The Australian Football League Players’ Association has joined the campaign against youth binge drinking in Australia by partnering with the Be the Influence – Tackling Binge Drinking initiative.
Be the Influence, which is managed by the Australian National Preventive Health Agency and has established partnerships with 16 national sporting organisations, will be the naming rights sponsor of the AFLPA Most Valuable Player Awards on September 10 and the 2013 Leigh Matthews MVP Award.
Collingwood player Scott Pendlebury launched the partnership by swapping his normal No.10 jersey for the No.70 to highlight the number of young Australians hospitalised each week due to alcohol-related assault. Pendlebury will be joined as an ambassador for the programme by young stars Patrick Dangerfield of Adelaide and Nic Naitanui of West Coast Eagles.
Other sporting partners of the campaign include Football Federation Australia and Surfing Australia.