Following on from yesterday’s lucrative broadcast deals for the AFL, Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan announced at the National Press Club in Canberra a potential scheme to help develop and grow the game of Australian Rules football further. By looking towards a more focused development of multicultural and indigenous communities, McLachlan can visualise an idea where all existing AFL clubs buy into a “zoning” program to develop their own markets.

 

Similar in some ways to the zoning of Victoria in days gone by, just on a national scale, the idea certainly may have ramifications for the further tapping of indigenous talent across the country. It may also be a huge step towards the genuine development of player talent across a spread of multicultural communities nationwide which might see greater numbers of players from all over the world embrace the game. What might start small may one day grow into an enormous pool of future talent.

 

 

The following article is from the ABC News website and details McLachlan’s vision which, if funding and his own drive have anything to do with it, may take off in some form in the very near future.

The following is a media release from the AFL Diversity Unit highlighting the recognition of the Multicultural programs both at a football and wider community level. Being involved first hand there is an enormous amount of work involved and this award recognises the efforts of many people to grow the game for a healthy and diverse future.

The AFL is pleased to announce the AFL Multicultural Program has been awarded the Virgin Australia Sports Leadership Award at the 2015 Australian Migration and Settlement Awards in Canberra yesterday.

Hosted by the Migration Council Australia (MCA), the awards recognise the contribution of organisations and individuals in supporting migrants settle in Australia.

The 2015 edition of the 49th Parallel Cup between Canada and the United States was played on the weekend of 31/7/15 and 1/8/15 with both men's and women's matches played out. There was mixed success for the US with the Revolution triumphant over Canada's Northwind in the men's match and the Northern Lights defeating the Freedom in the Women's match, continuing the trend between these four sides.

These were the first full field internationals since the International Cup last year, with this post-IC year continuing the tradition of not seeing much international vs international footy action. The only change in our men's World Rankings was the United States swapped places with Canada moving from 8th to 7th. For the women there was no change.

Friday night footy at the SCG kicks off Round 20 with Sydney hosting Collingwood. 

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

Friday night footy in Adelaide kicks off Round 19 with Adelaide hosting Richmond. 

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. Details of free passes for viewers outside Australia for this round only can be found here.

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

To help celebrate the 2015 AFL Multicultural Round, WatchAFL (the AFL’s official global streaming service) are offering all people outside of Australia with the opportunity to watch ALL Round 19 Matches for FREE (August 7-9) either Live or On Demand. 

Multicultural Round FREE passes will be available at  http://watchafl.afl.com.au  from Wednesday 5th August. 

 

 

[youtube:kox-dFp50cs]

Friday night footy at the MCG kicks off Round 18 with Hawthorn hosting Richmond. 

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

In a move which will combine recognition of umpires and the multicultural legacy of our great game, the word “umpire” will be printed on the back of umpire’s shirts during the upcoming multicultural round. At each AFL match during Round 19, the AFL Multicultural Round from August 7-9, officiating umpires will have the word “umpire” emblazoned on the shirts in seven different languages.

The same touch will be added to the footballs used throughout the round, with the word “Sherrin” translated into the same languages as well as the 50 metre lines on each ground. To complete the picture of wider recognition of the event matches will be broadcast in corresponding languages for each venue as well as podcasts through afl.com.au and associated apps.

Friday night footy at Etihad Stadium kicks off Round 17 with Carlton hosting Hawthorn.  We welcome new International Broadcast partner RDS in Quebec that will be showing delayed replays of the West Coast Eagles vs Sydney match.

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

Friday night footy at Etihad Stadium kicks off Round 16 with North Melbourne hosting Essendon.

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.