From 22 to 27 November 2025, award-winning Indigenous youth engagement program, John Moriarty Football (JMF), will host 23 Indigenous football coaches from its remote and regional communities in Sydney to participate in a life-changing week of development and mentoring.
Coaches will travel up to 3,200 kilometres, from remote communities Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria NT and Tennant Creek NT, as well as from regional cities and towns of Cairns, Queensland and Dubbo, NSW.
The coaches will take part in an intensive development program led by one of the few female UEFA A Licence holders in Australia and JMF Program Manager, Jen Wicks. The week will involve coach development, sports psychology, team building, attending A League games and even a BridgeClimb experience.
Attending the coach development week is 18 year old Waikean Kelly (Warumungu) from Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. He first started attending JMF sessions as a primary school student in 2019. In 2023 he gained a role as a JMF Community Coach and is now a role model for other young people in the community.
“Becoming a JMF Community Coach has changed my life. Being a role model for the young children and working with our community to make Tennant Creek a better environment for kids is incredible.”
“I’m excited to travel to Sydney to develop my coaching skills as well as the skills to support JMF’s participants in their education, wellbeing and approach to life,” added Kelly.
Earlier this year independent research from Deloitte Access Economics showed that JMF has been highly effective in engaging young people in some of the most complex communities in Australia where disengagement is typically high.
A key finding was the positive impact JMF has on school attendance with research showing JMF leads to students attending school one to two days extra where previously they had been absent.
In addition, the research highlighted JMF’s capacity to create career pathways for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in communities where unemployment rates are high. This involves removing barriers to employment and supporting formal qualifications and training.
Former A-Leagues player and JMF Ambassador, Allira Toby (Kanolu/Gangulu), said, “A huge part of JMF’s success is because of the local Indigenous coaches who deliver JMF five to six days a week. They often have familial connections with our participants which creates a foundation of trust, safety and belonging. This makes JMF’s coaches powerful role models who instill positive values and provide mentoring and support.”
Because of JMF’s holistic employment model, JMF coaches have become some of the most highly qualified in football in Australia. For instance, JMF Dubbo Head Coach and Mentor, Tiffany Stanley (Wiradjuri) is one of only a small handful of women in Australia to hold a professional ‘C’ Coaching License.
“Having a good role model can change your life, and that’s what JMF’s coaches do every day for thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who sometimes struggle to deal with the challenges surrounding them. JMF provides opportunities for our coaches to continually develop and grow their skills. Which means we have more to give back to our communities. It’s an incredible ripple effect of transformation,” said Stanley.
JMF is an award-winning program that harnesses the power of football to positively engage over 5,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth aged 2 to 18 years of age annually, with groundbreaking impacts on health, education, wellbeing and connection to Country. JMF runs in 16 communities and 18 public schools in NT, NSW and Qld.
JMF is delivered by Moriarty Foundation, an Indigenous children’s charity that is creating a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrive.
For more information on JMF visit www.jmf.org.au
