World Footy News

It starts today. My new role as an AFL Multicultural Community Ambassador for 2015 kicks off with the opening ceremony and function here in Cairns to kick of the AFL Diversity Cup. Bought forward a little as my induction is not until next week, but footy won’t wait. Being a resident of Cairns I am front and centre for this carnival, living five minutes from Cazalys Stadium, it makes sense to start today.

The five days of gladiatorial combat between the state Kickstart indigenous teams will be a brilliant showcase of future talent. The best talent on show will make their way into the Flying Boomerangs national indigenous team or the World Team programs. To be present helping the AFL with various media roles will be an honour and a great way to start twelve months as an ambassador and try to initiate ideas, projects and programs which may assist the multicultural growth of the game here in Far North Queensland and maybe beyond.
Maybe I could be excused for thinking that after five days of the Diversity Cup my job would be done, but far, far from it. In taking on the role I have agreed to use whatever is at my disposal to forge links and keep taking Australian Rules football in both new directions and further develop existing directions.

One of the aspects of induction is to lay out a plan, or at least an idea, of what I plan to pursue and achieve in 12 months. That part is relatively easy, as most of these programs are either started already or have been brewing as ideas for some time. The very reason for this largely self-indulgent first-person story is to lay the ideas on the table and see what responses and assistance might come from it.

So, to task one.

Cairns has seen an increase in the number of migrants from African countries over the past decade. There are growing communities from Sudan, Uganda and many other nations. Locally, some of the kids from these families have entered the arena of Australian Rules football, either in addition to an existing sport or as a first choice adopted sport.

There is a tremendous chance to work within these communities, conducting footy clinics and a good old-fashioned multicultural barbecue, and extend the welcoming hand of our national code to young people and promote the uptake of the game within their own communities and also bringing people together in the wider community.

Similarly, the Indian communities within the Far North have not been heavily linked to the AFL scene to day. Sudip Chakraborty, President of AFL India, has done an incredible job with his team of fellow football lovers across India to grow the game. AFL clubs at the national level have worked closely with local Indian communities to establish connections to the game. There is an opportunity to bring the local AFL scene in Cairns to the Indian communities in a more proactive way, and that is another goal of mine this year.














Cairns is ideally placed geographically to one day be a hub for Australian Rules football throughout the South Pacific, sitting as it does on the western edge of the Coral Sea. We already have strong footballing links with Australian Rules in Papua New Guinea, and have the ability to connect in a bigger way with footballing nations such as Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Tonga and Samoan nations.

A concerted effort in 2015 to reach out and develop stronger local links to South Pacific nations might be a useful step in the direction of Cairns playing a bigger role in helping host, foster or grow football across the South pacific region in years to come. Friends at clubs in Lae, Papua New Guinea and Raiwaqa in Fiji will be invited to further strengthen their links to Cairns, through local Cairns club Pyramid Power, to raise awareness.

The change here will be further into the future, but if I can use this 12 month period to increase local awareness to embrace our geographical advantages then another pebble will start rolling down the hill.

Working so closely with the Yarrabah Aboriginal Community, near Cairns, for many years has been rewarding for our own local club. It has also provided many opportunities for local Yarrabah kids to play the game, even through to representative level. Gold Coast Sun player, Jarrod Harbrow, is of Yarrabah descent.

There has always been a polarisation of sorts in many North Queensland communities to support Australian Rules OR Rugby League. There is a very dominant Rugby League following up here, with Australian Rules making headway to get a growing market share. There are many who play and support both, but a new promotion “WHY NOT BOTH?” will be aimed at, and trialled, in Yarrabah in a bid to get kids, and families, to consider playing both sports and opening up potential success pathways through both sports – a bid to stop the “us or them” style of sporting choice.

The Pyramid Power Brother Clubs Project, and side projects such as the “Teaching Australian Rules Football” Facebook group have seen our club, and by extension our region, become closer to the Australian Rules football scene across the world. These projects will also be ramped up during the following 12 months with a reverse psychology – by making greater connections across the world we can reach out to local cultural groups in a more relevant and meaningful way.

That is a lot of work, but 12 months can be a long time if used creatively. Additionally, the people of AFL Diversity, Australia Post AFL Multicultural Program, AFL Cairns and AFL Cape York may also have further opportunities to be explored and developed. But that’s the role.

I am proud to hold this role and look forward to the opportunity to assist in the growth of our wonderful national game through a wide variety of diverse cultures in and around Cairns.