The Australian Football Skool Championships are in town for the Shepparton Cup, bringing with them almost 300 teams, more than 3000 competitors and upwards of 7500 visitors to the Goulburn Valley.
Action started last night at the `Theatre of Dreams', and matches are on today and tomorrow at Shepparton's soccer hub, as well as Rumbalara's Mercury Dve facility and Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.
The sheer scale of the event has to be seen to be believed, while the economic benefit to the region is set to be extraordinary - even though entry to see the spectacle was free.
“Greater Shepparton has hosted the major event for six years now and we value the long term partnership we have with the AFSC organisers and are thrilled to have worked collaboratively with them to see the event grow, and now spill over into Mooroopna,” Greater Shepparton City Council sustainable development director Geraldine Christou said.
“Holding the event continues to enhance the region’s reputation as the leading sporting and event capital of regional Australia, as well as supporting council’s plan to provide quality facilities to our community, and stimulating the economy through visitation and local spending.
“Various sectors of the municipality including accommodation, retail and hospitality will benefit as the three day event injects in excess of $2.5 million into our economy.”
The use of Mooroopna's facilities allows continued growth of the event.
“We feel with the continued growth of the event over the past three years that the natural next step was to split the tournament between two fantastic sites and we are grateful to the Mooroopna Cricket Club for working with us to create a second site,” AFS event director Rolando Navas said.
“We have gone from 113 teams in 2016 to now 287 teams in 2019.
“Splitting over two sites is something we have been working on for over 12 months and we feel there are so many benefits from expanding into two excellent facilities.”
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