West Kimberley Junior Football League Implements Ban on Unaccompanied Children for Safety

• In short: The West Kimberley Junior Football League has banned unaccompanied children from attending junior football games.
• Friday night matches in Broome are usually attended by about 1,000 people and nearly 550 players.
• What’s next: The league says security guards at the gates and a ban on unaccompanied children has improved safety.

A West Australian country football league says safety at its junior matches has improved after escalating violence on the sidelines prompted a ban on unaccompanied children from attending.

The Broome-based West Kimberley Junior Football League (WKJFL) has been employing security guards and locking the gates to the town’s main football ground ahead of its Friday night matches.

Children without an adult are no longer permitted to enter the grounds after the season opener was marred by fighting and a series of assaults.

“It’s the young teenagers that tend to want to come and use that environment to fight each other,” league president Scott Hill said.

“It’s not a football issue at all. It’s a community issue, which is spilling into our arena.

The league has employed security guards and locked gates to keep players and spectators safe.(Supplied: West Kimberley Football League)

“It tends to be the young girls … fighting amongst themselves, but it spills over and makes it not a nice environment.

“That’s escalated this year into threatened violence towards our committee members and [sports] representatives, even rock throwing at their cars.”

Mr Hill said 28 unaccompanied children were turned away by security on the first night of the ban on April 26, and a further 25 the next week.

“Within that number there was going to potentially be the ones that would cause trouble,” he said.

Mr Hill said the the level of violence had been “confronting.”

The WKFL says the new security measures at the oval have improved community safety.(ABC Kimberley: Vanessa Mills)

A 14-year-old girl was given a six-month intensive supervision order for a sideline attack on another girl in May last year, with the violence described as “sickening” during her appearance in the Broome Children’s Court.

“Obviously two security guards bring a pretty hefty cost and for a not-for-profit organisation it’s not an extra cost that we needed,” Mr Hill said.

The Friday night games are usually attended by about 1,000 spectators and 550 players.

“I’m very confident we’ve got it back to a safe environment,” Mr Hill said.

“The families are enjoying themselves and the kids are running around on the sidelines kicking the footy.”

2024-05-09 00:56:56
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