NAB Expands AFL Deal And Backs Future Stars Of The Game

NAB, a long-time partner of the NAB AFL Rising Star Program in Australia, will further support the future stars of the game, extending its partnership with the AFL to the next exciting phase of the expanded under 18 competition, that now includes teams from Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory, NSW/ACT and Queensland.

The fresh revamp comes after the TAC had partnered the competition since its inception in 1992.

The competition is set to have a stronger emphasis on education, wellbeing, high performance and coaching with a key focus centred around preparing non-drafted players for their future endeavours.

In a significant development for the national sport, the Tasmanian Devils will be a fully-fledged NAB League team in 2019, while an Academy Series featuring five northern state squads will take part in the lead up to the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

“NAB has been a fantastic supporter of our AFL talent pathways for 18 years now and it is exciting that they will extend their support and be naming rights partner for this new era,” AFL head of talent pathways and State League competitions, Tristan Salter said.

“Over 1000 AFL and AFLW players, including the likes of Dustin Martin, Chloe Molloy, Gary Ablett jnr and Madison Prespakis, have been drafted from Victoria’s under 18 competitions – with 2018 producing more than 50 percent of the boys (62%) and girls (59%) talent at the NAB AFL and AFLW Drafts.

“We welcome Tasmania to the competition in what will be the start of the team’s journey towards a return to the VFL competition.”

In a step forward for footy fans, a revamped digital platform, highlighted by the official NAB League app, will offer insights never before seen from the competition.

“The dedicated NAB League app will provide our audience with live information at their fingertips, from stats to game vision and match highlights,” Mr Salter said.

“The increased digital access to the competition and its players will help our audience learn more about our draft prospects across the entire season, not just around draft time.”

NAB’s Head of Media and Partnerships, Thomas Dobson added: “We’re thrilled to extend our longstanding AFL partnership with the introduction of the NAB League.

“As a proud partner of NAB AFL Auskick and the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, the NAB League sees us further support the development pathways for young footballers and to help grow the game.

“We look forward to seeing the competition kick off in March.”

NAB will be joined by four further partners to bring in the new era of the NAB League, with Telstra, PUMA, Open Universities Australia (OUA) and The Bar Counter aiming to elevate the league to be the number one under age sporting competition in the country.

The NAB League girls’ competition begins on March 2 with the boys to start March 23. The NAB League app will launch mid-March.