West Australian Footballing Association withdraws from the national governing body...

[petszk]

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM GRIDIRON WEST
Withdrawal from American Football Australia (AFA)
5 August 2025
After extensive consultation with our member clubs and stakeholders, Gridiron West has made the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw recognition of American Football Australia (AFA) as the National Sporting Organisation (NSO) for Western Australia.
While we acknowledge AFA’s recent efforts to address long-standing issues, it is evident that there has been a complete loss of confidence in the current leadership. Continued concerns regarding lack of consultation, inequitable decision-making, and inadequate support for WA athletes, coaches, and programs have left us with no viable path forward under the existing structure.
Effective immediately:

Gridiron West is withdrawing its membership from AFA

We will cease all financial contributions to AFA

We will focus on a WA-first approach, investing directly in the growth, development, and integrity of the sport in our state
This decision was not made lightly. Our commitment remains firmly with our players, clubs, and community. We believe a localised approach will best serve the future of American football in Western Australia.
We remain open to revisiting this position in 12 months, should there be measurable improvements in governance, transparency, and support from any future national body seeking to represent our sport.
We thank our community for their continued support and look forward to a strong and united future for American football in WA.
—
For all media enquiries, please contact:

secretary@gridironwest.com.au

www.gridironwest.com.au

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM GRIDIRON WEST
Withdrawal from American Football Australia (AFA)
5 August 2025
After extensive consultation with our member clubs and stakeholders, Gridiron West has made the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw recognition of American Football Australia (AFA) as the National Sporting Organisation (NSO) for Western Australia.
While we acknowledge AFA’s recent efforts to address long-standing issues, it is evident that there has been a complete loss of confidence in the current leadership. Continued concerns regarding lack of consultation, inequitable decision-making, and inadequate support for WA athletes, coaches, and programs have left us with no viable path forward under the existing structure.
Effective immediately:

Gridiron West is withdrawing its membership from AFA

We will cease all financial contributions to AFA

We will focus on a WA-first approach, investing directly in the growth, development, and integrity of the sport in our state
This decision was not made lightly. Our commitment remains firmly with our players, clubs, and community. We believe a localised approach will best serve the future of American football in Western Australia.
We remain open to revisiting this position in 12 months, should there be measurable improvements in governance, transparency, and support from any future national body seeking to represent our sport.
We thank our community for their continued support and look forward to a strong and united future for American football in WA.
—
For all media enquiries, please contact:

secretary@gridironwest.com.au

www.gridironwest.com.au

View attachment 2856

Wowsers ... would have gained a little more respect with their statement if they had spelled American correctly in the graphic

 

[petszk]

Wowsers ... would have gained a little more respect with their statement if they had spelled American correctly in the graphic

LOL.
I never even noticed that!

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

LOL.
I never even noticed that!

Interesting to see all the state based comps for gridiron in Australia... I knew it had a decent following but not this big.... Sad that WA feels so disrespected, I wonder why?

 

[petszk]

FB discussion seems to imply that the national governing body gets $$$ from the state associations, but the state associations don't get anything in return.


Couple of other points...
1. I imagine that insurance would be a lot higher for gridiron than most other sports
2. The website looks impressive ( https://gridironwest.com.au/ ) until you realise that the most recent matches were played in February 2025 but clicking thru to the details still has them listed as "Preview". If they want to be taken seriously, they probably should maintain their website better.
3. It's a sheer bit of luck I even saw this news. I hadn't viewed anything about local gridiron since the pre-covid days and decided to take a look today.