Daw, who plays for Wyndhamvale and the Western Jets, accepted his scholarship at Monday night’s AFL Players’ Association MVP Awards.
Daw started playing football at school at age 14 after his family immigrated to Melbourne and quickly developed into a promising ruckman/key forward.
If drafted, Daw would become the first Sudanese-born player on an AFL list, and one of few African players.
Former Brisbane Lions and Essendon player Damien Cupido was born in Cape Town, while ruckman Luke van Reenen, also from South Africa, was dropped from the St Kilda rookie list last year.
Since 2001, the AFLPA has awarded 99 scholarships to players aged between 15 and 17 years, with past recipients including Geelong’s Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood, Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin and Essendon’s Patrick Ryder.
About half the scholarship recipients have gone on to be drafted by an AFL club.
The scholarships are named after Carlton premiership captain and AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick. They have contributed more than $450,000 towards the development of young players in their academic and football pursuits.
The scholarships are offered as part of the AFLPA’s player development program, managed by former Essendon player Steve Alessio.
"This scholarship continues to provide much needed assistance to quality young talented men who may not otherwise get the opportunity to achieve their dream of playing in the AFL without this financial assistance," Alessio said.
Other recipients of the award for 2010 are Nicholas Collins, from Belconnen FC in the ACT, Jake Neade from West Alice Springs, Noosa’s Aaron Laskey, Luke Wilson from Port Adelaide, North Hobart’s Sam Darley, Dyson Heppell and Jed Lamb from Gippsland Power, Bendigo Bomber Zack May, Wilbur Pomorin from the North Ballarat Rebels and William Elliott from the Western Jets.
