As the AFL season enters its closing stages, the fun and games was just beginning for another group of aspiring footballers as they laced up their footy boots for the very first time.

16 teams from seven western region primary schools competed for the Multicultural Cup on Thursday 30^th August as a conclusion of the AFL Multicultural Schools Program undertaken by all the schools throughout the year.

The primary schools participating in the round robin tournament, Glengala primary school, Dinjerra primary school, St Monica’s primary school, St Albans primary school, Mother of God primary school, Ardeer primary school and Footscray primary school, have a diverse range of student backgrounds, with many of the students participating in the Multicultural Cup descending from non football countries such as Vietnam, China, Sudan, Somalia, Italy and Greece.

As such, many of the students had never picked up a football before participating in the AFL Multicultural Schools Program and the Multicultural Cup tournament was their first competitive match of Australian Rules Football.

The Dinjerra Primary Schools girl’s team went back to back after also winning last year’s tournament to narrowly defeat Glengala Primary School by two points in the grand final.

The Glengala Primary School’s boy’s team fared better, defeating defending champions Footscray Primary School after going undefeated throughout the entire tournament.

Western Bulldogs Multicultural Development Officer Kiemi Lai said the overall aim of the AFL Multicultural Schools Program and the Multicultural Cup was to introduce the game in an attempt to help them integrate with other members of the western region.

“Before participating in the AFL Multicultural Program the majority of the students had a very limited experience of AFL football. The idea behind the program is to provide a positive football experience in the hope that some of the students may choose to take up the sport and possibly join a local Western Region Football League club or Auskick centre next year,” said Lai.

The Multicultural Schools Program consisted of the participating schools undertaking six one hour training sessions where they were taught the basic skills of football including kicking, handballing, marking and bouncing. As well as learning the overall rules of the game, each school also attended an AFL match at Telstra Dome or MCG throughout the 2007 season.

“The Multicultural Cup is a good reward for the students and gives them a chance to put their training into practice. Hopefully it is only the beginning of their football experience,” said Lai.

Western Bulldogs players Andrew McDougall, Tom Williams and club mascot Woofer were present to watch the grand final and meet some of the students.