As NAIDOC Week comes to a close with Indigenous Round this weekend, Football Queensland spoke with Runaway Bay Soccer Club’s First Nations Co-ordinator and driving force behind the formation of the inaugural First Nations football team on the Gold Coast, Lann Levinge.
“NAIDOC for me, I always see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and being an Aboriginal man, and being a living culture means it’s not always about traditions, it’s about what we’re doing now in the moment,” Levinge said.
“I find NAIDOC Week a really good time to celebrate that, the achievements we’re doing in this modern time; working with kids and sports people, I get to see that all the time so that’s what I love about NAIDOC, and that’s what it means to me.”
Levinge was nominated as a Hero of Change for forming the ‘Mangrove Jacks’, the only representative Indigenous team on the Gold Coast and an initiative that is creating opportunities to improve the image of football amongst Indigenous youth whilst providing them with a safe environment supported by the local Traditional Custodians.
“In anything that we do, in dance performances or sports performances, when you bring the kids together, they feel connected to their culture,” Levinge said.
“For example, with this the players feel connected to the other players, they feel the same, they’re the same people; they don’t feel like they’re outsiders or marginalised or minimalised in any way shape or form and that connectedness is what drives them.”
Having the team approved by Yugambeh Elders was a priority for Levinge, as for all community events and initiatives he said it is important to be aware of the protocols that surrounds it.
“The first thing we do is we chat with the Elders, in particular where Runaway Bay Soccer Club is, my dad is an Elder and so we spoke to him and the Elders from the area, Elders that were part of the youth choir, any Elders that we knew of we sent emails and we let them know this is what we were thinking of doing,” Levinge said.
Levinge’s father and Elder came up with the team’s name Mangrove Jacks, inspired by his upbringing on South Stradbroke Island.
“He remembered these little fish that were feisty, hard to catch little fish, and thought that was perfect, and we didn’t want to go with the usual dolphins or eagle or that sort of thing so we went with something a little bit different that tied in with the local area and they were happy with that which is the most important thing of all,” Levinge said.
A key element at the core of this initiative for Levinge was to create a safe space for the players to engage in the fabric of everything, embracing the culture that surrounds them.
“It’s about engagement, everyone’s different and having played soccer for a long time, it’s a big part of my life,” Levinge said.
“Coming together as teams, I think it’s really important to at least try that team environment, you get a lot of support from a team, and I think that’s a big benefit of it and that passes onto their school life and their family life.
“That connection to their culture, we try to make that a big part of it as well, we’ll have Torres Strait Islander people come in and cook them food and they get to enjoy and try; we’ve had a lot of support from the community.”
Tomorrow afternoon the Mangrove Jacks will make their debut in an exhibition match against the Sunshine Coast Goannas before the Sunshine Coast Wanderers’ NPL Queensland double header.
Ultimately, Levinge’s goal is to continue to grow the team and support for youth in his region, entering the Mangrove Jacks into the Queensland Indigenous Cup later this year.
“Everyone’s different, everyone has a passion for something, and I believe across the board in life in general, whatever your passion is I think you need to follow that, don’t worry about money or any of that sort of stuff because that will follow your passion and your dreams,” Levinge said.
“If you’re enthusiastic about something good things happen, and bringing kids into this, making sure they are in a safe cultural place is really important to me.”
Mangrove Jacks Debut Match Details:
Sunday, 9 July
3:00pm
Buderim Wanderers Football Club
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