Night Fields expands to Roebourne

A football program designed to engage young people with local community services is being rolled out on a pilot basis in Roebourne after being well received in Karratha earlier this year.

The launch of the WA Football Commission’s Night Fields program in Roebourne will provide free, structured football games for children aged 6-17 every Friday night between now and June 23.

A similar model has been running in Karratha since January, where it has graduated from pilot to ongoing status.

Night Fields, which the Pilbara is only the third area in regional WA to gain, is designed to help at-risk young people connect with their peers and community service groups, as well as stay active.

WA Football Commission Pilbara regional development manager Vicki Agnew said from working in partnership with town elders, Roebourne police and the PCYC, she was expecting the program to be a hit with local children.

“We’ve run it successfully in Karratha, now it’s just time to expand it to other areas that need it, and Roebourne’s just the next step for now,” she said.

Ms Agnew said the program would be running only on a trial basis in Roebourne for the next month, but may become permanent once it was reassessed at the end of that time.

Games will be held at Roebourne School Oval every Friday night from 6pm-9pm until June 23.