On any given training night at Coburg’s Piranha Park it could easily double as a meeting of the United Nations.
No other VFL club can boast as diverse playing group as Coburg, with 23 percent of the list from multicultural backgrounds.
There are players of Lebanese, Turkish, Italian, Irish, Serbian, Seychellian, New Zealand, Sudanese, South African, English, Dutch, and Torres Strait Islander heritage.
Coburg General Manager Craig Lees said the club is proud of its multicultural list and its ability to attract, welcome and embrace players from such differing cultures and religions.
“We’ve got plenty of boys who have at least one parent born overseas,” Lees said.
“And, if you look at our list holistically it’s probably closer to 70 percent if you look at their heritage.”
Lees said there is nothing but total respect and understanding among the list of all cultures and the differing demands they bring, especially as the players of Muslim faith observe the month of Ramadan which began on June 29.
Ramadan is a period of prayer/devotion, fasting, charity and self-accountability.
Lees said the multiculturalism provides an interesting dynamic, but it was a pretty seamless operation where everyone was bonded by the common goal of playing football and helping the Coburg Football Club forge its status on and off the field.
As third-year player Daniel Younan, born in Australia to Syrian father, Michael, and Lebanese mother, Amira, noted: “Everyone gets on like a house on fire.
“There is a good culture going around.”
Teammate Zak Saad, an Australian-born son of Lebanese parents, best summed up the spirit. “We are all just one, we don’t let people’s background get in the way of anything.
“We just like to have a good time playing footy.”
Born in Sudan before spending time in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to Australia, Coburg’s ‘Paulie’ Johnson is one of the VFLs’ Multicultural Ambassadors.
Along with Williamstown’s Peter Faulks and Adam Marcon, Box Hill Hawks David Mirra and Northern Blues Joel Wilkinson, Johnson works with participants from all cultures at a variety of levels, promoting the game that he loves.
Listen to an interview with VFL Multicultural Ambassador David Mirra, Coburg player Adam Saad and AFL Victoria Engagement Manager Xavier Moloney.
Last Modified on 16/07/2014 23:29