Player Appearance Guidelines

The Essendon Football Club (EFC) was established by the community for the community.  It is something the club recognises and with that comes an obligation to play an active role within the community.  As an elite sporting organisation we have the capacity to make a difference on many levels.  Part of this commitment to the community is facilitated through player appearances.

As part of the Club’s community strategy, our core focus in relation to player appearances relates to meaningful and sustainable activity rather than one-off events and therefore the vast majority of appearances are taken up as part of the Club’s ongoing community programs (see the Community section of the website for further information).

Outside of these programs players are available for a limited number of appearances depending on the time of year requests are made.  While the Club endeavours to provide support where it can, unfortunately we are unable to fulfil every worthwhile request due to the volume of requests received.

Availability

Player appearances are limited between November and March (pre-season).  No player appearance will be organised for the day prior to a match (AFL & VFL) or for the day after a match (AFL & VFL). The players also have one day off per week and therefore no appearance will be scheduled on these days.

Charitable causes please note

Essendon Football Club has a preferred charity partnership with the Cancer Council however the Club does support other charity groups and causes.

Game Development requests please note

To assist with the junior development of football, EFC players make numerous appearances to schools and football clubs throughout the season. Many of these appearances are organised through the AFL and AFL Victoria. For more information regarding AFL players visiting your school or club visit http://www.footballvic.com.au/?s=aflplayerapp.

Hospital Visits

EFC players make regular visits to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne during the season.  Dates for these visits will be posted at www.essendonfc.com.au under the Community section.  For further information contact: requests@essendonfc.com.au.

Criteria

The following criteria are applied when prioritising appearances requests:

• Direct interaction with children / young people
• Clear role for player/s at the event
• No athletic/exercise programs that may present the risk of injury (e.g. social basketball match)
• Minimum of four (4) week period of notice before actual appearance date

The following requests will not be considered:

• Events that conflict with training, competition or club event schedule
• Where insufficient time has been allowed from receipt of request to anticipated appearance (i.e. less than four weeks).
• During the players leave period (October - November and mid season break).
• When the request has come from an individual and is of a personal nature e.g. birthday party.

Procedure

1. EFC will consider all legitimate requests.  All requests must be made in writing on the relevant organisation letterhead and be accompanied by a COMPLETED Player Appearance Request Form (can be downloaded below) at least four (4) weeks prior to the event.

2. If the request is being made on behalf of a registered charity or community organisation with their support, a reference or sanction letter from that organisation must accompany your request. 

3. Requests will be processed in accordance with the abovementioned criteria.

4. Requests must be submitted to: Player Appearance Coordinator, Essendon Football Club, PO Box 17, Essendon 3040, emailed to requests@essendonfc.com.au or faxed to 03 9370 6804. Click here to download the request form.

Please note:

• The club does not accept money for any player appearance
• EFC does not accept personal requests for birthdays, weddings etc
• Please allow 2-4 weeks for your request to be processed (4 weeks between October – March)
• All requests (whether successful of not) will receive notification from the Club within 2-4 weeks of the request being received
• The club does not accept responsibility where a confirmed appearance is cancelled at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances.  Unfortunately last-minute changes to training/meeting schedules do occur from time-to-time
• The club holds the right to deny any request

Due to the high volume of requests received, we are unable to respond to follow-up phone calls or correspondence.

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