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Junior footy team removes the word ‘boys’ from its club song to be more inclusive of girls – despite there being none in the side
- Junior AFL team West Coburg have changed the wording of their club song
- The term ‘boys’ has been removed, with club committee backing the move
- Decision sums up how the club is ‘truly inclusive’ president Dave Gloury said
In a bid to be more gender inclusive, a footy team has opted to remove the word ‘boys’ from its club song.
The move was unexpected given the West Coburg under-14s junior AFL team in Melbourne doesn’t feature any girls.
An under-14s assistant coach with the club, based in Melbourne’s west, explained the old club lyrics didn’t factor in females, so they were changed by the youthful playing group.
West Coburg club president David Gloury backed the move, stating it was a ‘worthwhile’ decision from the progressive youngsters.
‘Changing one word might seem insignificant, but it helps us live up to the truly inclusive club I think we have always been,’ Gloury told the Herald Sun.
In a bid to be more gender inclusive, a junior footy team from Melbourne’s west has opted to remove the word ‘boys’ from its club song (stock image)
The move to change the lyrics of the team song was unexpected, given the West Coburg under-14s junior AFL team in Melbourne doesn’t feature any girls (pictured, action from a home match)
The team’s coach disagreed with the notion that the decision was ‘political correctness gone mad.’
He pointed out the footy squad is a mixed team, with girls welcome to join and the fact that West Coburg have a female assistant coach on their books as well as a handful of female trainers.
Fellow AFL club Williamstown Seagulls, who field men and women’s teams in the semi-professional Victorian Football League (VFL), have also recently revamped their club song, with the word ‘boys’ replaced by ‘team’ and ‘everyone’.
‘We couldn’t have a song that didn’t represent the women’s team,’ Seagulls CEO Jason Reddick said.
‘We ran it past the men’s leadership group and consensus was to change it.’
The Sydney Swans altered two words in their club song just before the current AFL season kicked off this year in mid-March.
The previous line, ‘While her loyal sons are marching,’ now reads as ‘While our loyal swans are marching’.
It was a decision made to acknowledge the growth of the club’s Youth Girls Academy and future plans to field a professional AFL women’s team.
‘We are a proud, historic and inclusive club and we are excited about our future,’ a statement from Swans read at the time.
‘In light of the continual evolution of our club, we have made a small but important change to our club song which is reflective of who we are and where we are going.’
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