Lance 'Buddy' Franklin was joined at Helensvale State School on the Gold Coast by NAB AFL Superkickers. Photo: AFL Photos

AUSTRALIAN rules superstar and icon of the game, Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, will help instil a love of footy into the next generation as the official ambassador for NAB AFL Superkick.

The dual premiership player and eight-time All-Australian has teamed up with the AFL to support a range of game development initiatives, including its brand-new participation program for 8-12-year-olds, which aims to connect more children to footy.

NAB AFL Superkick – touted as the cool 'older sibling' of NAB AFL Auskick – has been specifically designed for children who are either looking to develop their footy skills or who are picking up a footy for the first time.

Delivered at the same location each week, the one-hour sessions are broken down into four quarters consisting of engaging skill games and activities (15 minutes) followed by match play (45 minutes).

NAB AFL Superkick is tackle-free, has smaller team sizes and a shorter season, providing the perfect introduction for new participants or pathway for continual play after the end of local club footy.

Since registrations for NAB AFL Superkick opened earlier this season, the program has now reached its first milestone, recording more than 10,000 registered participants across 364 Superkick Centres around the country.

With nearly one quarter of these participants having a parent born overseas, NAB AFL Superkick is helping connect more people to the game and significantly contributed to the AFL's new all-time registered participation record.

The lucky 10,000th Superkicker to register was 11-year-old Charley Biggins from the Gold Coast, who attends Helensvale State School NAB AFL Superkick Centre. With her family originally hailing from South Australia, Charley had never tried Aussie Rules before signing up to the new Superkick format and has now fallen in love with footy and intends to play for her local club next season.

The program is proving popular in Queensland which accounts for more than 30 per cent of the total participation figure, followed closely by Victoria which has soared to more than 2,400 participants