Geelong Football Netball League Update - North Shore FNC

AFL Barwon has been closely monitoring the situation surrounding North Shore Football Netball Club and its efforts to establish a sustainable football program for the 2025 season.

AFL Barwon, AFL Victoria, and the North Shore FNC Executive have been engaged in ongoing discussions to explore a viable path forward. Discussions were held on December 18th, where AFL Barwon expressed concerns about their football playing numbers. At this meeting, AFL Barwon presented the 2025 Action Plan for the Greater North Geelong Future Football project.

On February 13th, AFL Barwon issued a letter to North Shore FNC, providing the club with an opportunity to demonstrate its ability to field Senior and Reserve football teams in 2025. This was prompted by the fact that, at the time, North Shore FNC had no registered Senior male footballers.

Despite some verbal assurances, North Shore FNC had been unable to provide the relevant written confirmation to this request and show reasonable cause by February 28th, AFL Barwon requested a meeting on March 3rd, at which North Shore Co-President representing netball was the only representative in attendance.

Due to lack of confirmation by North Shore FNC, AFL Barwon had no choice but to begin planning scenarios for the 2025 season without North Shore FNC participating in the 2025 GFNL football competition as a contingency.

AFL Barwon is still assessing North Shore FNC’s ability, in its current form, to meet AFL Barwon By-Law 13.2, which states: “All Clubs must field teams in Senior & Reserve football grades, and all Netball grades from A Grade down.” Noting a netball exemption has been in place in recent seasons. It is not a viable solution to only have one senior football team.

Whilst this assessment is still taking place and there has been an increase in registrations, there remains some work to be done regarding North Shore’s ability to field senior and reserve football teams in 2025. AFL Barwon must take proactive steps to support all clubs and players. While every effort is being made by North Shore FNC in establishing a sustainable football program, the ongoing uncertainty necessitates careful planning to protect the integrity of the competition and the interests of all participating clubs.

AFL Barwon remains committed to supporting all clubs within the region to ensure a strong and sustainable football and netball competitions.

Further media comment will be provided through our official media partners as updates become available.