The Western Bulldogs were awarded a Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence last night, in recognition of the Club’s More than a Game project.

The Bulldogs received the Service Delivery to Multicultural Victoria Award for the highly successful More than a Game project which uses sport to engage with Muslim young men to promote participation and social inclusion in the wider community.

Through group training and individual mentoring, the program aims to empower young men to develop leadership skills as well as equip them with the tools and resources they need to understand and actively address intolerant views.

Western Bulldogs CEO Simon Garlick said the Club was honoured to win the award which further reinforces the Bulldogs position as the Community Club of the AFL.

“The Club is thrilled to have received this prestigious award,” Simon Garlick said today.

“This is a significant honour that reinforces the Western Bulldogs credentials as the Community Club of the AFL.

“The award reflects the power of football to create cohesion and harmony in our community, both on and off the field.”

After the success of the ‘More Than a Game’ project in 2012, Garlick said the next phase will also include young women.

“We are incredibly proud of the More than a Game project and our dedicated Bulldogs Community Team for the delivery of what has been an amazing initiative,” he said.

“We are very excited about the next phase of the initiative ‘Generation M’ which will be expanded to include young women’.

“The Club would like to thanks the partners who worked with us to deliver this highly successful initiative – without the support we have received from the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department under its Building Community Resilience grants program, the Newport Islamic Mosque, Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Hobsons Bay Council, and Victoria University, the project would not be possible.”