This article originally appeared on womens.afl

WHILE opposition clubs around the country are keen to see Port Adelaide enter the NAB AFLW competition, no one is more eager than the club itself.

The South Australian team is excited about extending its bitter rivalry with Adelaide to the AFLW, and has a clear focus on developing Indigenous and multicultural talent.

Womens.afl spoke to Port Adelaide CEO Matthew Richardson to preview the Power's bid. 

This is the final edition in a series profiling the four clubs applying for an AFLW licence, with bids due on Friday. Read up on the other clubs on womens.afl.

Application history

This marks the first time Port Adelaide has applied for an AFLW licence, having previously focused on its commitments in China.

Richardson said the club had previously applied for a SANFLW licence, which was ultimately knocked back.

The club then turned its full attention to its Next Generation Academy.

Why they're confident 

Despite being a footy state, South Australia had a smaller women's football base pre-AFLW than the likes of Victoria and Western Australia, but numbers have exploded in recent years.

The state had its own under-19 side at the NAB AFLW National Championships for the first time this year, knocking off Western Australia and pushing Vic Country.

"AFLW has really become a movement. The growth at all levels in the game in South Australia has been quite extraordinary. You put that some of that down to the success of Adelaide in this market in particular," Richardson said.

"The impact that has had on the growth of the game at community and school level, the number of clubs now – that has a whole lot of other issues around facilities – but we're really excited about the opportunity.

"And I think the big killer in South Australia is the importance of making sure that the girls have got that opportunity, and currently, there's probably not enough at the end of the talent pathway.

"We're really excited about the opportunity and what it can do for not only for our club but for women's sport in South Australia."

Background in women's footy

Port Adelaide has had a heavy focus on its Next Generation Academy in recent years, as well as encouraging participation from Indigenous and multicultural communities.

"The girls play three games a year against Adelaide's NGO program, and they haven't lost a game yet. That tells us we've got some really good talent coming through," Richardson said.

"Our club in particular has done some amazing work in the Indigenous area – we run Aboriginal AFL Academies and one of our goals is to over-index in Indigenous [female] talent.

"We think that that will be a real focus for our club, how can we make sure that we integrate the great work our club has done and the heritage that we've got in the Indigenous space, with plans to provide a pathway for more young Aboriginal girls to play at the elite level

"We run a fantastic program called the Intercultural Cup in high schools, which is focused on boys and girls, and in the men's program we've got obviously Aliir Aliir and Marty Frederick from Sudanese backgrounds as role models."

Selling points 

The club is in the midst of a significant renovation of its facilities and ground at the Alberton Oval precinct.

Training facilities are planned to be ready mid-2022, with a boutique stadium by the end of the year.

"We're at the start of a really exciting precinct redevelopment at Alberton Oval, which has been home of the club since 1880," Richardson said.

"Not only will it be the home of our AFLW and AFL teams, with all the facilities to be fully integrated, but it's also going to be a fantastic boutique AFLW match-day venue.

"It'll be 7-8000, great atmosphere, fantastic place to come and watch footy during the summer months."

Why they should be included

Port Adelaide is eager to lean on the parochialism of the two-club state, and is confident of filling the stands for AFLW Showdowns.

"At the moment, we would say that probably 40 per cent of the market in South Australia are indifferent to AFLW, because they haven't got a team involved," Richardson said.

"From a market point of view, it's important Port Adelaide are involved to bring those fans to the competition.

"I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say the first AFLW Showdown could bring 50,000 people to Adelaide Oval in a minor round game, to be able to bring that rivalry to AFLW is significant."