Gather Round SANFL Footy Clinics to boost grassroots SA footy

April 6, 2025

Thousands of junior players will have the opportunity to share the field with their AFL heroes over Gather Round with free footy clinics and captains’ runs to be held again at SANFL venues.

Following the highly successful rollout of footy clinics over the past two years of Gather Round, more than 2,500 girls and boys are expected to participate in the clinics, with thousands more expected to turn out for open training sessions and player autograph signings.

The community events will be hosted from Tuesday 8 April to Monday 14 April across most SANFL venues, together with Tanunda Oval and the new Barossa Park in Lyndoch.

Run by SANFL Game Development team members and AFL players, the clinics will include footy drills, fun activities to develop skills and mini-games, with the open training sessions providing an opportunity to meet and greet AFL players and autograph signings.

Executive General Manager Football Matt Duldig said the upcoming clinics were ideal for emerging players.

“Grassroots community football is the heartbeat of our great national game, and Gather Round gives SANFL an extraordinary opportunity to achieve our vision of making footy a game loved by all South Australians,” Duldig said.

“Players of all ages and abilities are invited to see AFL players in action at training, learn directly from them in footy clinics and grab an autograph afterwards.”

The West Coast Eagles will kick off the series of footy clinics on Tuesday, April 8 from 4:20pm to 5:20pm at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, home to the Woodville-West Torrens Football Club.

Adelaide and Port Adelaide will both hold their Gather Round Footy Clinics on Wednesday afternoon, with the Crows at Prospect Oval, home of North Adelaide Football Club, and the Power at its home venue, Alberton Oval.

AFL Head of Game Development Rob Auld said Gather Round provided an invaluable opportunity to grow the game in South Australia.

“As we strive to have footy in every home around the country and build towards one million participants by 2033, we’ve seen the positive impact Gather Round has made in South Australia to boost grassroots footy and our junior participation programs,” Auld said.

“This Round is more than just the AFL fixture across the four days, it has an enormous impact on communities, with children and their families having the chance to take part in footy clinics with players from all teams.

“Some children may be picking up a footy for the first time and others may be meeting their heroes – it’s a terrific initiative as part of the Gather Round festivities and I look forward to seeing more than 2,500 boys and girls take part this year.”

For the full schedule of Gather Round Footy Clinics and to register, visit https://www.afl.com.au/gather-round/event-day-guide

Numbers for clinics are limited and some are at full capacity already.