A player has lost his life. We cannot wait for another tragedy.

Community sport should never cost someone their life.

The recent tragic death of community footballer Nathan Fitzgerald has shaken sporting communities across Australia. While investigations into the circumstances surrounding his injuries are ongoing, his passing has highlighted the risks associated with hard concrete cricket pitches on multi-use sporting grounds.

Our thoughts are with Nathan's family, friends, teammates and everyone affected by this devastating loss.

We cannot change what has happened.

But we can learn from it.

We have an opportunity - and a responsibility - to make our community sporting grounds safer before another family experiences the same heartbreak.

That is why FC Strathmore Split is calling on Moonee Valley City Council to remove permanent concrete cricket pitches from all multi-use football grounds across the municipality and replace them with safer alternatives.

This is about protecting every player, every club and every family who uses our local sporting facilities.

This issue affects our club every single week.

FC Strathmore Split is a proud community football club. Each season, more than 20 junior teams, together with our senior men's teams, take to the field at Strathnaver Reserve. Every week, hundreds of players and their families place their trust in the safety of the facilities provided by Council.  

Unfortunately, one significant hazard remains.

Pitch 2 at Strathnaver Reserve contains a permanent concrete cricket pitch running directly through the centre of the playing field. 

From April until September, this ground is used for football (soccer).

During summer, it becomes a cricket ground.

While we fully support community cricket and appreciate the need for shared facilities, a hard concrete surface concealed beneath synthetic turf creates an unnecessary risk for every player who steps onto the field.

The risk is not limited to the potential for a direct head impact or concussion.

The presence of a hard cricket pitch in the playing area can also affect the way players approach contests and movement around the field. Players may hesitate, change their running line, adjust their body position, or avoid fully committing to a challenge when contesting a ball close to the cricket pitch.

These split-second decisions can create awkward movements, unexpected changes of direction and altered body mechanics, increasing the risk of injuries including ankle, knee, ligament and twisting injuries.

Football is a fast-paced game where players should be able to contest the ball naturally and confidently. They should not have to modify their movements because a hidden hard surface sits beneath the area where they are expected to play.

Every week, our members play over that surface.

Every week, parents watch from the sidelines hoping their children finish the match safely.

Every week, coaches, volunteers and referees accept a risk that simply should not exist.

This is not just our problem.

Strathnaver Reserve is not unique.

Across Moonee Valley, many sporting reserves are shared between football and cricket.

Thousands of players use these grounds every year.

This is not a problem affecting one club.

It affects every football club, every AFL club, every junior player and every family who uses these facilities.

If a safer alternative exists, every community deserves access to it.

Children deserve better.

Our greatest concern is for our junior players.

Children are still developing their coordination and balance.

They fall more often.

They challenge for loose balls without hesitation.

They throw themselves into contests because they simply love the game.

As adults, we have a responsibility to ensure the environment in which they play is as safe as reasonably possible.

No parent enrolling their child in community football expects there to be a concrete slab concealed beneath the centre of the field.

No volunteer coach should have to worry that a routine collision or awkward fall could become something far more serious because of the surface underneath.

Community sport should be building confidence - not exposing children to unnecessary risk.

This is about prevention.

Cricket is an important part of our community.

Shared sporting facilities are often necessary.

But community infrastructure must evolve as our understanding of player safety improves.

Years ago, concrete cricket pitches were accepted as standard.

Today, we know more about concussion, traumatic brain injury and the consequences of high-impact falls.

Across Australia, sporting organisations have introduced better concussion protocols, safer coaching practices and improved playing rules.

Our playing surfaces should evolve too.

Safer alternatives already exist.

Many councils throughout Australia have already begun transitioning to safer options for shared sporting facilities.

These include:

• Removable synthetic wickets.
• Drop-in cricket pitches.
• Hybrid wicket systems.
• Purpose-designed cricket facilities.
• Ground redesigns that reduce player exposure to hard surfaces.

These alternatives allow football and cricket to continue sharing community spaces while significantly reducing the risks associated with permanent concrete wickets.

This is not an impossible request.

It is a practical investment in community safety.

We are calling on Moonee Valley City Council to act.

We respectfully ask Moonee Valley City Council to:

1. Immediately conduct a safety audit of every multi-use sporting ground containing a permanent concrete cricket pitch.
2. Prioritise the removal or replacement of permanent concrete cricket pitches where football is played.
3. Develop a staged infrastructure program to transition to safer wicket systems across the municipality.
4. Consult with local sporting clubs, players, parents and sporting organisations regarding safer playing surfaces.
5. Ensure all future sporting ground developments prioritise player safety and avoid permanent concrete cricket pitches on football grounds.

We ask Football Victoria to stand with community clubs.

As the governing body for football in Victoria, Football Victoria has an important leadership role in advocating for safe playing environments.

We ask Football Victoria to work with councils across Victoria to review multi-use football grounds and develop best-practice standards that put player safety first.

Community clubs cannot solve this issue alone.

We need leadership across the sport.

We ask Oscar Yildiz MP to support our community's call for safer sporting facilities and advocate for action to protect local players and families.

How you can help

Please sign this petition.

Then take one more important step.

Email Moonee Valley City Council and respectfully ask them to prioritise player safety across all multi-use football grounds.

Email: council@mvcc.vic.gov.au

Email: HJones@mvcc.vic.gov.au

Email: contact@oscaryildiz.com.au

Tell them why this matters to your family.

Tell them why children deserve safe playing fields.

Tell them why action should be taken before another serious injury occurs.

Every respectful email strengthens our community's voice.

Together we can protect future generations.

As a club, we have a duty to advocate for the safety of our members. We cannot remain silent when we believe an avoidable risk exists on the very ground where our children, families and volunteers gather every week.  

FC Strathmore Split is proud to lead this campaign, but this is bigger than one club.

No player should have to compete on a field that contains an unnecessary hard hazard beneath the area where the game is played.

No family should have to wonder whether more could have been done.

No council should have to respond only after another tragedy.

The time to act is now.

Please sign this petition.

Share it with your teammates, friends, family and sporting clubs.

Encourage others to contact Moonee Valley City Council.

Together, we can make community football safer - not only for the players of FC Strathmore Split, but for every footballer who steps onto a multi-use sporting field across Moonee Valley.

Player safety must always come first.