Mother of God Primary School was the school to beat in the Western Bulldogs eighth annual Multicultural Schools Cup (MSP Cup), taking out both the girls and boys division at Victoria University Whitten Oval on Monday.

The MSP Cup is the gala event to finish the Bulldogs’ Multicultural Schools Program, with over 200 students putting on a competitive display in both the girls and boys divisions.

Using AFL as a vehicle to promote healthy living and nutrition, the program is run over six weeks in primary schools throughout the west, facilitated by Victoria University pre-service teachers.

The Multicultural Schools Program Cup gives these students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt throughout the year and how to display fair play in a competition setting.

Seven primary schools from the Western suburbs of Melbourne competed on the day, each entering one boys’ and one girls’ team, transforming Victoria University Whitten Oval into a sea of over 200 footballers.

The students from Mother of God proved too good in the end, with both the boys and the girls’ teams going home undefeated.

The grand final match saw Mother of God girls only narrowly defeat Sunshine Harvester 30 – 28, while the boys came out on top against St Albans 23 – 15.

Mother of God will now go on to represent the region in the State AusPost MSP Cup in October.

The event goes a long way to support multicultural schools in the Bulldogs’ heartland by providing opportunities for boys and girls from different backgrounds to come together and participate in football. 

The Western Bulldogs would like to thank Victoria University, AFL Victoria and our multicultural partners, Programmed, for their continued support of this great initiative.