Masala Dandenong set to expand with juniors and women

Multicultural football in Dandenong is expanding, with the Masala Dandenong Football Club announcing it’ll launch a junior club in 2022 and a women’s team in the future.

The new junior club combines the heritage of the North Dandenong JFC, mixed with the multicultural flavour of Masala Dandenong’s senior club to create a new home for the next generation of footy champions to emerge from Australia’s most diverse municipality.

North Dandenong Masala JFC will launch with U9’s in 2022 in addition to the existing Auskick program, for both boys and girls, while the club is also taking expressions of interest for other junior age groups.

The club is also planning to introduce women’s football, starting with an AFL 9s team before launching a full women’s program competing in the VAFA the following year.

Masala says it plans to be a driving force in revitalising Australian football within the changing demographics of Dandenong, appealing to the diverse and multicultural community.

President Matt Decarne spoke of the club’s efforts to increase engagement through promoting football within schools and launching a junior program.

“Being a new club without a school or junior feeder club, we have lacked the ability to consistently back-fill existing players when they approach ‘retirement’ age. Without a strong flow of young local talent, the club will not survive long term.

“Given the high representation of diverse cultural groups within the local municipality, it is critical that the club creates an inviting and welcoming environment and given that these communities have not had strong engagement with AFL historically, it is ever more important that we go out of our way to approach and engage these communities directly.

“Clubs that haven’t engaged with the changing demographics have folded, which is why we are one of the few remaining clubs in the area. So, launching a junior club, engaging with schools and multicultural communities, and welcoming women to the club, is absolutely critical to the long term survival, if not the short term.”

A launch event for the new junior club will be held on Sunday 13 February from 10am at Lois Twohig Reserve (top oval).

More information can be found on the Masala Dandenong website.