. "We still need volunteers to be able to deliver the competitions we do, across the board. "For some clubs, the floods were the end." FFNC has put a large number of referees through a recent course, yet still needs at least double that in volunteer numbers. Mr Mackney praised the resilience of local clubs, attributing their recovery to significant funding from all levels of government. Photo: SUPPLIED "Supporting your local club and community is something that can be active and self-initiating," he said. "Speak to your club directly to get involved so we can continue to offer what we do, or contact us via the website directly." For more information on how to volunteer, head to footballfarnorthcoast.com.au