Woodside today announced an extension of its major sponsorship of the Fremantle Dockers for a period of four years from 2013 to 2016 inclusive, with a focus on supporting the club’s Indigenous programs.
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the agreement represented a significant step forward for the partnership, which would see Woodside become the Fremantle Dockers’ first Indigenous Program Partner.
“Being major sponsor of Fremantle for the past two seasons has been a great fit for Woodside and we look forward to continuing to support the team over the next five seasons,” he said.
“Woodside has a strong focus on Indigenous reconciliation and we are excited to be extending this through our sponsorship of Fremantle.”
Mr Coleman said he had been overwhelmed by the high level of support for the company’s sponsorship of Fremantle, both internally and in the wider community.
“Aussie Rules is a huge part of Australian culture and as a proud Australian company we are pleased to extend this great relationship,” he said.
Woodside’s initial three-year agreement concludes at the end of the 2012 season and Mr Coleman said the partnership had evolved into a strong community relationship.
“While we like seeing the Woodside logo on Fremantle’s playing strip, our partnership goes well beyond branding,” he said.
“We will be working closely with Fremantle from this year to develop and implement the club’s first Reconciliation Action Plan.
“We launched Woodside’s inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan in 2010 and we look forward to sharing our learnings with Fremantle to create Indigenous programs in areas such as mentoring, leadership and education.”
Woodside already supports a range of Indigenous initiatives across education, health, heritage and the arts.
The company is the Indigenous Program Partner of the Perth International Arts Festival and is the foundation sponsor of the Aspiration Initiative in Western Australia, which is supporting 60 Indigenous students to progress through school to university.
Woodside also supports the Karratha and Roebourne academies of the Clontarf Foundation which uses the passion Indigenous boys have for football to increase engagement at school, develop life skills and successfully transition into the workplace.
Click to view the full release:
Woodside extends Dockers sponsorship
Click to watch the press conference following the announcement:
Press conference - Woodside extends Dockers sponsorship