Think! Road Safety Country Championships: a super-charged weekend of footy in the Barossa

By SANFL Media

The countdown is on for one of the largest annual regional sporting events – the Think! Road Safety SA Country Football Championships – to be staged this weekend in the Barossa Valley.

More than 250 of the State’s best male and female country footballers, a further 200-plus officials and volunteers, will gather in the Barossa to represent their regional zones in matches at Nuriootpa and Angaston ovals.

A feature of the weekend also will be the much-anticipated Hostplus SANFL League regional match between Central District and Adelaide, to be played in the heartland of Bulldogs’ country zone at Nuriootpa Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Head of SANFL Community Football Shawn Ford said pre-purchased ticket sales for the event had been strong, with at least 4000 spectators expected to attend across the weekend.

“The SANFL regional match has been played as part of the Country Championships for the past few years and gives locals and everyone involved an opportunity to experience SANFL footy up close,” Ford said.

“Footy fans and participants are also in for a real treat having the opportunity to watch the clash between Central District and the Crows – both looking to consolidate their spots in the top five of the Hostplus SANFL League.”

The SA Country Championships will see male and female representative teams from six regional zones – Central, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, South East, Northern and Southern Districts – compete across the weekend.

South East will be hoping to defend its 2022 crown in the men’s championships, while Southern Districts will be seeking back-to-back glory after taking out its second women’s championships last year.

At the conclusion of the Country Championships, a men’s and women’s team of the carnival will be announced.

The Hostplus SANFL regional match is set to be a crowd winner on and off the field, with a blockbuster SANFL Super Match program presented by The Advertiser including:

• A Family Zone with mini-golf, giant lawn games and inflatable SANFL footy games
• AAMI Chill Out zone with deck chairs and blankets to sit back and watch the action unfold
• Hostplus goal cards for Central District and Adelaide
• McDonald’s giveaways
• Kick and catch on the oval during breaks and the Coles Mini League half-time game.

The Barossa Council Mayor, Bim Lange OAM, said the benefits of hosting the SA Country Football Championships, including the Central v Adelaide Hostplus SANFL League match, were plentiful.

“It means a lot as far as the Council and our community is concerned,” Mayor Lange said.

“Events like this are the result of investment as part of our generational plan to upgrade all of our sport facilities. The SA Country Championships will bring visitors into our region so they can hopefully stay into the school holidays and enjoy our premium wines and our food.

“Along with that, the outcomes of health, well-being and connection associated with sport in the Barossa are very strong, so the community gets right behind these sorts of events.

“We are really excited about the opportunity it brings for our region and we appreciate SANFL and everyone who has been planning this with us because it has been a great partnership.”

The Think! Road Safety Country Championships also will help promote vital road safety messages across the weekend through activations road safety education sessions.

Minister for Police Joe Szakacs said Think! Road Safety’s recent partnership extension with SANFL will continue to spread road safety messaging within community football circles as a proactive method of engaging with players, fans, parents, and friends.

“We know that road trauma reaches deep into local football communities, so I hope this partnership extension and branding opportunities promote a proactive discussion about road awareness and road safety.”

Online tickets for the Think! Road Safety Country Championships and Hostplus SANFL League game are on sale via the SANFL website.

Every match from the carnival this year will be exclusively live streamed for FREE on SANFL Now

The Central District v Adelaide match commences at 2:30pm and will be live streamed for subscribers on SANFL Now.