The three-week Gather Round Community Footy Roadshow, which got underway on Tuesday 12 March, will cover more than 4000km, visiting 30 regional towns including Berri, Renmark, Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island.
It will also stop at some of the state's smaller regional communities, including Ungarra on Eyre Peninsula, where the local 28-student primary school will be one of 35 regional schools hosting a roadshow visit.
The roadshow will feature family-friendly activities, kick and catch clinics, and a chance to the see the 2024 AFL and AFLW Premiership cups, the perpetual SANFL Thomas Seymour Hill Trophy and the SANFL Women’s League Premiership cup.
There will also be coach education sessions, regional umpire recruitment and development, and a roll out of the Tackle Your Fellings mental health training program for clubs.
As part of roadshow celebrations, every regional junior footy club in the state will receive 15 brand-new Sherrin footballs.
The roadshow is a part of the AFL Gather Round - a four-day festival of footy when all nine matches in Round 4 of the 2024 AFL season are played in Adelaide, starting on Thursday 4 April when the Crows take on Melbourne at Adelaide Oval.
All nine matches at last year's inaugural AFL Gather Round were sold out, with 268,000 fans attending matches, including more than 40,000 people from interstate.
AFL Executive General Manager of Game Development Rob Auld said having the AFL and AFLW premiership cups travel through regional SA was a "great way to engage with communities and grow Australian football even further".
"Along with getting up close to the ultimate silverware, the roadshow also consists of NAB AFL Auskick clinics, school visits, local club visits, women and girls' education sessions and health and wellbeing sessions - all important game development initiatives aimed at giving back to the community," Mr Auld said.
SANFL Executive General Manager Football Matt Duldig said the roadshow, which last year reached 5000 fans in regional towns, was a chance to inspire young players.
“Of the 52,000-plus players in SA, over half are in regional communities – the Gather Round Community Footy Roadshow is therefore a great way to allow these players, as well as the hundreds of coaches, umpires and volunteers, to embrace this historic event in their hometowns,” Mr Duldig said.
The roadshow will visit the following locations:
March 12 – Berri, Barmera
March 13 – Loxton, Renmark, Waikerie, Ramco, Barmera
March 14/15 – Kangaroo Island (Penneshaw, Parndana, Kingscote)
March 16 – Meadows, Hahndorf, Birdwood
March 17 – Port Pirie
March 18 – Port Augusta
March 19 – Whyalla
March 21 – Wudinna, Lock, Cleve
March 22 – Cowell, Port Neill, Ungarra, Port Lincoln
March 24 – Tanunda
March 25 – Hewett, Gawler, Gawler East
March 27 – Millicent, Mt Burr, Kalangadoo, Mil-Lel
March 28 – Mt Gambier, Allendale East, Moorak
April 2 – Bordertown, Keith
For a full list of the schedule, visit the SANFL website.
For more information, visit AFL Gather Round 2024.
