North Pilbara Football League
The North Pilbara Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in Karratha and Port Hedland in Western Australia. History of Football in the Pilbara. Football got its start when a newly transferred Postal worker who was a football fanatic and umpire organized the first game between two pubs in 1962. Colin Matheson marked out an oval on the mud flats in town and got players from the patrons of the Pier and Esplanade Hotels. Matheson in 1967 founded the first football association in the area. The Port Hedland Football Association was founded with three  teams, Rovers, Panthers and Finucane Island. In 1969 teams from mining towns of Marble Bar and Goldsworthy entered and formed the newly "De Gray Football Association. Marble Bar lasted 3 seasons before withdrawing, it wasn't until 1975 that the competition expanded again with the creation of two new clubs, Shay Gap and South Hedland. In Karratha competitive football started with the founding of the Dampier District Association in 1973. Renamed in 1974 as "West Pilbara Football League", teams came from Dampier, Karratha, Roebourne and Wickham. In 1977 the "De Grey Football Association" (based around Port Hedland) and "West Pilbara  Football League" (based around Karratha) merged to form the De Gray West Pilbara Football League. In 1983 there was a name change to North Pilbara Football League. 2019 ladder. Website. Official website