Port Adelaide club is being renamed ahead of clash with Melbourne that will make AFL history
Port Adelaide announce they are renaming the club ahead of the clash with Melbourne that will make AFL history
- Port Adelaide will rename to celebrate Indigenous history
- Club will temporarily be called Yartapulti Football Club
- Melbourne is also renamed Narrm Football Club
- Clubs will make history playing under traditional names
Port Adelaide Football Club is temporarily changing its name to Yartapulti Football Club to celebrate its Indigenous heritage for all future matches played during Sir Doug Nicholls Round and the AFLW Indigenous Round.
The decision to rename the club by adopting a name in the Kaurna language was made to bring First Nations culture to the public consciousness.
On May 19, Yartapulti Football Club will make history by playing Narrm – the native title for the Melbourne Demons – at Adelaide Oval in the AFL’s first game between two native-named sides.
The Demons announced their rebranding in 2022, with their name coming from the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung language.
Former player and proud Kaurna man Uncle Mickey Kumatpi Murrutya O’Brien was one of the driving forces behind the name change for Port.
Port Adelaide Football Club changes its name to Yartapulti Football Club to celebrate its Indigenous heritage (pictured, Port star Jason Horne-Francis)
The Yartapulti Football Club will make history later this month by playing Narrm – the native name for the Melbourne Demons (pictured, Demons star Christian Petracca)
Former AFL player and Kaurna man, uncle Mickey Kumatpi Murrutya O’Brien has been instrumental in the club’s name change, which he believes is related to the area where the club is based.
“In Kaurna, ‘Yarta’ means place or land and ‘Puulti’ means sleep or death, which is the name the Kaurna people gave to the land around the Port River,” he said.
“Language has always been a part of our landscapes and today we have the chance to have our name Yartapoulti used in Port Adelaide for this wonderful game they are about to embark on.”
As part of the initiative, the club has introduced a new logo designed by Brooke Rigney-Lively in collaboration with Ocher Dawn – a wholly owned First Nations creative agency.
Port CEO Matthew Richardson is proud to encourage fans to have conversations about Indigenous history and the important contribution of Indigenous players to the sport.
“Port Adelaide has a rich heritage of Indigenous players who have represented our club over many years and are inherent in Port Adelaide’s great eras,” he said.
“The opportunity for Yartapulti Football Club to open Sir Doug Nicholls Round against Narrm Football Club and the significance of that moment has not gone unnoticed.
“I couldn’t think of a better time for our club to be the Yartapoulti Football Club.”
The club has introduced a new logo (pictured) designed by Brooke Rigney-Lively in collaboration with Ocher Dawn – a 100 percent First Nations owned creative agency
Port Adelaide looks forward to Sir Doug Nicholls Round
The club plans to continue the brand change for the second Sir Doug Nicholls Round clash against Richmond at the MCG on May 28.
The club will unveil its Sir Doug Nicholls Round Guernsey in the coming weeks.