BANKSTOWN DAFA

The past 12 months have been a busy one for the Bankstown District Amateur Football Association (BDAFA) office and valued volunteers.

The pre-season started with the training and implementation of Dribl as the Competition Management System for the 2022 season.

The BDAFA Board worked closely with Bankstown Football Referees (BFR) to bring the community under the Association’s umbrella. Although it was a quick turnaround, BDAFA saw an increase in new referees, especially in the adult age group, offering free registration to all referees and providing gear at no cost to new referees to ensure there were no barriers of entry. In total, over $15,000 was invested into the referees for 2022 and BDAFA look to replicate this initiative in 2023. Meanwhile, the Association are also focusing on building the training program to support referees and grow the standards within the branch.

It was a tough start to the season for competition matches as NSW received some of the heaviest rainfalls ever experienced. The delayed start to the local competitions extended the season further but pleasingly we managed to play all our matches.

BDAFA would like to sincerely thank clubs and committees who ensured our participants got on the field. It took a combined effort to deliver the season and it is evident what a strong team exists across the clubs and the office.

BDAFA had numerous capital works taking place across various club venues which saw multiple parks offline. Although this impacted the 2022 season delivery, it will enable the Association to have four newly refurbished football grounds for 2023.

The highlight of these capital works is Padstow Park (Bankstown’s first Association synthetic field is expected to be completed in November 2023), along with a new building in mid-2023. Bankstown will finally have a ‘Home of Football’ to call their own for its members.