When Essendon Football Club made the decision to set up camp at Tullamarine, it soon became aware of the growing Indian migrant community moving in up the road.
So last year, the club decided to involve this sports-mad community in the great game of AFL, building a multicultural Auskick centre at Craigieburn, writing weekly articles in Hindi and even broadcasting Essendon’s round eight match last season in Hindi and Punjabi on Fox Footy.
And its investments have paid off.
For the first time, the Craigieburn multicultural Auskick centre is running its own weekly program without help from the club.
Essendon’s multicultural development officer, Salim Mahazi, says it’s been a slow transition since the club established its multicultural strategy two years ago.
“This is the first 10-week term that they’ve taken full responsibility of the Auskick program,” he said.
There are now six Indian coaches and more than 100 children from Craigieburn registered on the AFL’s Auskick members database.
“Since moving to Tullamarine, we’ve come to the realisation that there’s a huge, emerging Indian community in the north-west, who have virtually no involvement in football or knowledge of how to get involved in the sport,” Mr Mahazi said.
This year the club will hold a round entirely dedicated to the Indian community. Round 18 has been dubbed the ‘Embrace India Round’ and will feature Indian dance, cooking and culture and a visit from midfielder Dyson Heppell at Auskick on Wednesday, July 29.
Details: www.essendonfc.com.au
