Yanyuwa man John Moriarty had his life changed by football – in Indigenous Football Week, he writes of the joy he gets from seeing thousands more Aboriginal children find the same growth
I was born on Yanyuwa Country on the banks of the McArthur River at Borroloola, a remote town where most people are Aboriginal, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory.
Because my skin was paler than my mother’s I was taken from her at four years old as part of the now-infamous assimilationist policies of the Stolen Generations, a government strategy to eradicate Aboriginality.
I grew up in boys homes as a Ward of the State. It was when I was living at St Francis House in Adelaide that football found me. It changed my life and gave me great opportunities. It was because of football’s power for good that my son James Moriarty and I started John Moriarty Football (JMF) 10 years ago in Borroloola.
We started JMF because the senior Law women of Borroloola came to us and asked us for help, they wanted to see their grandchildren educated. We knew right from the start JMF had to be more than just a children’s football program. Football needed to be the vehicle that could unlock their potential, encourage them to go to school, help them live healthier lives and build resilience.
We started with around 120 children, which is almost every child in town coming down for after school sessions on the Borroloola School oval. After expanding in 2019, JMF now reaches over 2,000 Indigenous children and 23 public schools in 19 remote and regional communities in New South Wales, Queensland and Northern Territory.
The reason JMF is so successful is that we are community-led, embedded, holistic and authentic. We are led by Community Advisory Groups made up of local leaders, Elders, Traditional Custodians, families and team members to guide and advocate for the program locally.
We have an integrated approach. We teach football skills mastery, and encourage regular school attendance, healthier lifestyles, self-respect and community engagement through football and teamwork. We are achieving proven progress in 13 of the 17 Closing the Gap targets.
Our Scholarships program started with Marra woman Shadeene Evans. She started coming along to JMF sessions in Borroloola when she was 12 years old and right away our coaches could see she was talented. We brought her to Sydney on a JMF Scholarship and after four years of study she graduated from Year 12 at Westfields Sports High School. She went on to Vice Captain the Young Matildas and debuted for Sydney FC in 2018. This year she returns to Sydney FC and I’m very excited to watch her play and score some goals this season.
Shay is a wonderful role model. The children really look up to her and she is proving that with hard work and dedication, dreams can come true.
We currently have 14 Scholarship holders. They are all very talented. Some we support in their local communities with extra football training, equipment, mentoring and school tutoring, some are in Sydney studying at the top sporting high schools. I know each one will go on to be successful in what they choose to do, but hopefully we will have a few Socceroos and Matildas.
2022 is the seventh year of Indigenous Football Week® (IFW). I’m so excited for it to be aligned with A-Leagues and feature in Round 4 of Isuzu UTE A-League Men. It will be wonderful to see the IFW logo light up each stadium around Australia and for football fans to support JMF.
It’s been a rewarding experience. I love going out to the JMF hubs and meeting the local JMF coaches and the players. There’s a lot of talent out there in the bush and it’s wonderful to share my love of the great game and watch our children develop and grow through football.
