Finally repping their own colours

For 40 years, the Air Force Football Club’s (AFFC) guernsey told someone else’s story.

This season the players are wearing a new strip carrying a single crest with a clear, unmistakable link to the Air Force.

The change is part of a broader refresh where each individual sporting club, including the AFFC, retains its unique crest, establishment date and sport-specific identifiers, while adopting a unified modern template.

Sporting clubs have been given a transition window of about 12 to 18 months to phase in the new branding, with most expected to complete the changeover during the 2026 financial year.

The AFFC is among the first to make the change.

“The design of the new strip came from within the club,” Vice President of the AFFC WGCDR Todd Goldsmith said.

“The executive committee asked club members to submit designs, with some parameters provided as guidance.

“About a dozen were submitted by players, narrowed down to a few, and put to a club vote.”

The winning design came from CPL Mya Slatter. 

WGCDR Goldsmith said that the origin story of the new design shaped how the strip was received.

“As a result, the design, being owned by the players, had an overall positive reaction,” he said.

The change closes out two decades of shifting allegiances.

“The club has changed its branding several times over the last 20 years to align with its affiliation to an AFL side – firstly Hawthorn, then Essendon,” WGCDR Goldsmith said.

“When those clubs updated their crest, so did we, which has meant the club has had a range of differing crests across its history.

“To have a single crest that has a clear link to Air Force and not an external organisation is an important step – one that will maintain a clear connection.”

For the players, that connection is important to them for a range of reasons.

“Identity is critical, not only in a playing respect, to differentiate your teammates from the opponent, but also from a representation perspective,” WGCDR Goldsmith said.

“The players take a lot of pride in being presented with their playing guernsey, with many seeking to retain it for memorabilia.”

The new strip has already been worn on field, including at this year’s National Carnival, with the club now turning its attention to seeking expressions of interest from players for next year’s competition.