On 18 June 1989, a football clinic for people with an intellectual disability was run by the Hawthorn Football Club and the Hawthorn City Council. [5] Hawthorn players Peter Curran and Rob Dickson were among those conducting the clinic. [6]
A skills and match day was held a year later on 21 October 1990 following a steering committee, where the "Football Integration Development Association" name was agreed on. [6]
The first FIDA matches were held on 7 March 1991. Six clubs – Chadstone Chargers, Werribee Blues, Mitcham Tigers, Hawthorn, Royal Magpies and Heidelberg – participated in the first round, with Broadmeadows and Keilor Saints joining the competition later in the year. [6]
The 1991 grand final was held at Glenferrie Oval, with Chadstone (who were undefeated for the season) defeating Mitcham 19.14 (128) to 2.5 (17). Former Hawthorn coach John Kennedy Sr, whose son Bernard played for Chadstone, presented the trophy and medallions. [6]
Four new clubs entered the competition in 1992, and it was expanded to a multi-division format with Division 1 and Division 2. [6]
VAFA links
In 1993, FIDA established relations with the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), who agreed to house the FIDA co-ordinator at VAFA headquarters at Elsternwick Park. The VAFA agreed to promote FIDA, with the VAFA Umpires Association also supplying umpires to the competition. [6]
The links with the VAFA were formally established in 1995, supporting FIDA to grow further. The same year, Bendigo also entered the competition as its first regional-based club. [6]
Recent growth
FIDA employed a General Manager in 2009, which saw the competition develop rapidly. [5] By the end of the 2015 season, FIDA had more than 600 players, and the running of the competition was taken over by AFL Victoria. [5]
No season was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 season was curtailed because of COVID-19 restrictions. [5] [7]
