While the likes of Adelaide Crows’ 300-gamer Eddie Betts highlight the contribution of Indigenous players to Australian football, SANFL is now on a mission to recruit Indigenous males and females to get involved in the game as umpires.

The first Indigenous Umpiring Academy kicks off in Adelaide next week, with the aim of encouraging Indigenous males and females as young as 14 to join SANFL’s team of 500-plus umpires in SA.

The new academy program will teach all the basic skills required for field, boundary and goal umpiring under the guidance of former SANFL player and current Adelaide Footy League and SANFL Statewide Super Women’s League umpire Eugene Warrior.