Cumberland City Councillor Ola Hamed is hoping to encourage local youths to be more active by providing free access to the Granville Futsal Court after school hours.
Speaking at the Cumberland Council meeting, Cr Hamed moved a motion that the Granville Futsal Court be open to young people free of charge on weekdays, from 3pm to 5pm.
Available for any sport, recreation program or health and wellbeing program, the synthetic futsal court at the Granville Centre Outdoor Space is currently open to hire seven days a week, from 9am to 8pm.
Passionate about encouraging young people to be more involved in sport, Cr Hamed believes making the futsal court free will help children achieve a more active lifestyle.
“We often talk about opportunities for passive exercise for our kids and we, as parents, want to encourage healthy and active lifestyles,” Cr Hamed said.
“I think putting a fence around a public facility and charging children fees is not the way to go in terms of achieving that goal.”
Cr Hamed said a recent survey by Council showed young people would like more access to parks, youth centres, park grounds, courts and safe areas.
“The idea is that children after school go to the library, go for a swim next door, come to the basketball courts and now, hopefully, come to the futsal field. It keeps [children] off the streets, out of shopping centres and it gets them active,” she said.
For Cr Hamed, it’s important that all local young people can go to sporting facilities without the worry of having to organise payment.
“We know that kids play outside far less today than a generation ago. We know that the fastest growing age groups are children between the age of 12 and 17 and that will see a further 55 per cent increase by 2036,” she said.
“Cumberland Council are building fitness stations where we can and they’re all free. Kids playgrounds, netball courts, skate parks, sports grounds and dog off-leash parks are all free and accessible. Therefore, the futsal field at Granville should be free and accessible.”
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.