Australian Rules football tackled multiculturalism today when people from countries including Sudan, Burma and Mongolia took part in a football carnival at Altona.
Braybrook’s Western English Language School (WELS) were crowned champions of the western region after winning the inaugural ESL (English as a Second Language) AFL Multicultural Cup.
They joined fellow Bulldogs Friendly Secondary Schools Werribee, Braybrook, Brimbank and St Albans to play each other in a round robin tournament at Crofts Reserve.
The carnival was organised through the LeasePlan Western Bulldogs Multicultural Schools Program. It provided newly arrived ESL students with an opportunity to participate in Australian football, expand their social network and share experiences with students from other schools.
WELS was undefeated on the day and pipped Werribee for the trophy in a closely contested pool match.
Before presenting medallions to students from the winning school Western Bulldogs player Shaun Higgins encouraged schools to continue to promote football within their curriculum.
“The Western Bulldogs do a lot of work with multicultural communities and it’s great to see so many people from different parts of the world here today,” Higgins said.
“Hopefully this gives students a taste of Australian Rules football and maybe they can go on to join a local club and continue to enjoy playing the game.”
Braybrook’s Western English Language School (WELS) were crowned champions of the western region after winning the inaugural ESL (English as a Second Language) AFL Multicultural Cup.
They joined fellow Bulldogs Friendly Secondary Schools Werribee, Braybrook, Brimbank and St Albans to play each other in a round robin tournament at Crofts Reserve.
The carnival was organised through the LeasePlan Western Bulldogs Multicultural Schools Program. It provided newly arrived ESL students with an opportunity to participate in Australian football, expand their social network and share experiences with students from other schools.
WELS was undefeated on the day and pipped Werribee for the trophy in a closely contested pool match.
Before presenting medallions to students from the winning school Western Bulldogs player Shaun Higgins encouraged schools to continue to promote football within their curriculum.
“The Western Bulldogs do a lot of work with multicultural communities and it’s great to see so many people from different parts of the world here today,” Higgins said.
“Hopefully this gives students a taste of Australian Rules football and maybe they can go on to join a local club and continue to enjoy playing the game.”
WELS Assistant Principal and winning Coach Mary Spyropoulos said the football carnival had provided her students with a positive experience.
“Today has given these kids a chance to meet others with a similar background and take part in something that is very much a part of Australian culture.”
“We have children in the team from Sudan, Iran, Burma, Vietnam and Mongolia participating and all of them have been in Australia for less than 12 months. They’ve only been practicing for about four weeks but they have shown an enormous amount of natural ability,” she said.
“We have children in the team from Sudan, Iran, Burma, Vietnam and Mongolia participating and all of them have been in Australia for less than 12 months. They’ve only been practicing for about four weeks but they have shown an enormous amount of natural ability,” she said.
With two Sudanese players already on their playing list, the event also acted as a potential multicultural talent pool for local football scouts from the Western Jets. Representatives were on hand to monitor the skills on show with the intention of inviting players into development squads later this year.
Continuing with the multicultural theme recent graduates from the Western Bulldogs CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) umpiring course officiated during matches.
