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In round 18 of season 2003, the Fremantle Dockers Football Club established a challenge for their passionate members and supporters to create a Purple Haze at Subiaco Oval for their match against Richmond.

The aim was for all the supporters, members, corporate guests and staff to wear as much purple as they possibly could to create a sea of purple around the ground and also to raise money and awareness for a community charity - The Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Branded the Starlight Purple Haze Game, the event was trialled but history was created and the game began its successful and celebrated journey as the marquee community match day event for the Freo Dockers.


As an early tradition of the event, the players joined in the spirit of the day by wearing special edition purple playing uniforms each year with a white anchor, a strip that proved to be very popular amongst the passionate Freo fans. Whilst the match day has become one of the fans favourite, with them filling the stands with more and more purple every year, our loyal supporters have also embraced a very worthwhile cause and have dug deep for many years with the donation tally continually growing each season.

The Starlight Children’s Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the quality of life for seriously ill or hospitalised children. Working across the children’s wards in our hospitals, the foundation provides impressive in-hospital and outpatient programs and services, not only for the children but for their families too.

Starlight Player Ambassadors were established to help promote the match and bring smiles to the faces of children on the wards of Princess Margaret Hospital. Drawn in by the cause itself, the players love making a difference and so much so that most of the players who become involved do so for their entire playing careers.

It is quite remarkable to look back and see how much this match day has grown.

Rewind the clock back to Saturday 2 August 2003 when it all began… A Freo crowd went purple crazy, volunteers roamed the precinct collecting $14,000 in donations, the team had a 23 point victory over Richmond and the inaugural Starlight Purple Haze Game was considered a huge success.

Fast track to 2011 and the match day sees the sea of purple like never before, supporters and volunteers dress up in remarkable costumes and the Starlight Wish children and their families enjoy a magical match day experience together - which is a welcomed break from hospitals and the treatments they usually face….and to top it off - our supporters raised a record $70,946.75!


Who would have thought that 10 years on this game day would have become such a great tradition for the club … and come Saturday 31 March we will all be celebrating the 10th annual Starlight Purple Haze Game at Patersons Stadium.

So, in 2012 we hope to have your support to fundraise another record result to help Starlight with the support services and programs that are offered in Western Australia.

And to do your bit is actually very simple:

• You can hold a Purple Haze Party in March - (Details can be found at www.fremantlefc.com.au/starlightpurplehaze)

• Or come along to the game dressed in as much purple as possible and donate to one of the many collectors outside the ground who so kindly volunteer their time to such a worthwhile cause.

With your help we hope to make the 10th Starlight Purple Haze Game the biggest and best year yet so we can continually brighten the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children in WA.

A huge thank you to Fremantle Ports who sponsors the Starlight Purple Haze Game and to the following players who will fly the flag as ambassadors in 2012:

Aaron Sandilands (6th year ambassador)
Chris Mayne (3rd year ambassador)
Garrick Ibbotson (2nd year ambassador)
Matthew de Boer (2nd year ambassador)
Alex Silvagni (1st year ambassador)

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