MORE than 20 rugby league greats, including Matty Bowen, Petero Civoniceva, Ben Hannant and Scott Prince, will jet into Kowanyama with the RAAF this weekend for the inaugural Future Immortals Tour.
The tour, organised by the Arthur Beetson Foundation, is planned to be rolled out in communities across Queensland.
Kowanyama will host the first event over four days.
The former league superstars will kick off their Cape tour with a special dinner with community elders on Thursday, before splitting up for various activities on Friday. The players will attend a community barbecue on Friday night and have a game of touch footy with the RAAF.
It all heats up on Saturday with the main event to be played in the evening, with local contests to provide a curtain raiser.
“It’s all about fun, giving back to the community and making connections,” tour organiser Nicole Lacey said.
“We have been working with the Kowanyama community to learn what their priorities are and how we can work with them to achieve that.”
The festivities will conclude with a corporate dinner on Saturday night, and a community breakfast at the airport on Sunday morning before the team flies out.
Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council acting chief executive officer Kevin Bell said the community was extremely excited for the event.
“We’re less than a week out, we’re super excited, it’s all systems go and we’re about to put on an amazing event for the community,” Mr Bell said.
The council has been instrumental in supporting and helping organise the event.
“It’s a real opportunity for Kowanyama to partner with a reputable organisation like the Arthur Beetson Foundation and put on an event for our little community and our neighbours who are going to come and visit,” Mr Bell said.
We know how popular rugby league is on the Cape and we’re utilising that to bring people together and have a good, fun, family-friendly weekend.”
Mr Bell said the council and the Arthur Beetson Foundation had been working on legacy framework to support future work with the Immortals players.
