WA Football Great Joins WAFC In New RoleFriday, January 24, 2025 - 12:02 PM

The West Australian Football Commission is delighted to announce the appointment of WA football great Peter Bell to the newly created role of Executive Manager Performance Pathways and Development at the WAFC.

Bell, an Australian Football Hall of Fame Member and former captain of the Fremantle Dockers, was offered the role following an extensive recruitment process.

“I’ve always had a passion for WA football and the opportunity to lead WA football into a new era from a pathways perspective is exciting,” Bell said.

“My journey to become an AFL player was far from conventional, so I can’t wait to help our team identify young talent in this state who otherwise may have been undiscovered.”

The establishment of the position followed a recent review by the WAFC into the Talent Program at the Commission.

The review, conducted by world class leaders in high performance, is one of the WAFC’s most significant projects and aims to build the most sophisticated and contemporary Australian Rules Football Talent pathways in the nation.

The new role is designed to ensure equitable opportunity and access for boys and girls in WA, address challenges faced by players in regional areas as well as low socioeconomic, multicultural and indigenous communities.

Nearly 40 recommendations came from the review, including the establishment of regional hubs, further development of coaches across all levels, the use of technology to track and monitor players throughout their development and improved talent identification.

WAFC Deputy Chair Dixie Marshall has driven the ground breaking football initiative.

“Peter’s appointment will be a game changer for our sport,” Marshall said.

“He’s a Kojonup boy, with a multi-cultural background, who has navigated his way to the highest levels of our sport – both as a player and an administrator.

“The WAFC is determined to find many more young players like Peter Bell and make sure they have equitable opportunity and access.

“The data tells us footy is in danger of becoming a sport for rich kids.

“Ten out of the 11 boys drafted into the AFL in 2024 came from metropolitan Perth and attended a private school.

“That’s not fair to the thousands of boys and girls from regional, multicultural and low socio-economic backgrounds who dream of playing at the top level.

“We have spent a year designing the WA talent project, with the help of three world renowned high-performance experts and now Peter’s job is to deliver the recommendations.

“It will cost a little more because our state is so vast, but the Commission is confident that the AFL and the Government will support our push to ensure all WA boys and girls get the same chance at fulfilling their AFL dreams.”

WAFC Chief Executive Michael Roberts has declared Bell a great addition to the team.

“To have someone of Peter’s stature in the game, lead the implementation of such an important project for football across the State provides us with the best possible chance to achieve great results,” Roberts said.

“Peter’s leadership, knowledge and experience is invaluable and will make WA Football the envy of other States.”

Bell will begin the role on February 17.