Jess Dal Pos goes to India

 

While some players plan a trip to Bali or Las Vegas in the post-season, others do things a little differently. Greater Western Sydney’s Jessica Dal Pos recently joined a delegation from the NSW state government in traveling to Mumbai in India where she met students from St Columba Girls High School.

 

 

Selfie game too strong… Jess poses with the girls of St Columba as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian looks on [Source: Maharashtra Giants]

 

Clearly overwhelmed and delighted at the first official visit from an AFLW player to the country, the girls flocked to take photos with the 24-year-old midfielder before taking part in some training drills.

 

The Premier and her entourage had been touring the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi to help foster business and trade links with the largest state economy in Australia; they also highlighted shared strengths in the arts and sporting spheres.

 

 

Local Mumbai side the Maharashtra Giants were also on hand to document the day’s activities, before Jess helped run a regular evening training run for the men’s team’s players. The Giants of Mumbai share a relationship with their bigger Australian namesakes, who along with Richmond, Adelaide and Essendon are looking at playing games in India in the near future. The four AFL clubs have been investing in Indian junior and senior clubs’ development for the best part of a decade.

 

 

From the perspective of footy in India, there is currently a focus on establishing a competitive women’s side for the next International Cup in 2020, where they would join their male compatriots who have taken part in the past four cups.

 

Well done to Jess for giving her time to assisting grassroots footy in India, particularly for her work with the girls of St Columba – who knows? One of them may yet be a teammate of hers in the future…

 

 

Jess Dal Pos signing autographs for excited St Columba students [Source: Maharashtra Giants]

 

Thanks to Kanchan Bagdwal of the Maharashtra Giants for providing the photos for this story, you can find out more about them at their Facebook page HERE.

 

About

A classic jack of all trades & master of a couple, Jarrod started his footy career as a gangly ruck after a growth spurt catapulted him to the lofty heights of 177cm as a 12-year-old. Forward pocket off the bench was where he ended up as he topped out at 178cm eight years later. The trajectory of a career in health fortunately didn't peak during the pre-teen years & a keen interest in footy has turned from playing to coaching, volunteering and writing.

Comments

  1. Kasey Symons says

    Great stuff JL. So good to see Jess spreading the AFLW love around the world – what a champion. Looking forward to seeing India put together a women’s side for 2020!

  2. John Butler says

    Onya Jarrod.

    I’m curious. Was this trip run solely through the NSW state government? Or was there official AFL involvement?

    Cheers

  3. Agreed Kasey, I see so much scope for improvement in the women’s IC & India are a big part of that. JDP is such a champ, hoping to see her run around for Darebin again (if she’s still there?).

    John, it seems very heavily NSW state government directed; all official press releases came from them. Possibly GWS were involved, but more behind the scenes/support role I’d imagine.

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