Belgium Footy 9s jumper front
AUSTRALIA & BELGIUM
The first Belgian settlers in Australia arrived in the early 19th century. In 1846, Belgian migrant Horatio Ellerman named his 130,000 acre rural grazing settlement in north eastern Victoria ‘Antwerp,’ after his birthplace in Belgium.

Many Belgians were also attracted to gold fields throughout Australia during the gold rush.Belgians continued to migrate to Australia in small numbers until World War II. There was a relative increase in Belgium-born migrants after the war.

In the 2016 Census there were 6,378 Belgian-born people in Australia, and just over 18,000 who claimed Belgian ancestry.

Notable Belgian Australians include Ted Baillieu (former Premier of Victoria), Mathias Cormann (former Australian Minister for Finance) and Wouter De Backer (Gotye).

TEAM BELGIUM
Have you ever wanted to pull on your national jumper and represent your country?

Playing Footy 9s gives you an opportunity to do just that! It’s a fun and exciting new sport, with both full contact (tackling) and non-contact (no tackling) options to choose from.

If you are of Belgian descent and keen to represent Belgium, please join the Team Belgium Facebook group.