VAFA to face Perth Football League in rep footy return
Two of Australia’s strongest amateur football competitions will go head-to-head for the first time in 20 years after a new exciting deal was secured.
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VAFA representative football will return for the next two years following a new deal with Perth Football League (PFL) that will see the two competitions face off.
It has been fours years since the Association last had representative football.
The VAFA will host the first of the two matches during the bye round on Saturday, July 15 this season and the PFL will host the second match in 2024.
VAFA chief executive Jason Reddick was stoked about the return of representative football.
“We are thrilled to provide both our VAFA Men’s and Women’s players with the opportunity of playing representative football for the first time since 2019,” Reddick said.
“Donning the ‘Big V’ has always been a proud experience for our VAFA players, who will be presented with their Big V guernseys at the annual Big V lunch at the RACV club on Friday 14th July.
“Next to the VAFA, Perth Football League is one of the largest senior football competitions in Australia and it will be a great occasion to see the cream of the competitions battle it out for interstate honours on an upgraded Elsternwick Park.”
It’s been 20 years since the last time the senior Men’s Big V team played against Perth.
Perth Football League chief executive Andrew Dawe was excited to enter into a two-year agreement.
“It’s a great opportunity to reward the PFL’s stronger performers as well as provide an opportunity for coaches and umpires to represent WA in higher honours,” Dawe said.
“There’s no doubt that representing your state is a career highlight for any footballer and I know everyone involved in this double header will relish the opportunity.
“Both the PFL and VAFA have a rich history of state football and the return of senior representative football between these two proud competitions is incredibly significant for our men’s and women’s teams.”
The senior Men’s VAFA representative side has been running since its first match against South Australia back in 1925, and proudly boasts a winning percentage of 82%.
The inaugural Big V Women’s program was established in 2017 and has a 100 per cent winning record with three victories from three games.
Further match details will be confirmed at a later date.
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