THE great thing about sport is it can bring people of all ages and cultures together.
This Sunday footy players from different backgrounds will do just that, come together to celebrate the annual Unity Cup competition.
Celebrated during Cultural Diversity Week, the gala event will see 16 male and 10 female multicultural teams compete for the Unity Cup.
Teams will be divided into two divisions and partake in an AFL 9’s tournament.
The event is now in its ninth year, with the number of teams entering the competition continuing to grow each year.
The Werribee Football Club is a club who has been involved with the Unity Cup for the past four years.
This year they will field two female teams and one boy’s side.
“It’s great to see an increase in the number of female teams participating this year, which will hopefully have a flow on effect into grass roots football,” Werribee Football Club Community Development manager Chris Gallagher said.
“Our teams are predominantly made up of Karenni and African young people who have migrated to Wyndham in the past 10 years.
“The concept of the Unity Cup is to bring people from all walks of life together to play football, so it’s a fantastic event that the club is proud to embrace and be a part of.”
In a new partnership with AFL Victoria, the Victorian State Government Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship has thrown its support behind the event, providing funding to ensure each team has a new set of football jumpers.
AFL Victoria Diversity manager Xavier Moloney said football was a sport that welcomed everyone.
He said the support from the community and the event partners was a credit to what the Unity Cup was all about.
“To see so many new faces and teams embracing football and getting involved in the tournament this year is something we are extremely proud of,” Moloney said.
“We’ve received terrific support from not only our partners but from a number of multicultural communities and we’re hoping that this year’s Unity Cup attracts a bigger crowd than ever before.”
Australia Post AFL Multicultural ambassadors David Zaharakis (Essendon), Lin Jong (Western Bulldogs), Jason Johannisen (Western Bulldogs) Paul Puopolo (Hawthorn), Shem Tatapu (Hawthorn) and the inaugural female Multicultural Ambassador Darcy Vescio (Western Bulldogs) will all be in attendance.
“It’s great to have so many of our Multicultural Ambassadors support the Unity Cup,” Moloney said.
“Having watched them on TV, the kids get a real buzz when they see their AFL heroes come along and watch them play football.”
In conjunction with Australian Federal Police and Urban Communities, the event will coincide with the annual Kensington CommUNITY Festival with players and supporters set to enjoy a variety of activities, including cultural music performances, an AFL Auskick Inflatable playground, food trucks and petting zoo.
The Unity Cup will be held at JJ Holland Park (Kensington Road, Kensington) between 9am and 4pm on Sunday.
Last Modified on 16/03/2016 16:23