New WA Football chief executive Brad Wira says there's no reason why Australian Rules Football participation rates across the state cannot grow further.
Speaking at the Perth Football League’s sold-out 2026 Business Lunch at Optus Stadium on Friday afternoon, Mr Wira, who is 10 days into his new role, said the sheer size of WA alone provided unique opportunities to further enhance overall participation.
“What excites me is the ability to grow the game, and grow it exponentially,” he told the room.
“And that may sound silly in a heartland state, but we do. I’ll use my finance analogy – we’re probably a $2 stock, and I think we can go to $10 bucks.
“There’s so much growth here.
“If you think of the size of Western Australia, we can fit 10 Victorias in our state. The opportunity here with population growth, with some untapped markets of our multicultural and First Nations spaces, I think there’s some excitement there for me that we can grow the game from that perspective.”
Mr Wira also outlined a series of challenges which need to be met, including providing suitable facilities to complement further growth of women’s football.
“The sustainability of the game is one,” he said.
“Let’s just use the W (women’s) space, which is awesome. Our numbers are absolutely flying in it and that’s part of it which excites me.
“The challenge of that is the infrastructure piece – where can we play those games, and how can we from not only a venue perspective… but changerooms and facilities so the W game can continue to grow.
“We do all great work on the left hand side, what does it look like on the right hand side?
“It’s an exciting part of the game, but it’s also a challenge for us from an infrastructure piece.”
Mr Wira was also asked how he had found the early moments of his tenure in charge of WA Football.
“Ten days in, day ten today, and I’ve been using this analogy a little bit, but it’s like drinking from a fire hydrant,” he said.
“You can be the best assistant coach in the league going around and you think you know everything. And from a board perspective, yes, I’ve had a look – but once you go into the senior coach chair, there are things coming everywhere for you left, right and centre.
“What have I found? It’s everything and then some. And that’s what excites me about it. There’s so much that we do well at WA Footy and these people in the room are all part of that.
“And there’s so many challenges that we will face that I feel I can play a part in. And I feel like we’ve got some wonderful staff at WA Football who can help do that.”
Earlier in the afternoon, PFL president Geoff Glass also praised members of WA’s business community which had provided support and/or sponsorship to both the league and its clubs, which form part of the largest community sporting competition in the state.
“The reality is, the league cannot function without the support of the valuable partners in this room,” he said.
“And your investment just doesn’t fund the league – it provides a vehicle for building communities that come together around the game that we love.”
Other keynote speakers at the event included West Coast Fever skipper Jess Anstiss and former West Coast Eagles midfielder Ben Cousins.
