KARI Foundation were proud to be the NRL Indigenous All Stars major sponsor for 2020. The representative match was held on the Gold Coast at Cbus Stadium, celebrating the 10th year of the All Stars concept.
The Women’s Indigenous All Stars were victorious against the Maori Ferns, winning 10-4 in an exhilarating match. The pre-game performances included the Women’s Indigenous All Star’s team embracing their culture with the Unity Dance and the Maori Ferns presenting the women’s Haka.
In what was a final battle of the cultures, the Men’s Indigenous All Stars team went down to the Maori All Stars 30-16. Despite the loss, both teams represented their cultures proudly, with chilling performances of the Indigenous War Cry and the traditional Maori Haka.
Partnering with the NRL for the Indigenous All Stars provided KARI Foundation exclusive access to the activities during the week in the lead up to Saturday’s games.
Both the men’s and women’s Indigenous All Stars teams participated in activities throughout the week that embraced their Indigenous culture, as well as interacting with local youth. KARI Foundation were able to provide exclusive content to our community with live videos of the Indigenous teams training. Both the men and women put their heart and souls into each session, showcasing why this exhibition match is so important to them.
On the Friday before game day, KARI CEO Casey Ralph and Founder Paul Ralph were given the privilege of presenting the jersey to each player in a public display so fans could cheer on their respective teams. This presentation further cemented the monumental occasion of KARI Foundation appearing as the campaign sponsor for both teams.
As a proud sponsor, KARI Foundation were presented with signed jerseys from both the men and women’s teams, in order to be put up for auction.
After a successful week, bidding resulted in all jerseys sold with all the proceeds raised going towards increasing the participation of Aboriginal youth in sport.