Deloitte Access Economics’ research shows the transformational impact of John Moriarty Football (JMF) on the lives of vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, released in conjunction with Indigenous Football Week 2025.
The theme for this year’s Indigenous Football Week® (IFW), 22 to 28 September, is transformation, which is what JMF has been about since the first IFW in 2016, as an Aboriginal-designed and led youth program targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island kids in rural and remote communities.
To mark the occasion, JMF has released a Deloitte Access Economics report that highlights the transformational impact of the program on young people, improving school attendance and wellbeing.
A key finding is that 72% of students are excited to attend school when JMF sessions are offered, leading to students attending 1-2 days extra each week, where previously they had been absent.
“Just like football changed the trajectory of my life, we designed JMF to positively influence the education, health and wellbeing of Indigenous children, and now we have independent proof that it’s working and making a lasting impact,” said John Moriarty, JMF Co-Founder and the first Aboriginal footballer to play for Australia. “JMF has the capacity to transform lives by creating ripples of change that start with ‘a child, a football, a dream’, and flow outwards to impact families, communities and the nation, creating opportunity and unlocking potential.”
From a pilot program in Borroloola with 120 children almost a decade ago, JMF now reaches more than 5,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children annually in 15 public schools in 17 remote and regional communities in the NT, QLD and NSW.
“JMF has been highly effective in engaging young people in some of the most complex communities in Australia where disengagement is typically high,” said Lachlan Smirl, Deloitte Access Economics Partner. “It’s elevating student pathways for academic success, creating employment and training opportunities for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches, and it’s helping to create more long-term stability in communities.”
For Allira Toby (Kanolu/Gangulu), former A-Leagues player and JMF Ambassador, being a holistic program, JMF is positively impacting 10 of the Closing the Gap targets, at a time when national progress towards these targets is going backwards. She said that the program is making vital impacts in areas like education, health, employment, digital inclusion, mental health and youth justice.
“An impact the Deloitte Access Economics research highlights, which I’m very proud of, is how JMF inspires girls and women to engage with football, especially those in remote communities who typically have low engagement with sport,” Toby said. “JMF creates safe spaces for girls and women to participate in football, and we are proactive about gender equality. The results speak for themselves, as 60% of our participants are girls and 43% of our coaches are women. In the disadvantaged communities we deliver in, the social impacts for this can be far-reaching, for instance, positively impacting family violence prevention as JMF creates a culture of respect.”
IFW and JMF are delivered by Moriarty Foundation, an Indigenous children’s charity that is creating a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrive.
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Geraldine is currently the Content Producer for Third Sector, an Akolade channel. Throughout her career, she has written for various industries and international audiences. Her love for writing extends beyond the corporate world, as she also works as a volunteer writer at her local church. Aside from writing, she is also fond of joining fun runs and watching musicals.
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