PORT Adelaide supporters can invest in the Club’s vision for on and off-field success by contributing to the Port Adelaide Premiership Fund, launched with its 2013 membership drive.
As they sign up for 2013, Members can donate to help Port Adelaide meet two critical priorities:
• Increase the amount Port Adelaide spends on football from near the bottom of the AFL and make it more competitive with rival clubs in time for the move to Adelaide Oval in 2014.
• Create a professional development environment at Alberton to identify and nurture local coaching, sports science and other personnel, keep talent in South Australia and make Port Adelaide an employer of choice in the AFL.
Click here to donate or call the club on 1300 467 232
The fund will help Port Adelaide to build upon a significantly reinforced football program bolstered by the appointments of Ken Hinkley as Senior Coach, Alan Richardson as Director of Coaching and Strategy and Darren Burgess as Head of High Performance.
Furthermore, it will help Port Adelaide be a force in the increasingly competitive player market through the free agency and trade periods.
Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas said the Premiership Fund allowed Members to make an extra annual investment directly towards the Club’s overall objective of sustained success.
“The Port Adelaide Football Club has demonstrated investing in football is its top priority and we want our Members to buy into that to help us ensure it delivers the premiership success we all want,” Mr Thomas said.
“We have strengthened the coaching panel with some outstanding individuals and we are sure it will have some early results, but the reality is that we are still well behind almost all of our AFL rivals when it comes to our football spend.
“We have to find innovative ways to do more and the Port Adelaide Premiership Fund is our Members’ opportunity to play a role in that, beyond the tremendous support they give us by signing up.
“Like everyone associated with Port Adelaide, our Members rightly demand success and a great many of them have told us they want to do more to help us achieve it.
“In recent months, I’ve heard from many passionate people telling us they want to help, but they haven’t known how. Well, the Premiership Fund is absolutely that opportunity for all of us to do more.
“In the past, they have helped us with initiatives like debt reduction which has had its own very beneficial impact on the Club, but the Premiership Fund is about a direct stake in our football performance.”
Through its other key objective, the fund will help deliver long-term benefits by building a staff training environment aimed at limiting the impact of rising football costs by producing more coaching, fitness, medical, welfare, recruiting and technical personnel from within South Australia.
“Port Adelaide doesn’t expect to become one of the AFL’s big-spenders, but we do need to seek every advantage we can,” Mr Thomas said.
“We understand that not everyone will be able to invest, but Members should know that every dollar counts and we have no doubt that we have an environment that can make modest investments produce big results.
“We have attracted some great people to the club and now we can use that not only to drive improved performance on the field, but to build an integrated learning environment that produces a pathway for talented football people.”
It is envisaged that the Port Adelaide Premiership Fund will be an ongoing initiative, with the Club making contributing as easy as possible and reporting annually on how the money has been invested towards future success.
Members will be invited to choose the amount they want to pledge when they renew or apply each season and can make part payments through the PAFC Forever 10, 6 or 3-instalment option.
“Every contribution, whatever the size, will deliver an important benefit the Club,” Mr Thomas said.
The Port Adelaide Football Club thanks everyone who contributes to its Premiership Fund.
