Foxtel and the Australian Football League have joined forces on The Recruit, a 10-part national reality television series which will feature a global search and provide a player with the opportunity to become an overnight sensation at an AFL club.
The AFL has agreed to convene an officially constituted AFL Draft which will form part of The Recruit television series in order to deliver the winner to an AFL club’s list. All AFL Clubs will have the opportunity to recruit the winner.
Scheduled to be broadcast on FOX8 in 2014, The Recruit will not only scour local football leagues across Australia, but also the AFL International Combines across the world.
AFL, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou said, “Nearly 100,000 senior players across the country play out their love for our only indigenous game every winter, in country and metropolitan teams in every part of Australia.
“Every footballer looks on the stars of the AFL competition with admiration for their skills, commitment and desires to be the best, and now Foxtel is offering the chance for one of these footballers to join the elite.”
Executive Director, Sport & Foxtel Victoria Ben Buckley said, “The aim of The Recruit is to discover someone who the AFL recruiters may have missed and the show’s simple premise is to find someone playing in a local, suburban or country league or someone internationally who is capable of playing AFL football.
“We believe this innovative reality series will capture the imagination of the sporting public and are delighted that the AFL has thrown their support behind the project.”