A ’13th’ club will join the Goulburn Valley League from next season, but the exciting concept will not create any changes for the 12 existing clubs or require any restructuring of the competition draw.
The club will be known as the GVL Club, an initiative designed to recognise and reconnect the footballers and netballers who have proudly represented the league in the famous purple and gold during interleague fixtures.
Membership will be open to anyone who has represented the league over the years. The concept has emerged following the extraordinary interest in the league’s recent interleague campaign against the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).
While the on-field results were a little one-sided in favour of the VAFA, the campaign captured the imagination of supporters across the region and reignited interest in the rich history of GVL representative sport.
GVL Board Chair Peter Foott said the response to this year’s representative program showed there was a strong appetite to celebrate those who had represented the league over many decades.
“The recent interleague campaign reminded us just how much representative football and netball means to people across the Goulburn Valley,” Mr Foott said.
“We saw tremendous support for our senior and 19&Under football teams – as well as our Open netballers at the state championships – but we also saw strong interest in the stories of those who played before them.”
Each member of this year’s senior football and netball interleague teams was presented with a GVL Club medallion, which will serve as the initiative’s symbolic calling card moving forward.
