![\"Ghian](\"http:\/\/www.aiya.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/image3.jpg\")
<\/a>Ghian holding the Richmond banner at the MCG. Photo: Ghian Tjandaputra<\/p><\/div>\n
That started to change after I befriended a small group of Australians, one of them an Australian of Macedonian descent. And then he introduced me to Australian Rules football.<\/p>\n
As an avid (or rather, tragic) Collingwood loyal, he brought me to a Collingwood vs Carlton match. Little did I know that that sparked a journey that would set me on a path I\u2019ve been looking for since I first arrived.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not quite sure how for 20 years I had survived living a life blissfully unaware of AFL. For the past few years I have been going to at least 15 matches each season, my eyes are transfixed by Fox Footy all weekend and I can barely resist the temptation of checking Supercoach live scores every 5 minutes. This year, I\u2019ve started working as an AFL Multicultural Community Ambassador with Richmond FC. I now live and breathe AFL.<\/p>\n
I have always wanted to feel like I belong here, and the great game goes a long way in making me feel like I finally do.<\/p>\n
Path to becoming a convert<\/strong><\/p>\n The thing is though, my journey in becoming a convert is almost fully by chance. I stumbled upon it. I had to almost literally be dragged by a friend to go to a match. The AFL as an institution played virtually no part in converting me. This is both discouraging and encouraging.<\/p>\n It is discouraging because despite all of AFL\u2019s effort in promoting multiculturalism and in reaching out to communities, it still had not been able to reach a most relevant target audience \u2013 international students and active members of a diaspora (and ones who are already obsessed with sport \u2013 i.e. Indonesian students).<\/p>\n It is encouraging because despite that, the AFL can still lure complete strangers to the game without any effort on its part. Imagine what would happen if it can tap into more target audiences.<\/p>\n This is not to say that they haven\u2019t been trying. Far from it, the AFL has made a concerted effort to become a truly multicultural sport.<\/p>\n Ghian (left) alongside Richmond CEO Brendon Gale (centre) and Director of the Australia-Indonesia Centre Paul Ramadge (right). Photo: Ghian Tjandaputra<\/p><\/div>\n Reaching out to marginal communities<\/strong><\/p>\n The AFL claims that multicultural players make up 15 per cent<\/a> of the player list as it makes various overtures in promoting multiculturalism. The most public one is the Multicultural Round<\/a>. It strives to celebrate \u201cMany Cultures\u201d as it promotes it to be \u201cOne Game \u2013 Australia\u2019s Game\u201d.<\/p>\n A key element of its work is the Multicultural Ambassadors \u2013 both Player Ambassadors and Community Ambassadors. Player Ambassadors consist of the likes of Nic Naitanui, Nick Malceski, David Zaharakis, Lin Jong and Bachar Houli, perhaps the most notable player for his work in promoting multiculturalism through Bachar Houli Academy.<\/p>\n Community Ambassadors, though less known to the public eye, are doing the all-important work on the ground, in collaboration with the clubs and AFL Victoria.<\/p>\n Richmond FC has been very supportive of my effort in introducing AFL to the Indonesian diaspora in Melbourne. The Tigers has also done valuable work in engaging with the Indian community, particularly considering the challenging times the Indian diaspora experienced several years ago.<\/p>\n Nasya Bahfen, last year\u2019s Multicultural Community Ambassador of the Year, has been doing significant work with North Melbourne\u2019s The Huddle.<\/p>\n Ghian with fellow AFL Community Ambassadors Nasya Bahfen (left), Cody Halliday (right centre) and Bayu Pratama (right). Photo: Ghian Tjandaputra.<\/p><\/div>\n The Huddle<\/a> itself is an excellent example of how the AFL can help address social problems. It strives to address disengagement among youths from migrant and refugee backgrounds in North Melbourne, Flemington, Kensington and Wyndham.<\/p>\n This program also shows AFL\u2019s conscious effort in reaching out to marginal communities, and it is best reflected by its significant investment in reaching out to Western Sydney.<\/p>\n Bahfen, a journalism lecturer at Monash Universtiy, wrote<\/a> that the AFL debut of the GWS Giants is the culmination of the AFL to \u201cmake inroads into the rugby league-obsessed, poor and predominantly refugee and migrant neighbourhoods on the \u2018wrong\u2019 side of the tracks in Australia\u2019s largest city\u2019.<\/p>\n She also points out that AFL has thrown \u201ceverything but the kitchen sink\u201d at the sea by building new stadiums, and devoting resources into programs and events to get members of the community to playing the game.<\/p>\n One must wonder: has all of this effort paid of? Why were they doing it in the first place?<\/p>\n Off-field and on-field progress \u2013 artificial or substantial?<\/strong><\/p>\n It is always challenging to measure the true success of such effort, as numbers are difficult to obtain and even when they exist, it doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Fifteen per cent of the entire playing list is not an insignificant chunk, but when the numbers are closely examined, it portrays a different story.<\/p>\n There are approximately 476.000 Muslims<\/a> in Australia; Bachar Houli, the returning Saint Ahmed Saad and emerging Suns Adam Saad are the only few Muslim players in the list. The number of Australians of Asian descent and Asian migrants in Australia is even bigger, yet Lin Jong is the only player in the list with an Asian ancestry.<\/p>\n This raises another question in measuring progress. Which is more important: off-field or on-field? Can one really be considered a success without significant gains in the other?<\/p>\n As previously shown, there is not much else that the AFL can do off-field. It has made a concerted effort to encourage multicultural communities to be engaged with the game; it even attempts to be a catalyst for social progress. This needs to be commended.<\/p>\n To a certain extent, the progress it has made off the field makes up for whatever shortcomings it has on the field. However, if the ultimate goal is to become a \u2018multicultural game\u2019, the AFL might still have its work cut out to ensure there is a satisfiable spread of multicultural communities represented in the game.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>