Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell has hailed the “incredible” winning entry in the 2025 NAIDOC Ball Design competition.
Australind artist Jennie Calgaret called in to the Sam Kerr Football Centre to show off her work, which is based on the 2024 NAIDOC message of ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud’.
She said: “The black lines represent my people, the strength of my people. The U shapes represent community, and the dots are the different players that play the game. The blue wavy lines depict Bindjareb Boodja, where I live, because we are the people of the wetlands.
“It took me about 15 hours to do my design, so I’m excited to see it out on the pitches all over the state. I’m pretty proud to win.”
The annual NAIDOC Ball Design competition is a joint initiative between the Insurance Commission and Football West and is open to members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities. This is the sixth edition, with the winning design printed on 500 footballs alongside the Insurance Commission’s Belt Up road safety message.
Balls will be distributed to communities, schools and clubs across Western Australia to coincide with NAIDOC Week, which runs between 6-13 July.
This year's theme is ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy’.
Mr Harnwell said: “The design is incredible, it just pops. It’s one thing seeing it on a page, but to see it printed on the ball, to see the brightness, the colours, and especially against the green field, it just looks fantastic and engages you to learn more about the design as well.
“It’s great to recognise NAIDOC Week through the Belt Up ball initiative, to be able to provide these balls across Western Australia and recognise the ongoing Indigenous culture we have here and celebrate some fantastic artists.”
Ms Calgaret was joined at the Sam Kerr Football Centre by her daughter Patience, 15, and son Haze, 13, a player at Australind Junior Soccer Club.
“My kids are really proud, especially the little one who is excited to play with the ball,” she said.
“I only started doing artwork during Covid, when we locked down, me and my kids. It started as fun, and it snowballed from there.”
Insurance Commission General Manager, Governance & Stakeholder Relations Alison Wilson said: “The Belt Up message is our way of saying to everyone in the state - when you get in the car, put on your seatbelt, turn around and check that your teammates, your family and your friends have all got their seatbelts on. It saves lives.”
Mr Harnwell added: “The Belt Up partnership is incredibly important to Football West, our clubs, associations and our players. Not only does it promote a fantastic and well-meaning message throughout Western Australia, it also provides tangible benefits to our clubs.”
Details of the 2026 competition will be announced later this week.