Mason Cox is the chair of the AFL Players’ Association’s Multicultural Players’ Advisory Broad.
This week the Multicultural Advisory Board is very proud to introduce Supporting Multicultural Footballers, Best Practice Guidelines, a document aimed at promoting multiculturalism within the game, and also the 2017 Multicultural Map.
These guidelines provide information on key areas of each culture represented in the AFL and AFLW, including family, language, key dates, cultural awareness considerations, and key facts about each country.
Along with a map locating where each player is connected, we feel that both of these will give a better insight into players lives and allow for open discussion on the advancement of the game from a multicultural aspect.
Last year we recognised the need for more support with the growing number of multicultural players in the game.
The board was created and we also gathered key leaders and representatives within the playing group to ensure we had input about each different culture in order to make sure everyone was included.
As a collective, we hope that the implementation of these guidelines promotes:
- Cultural awareness
- Help players to maintain connectivity with their cultures
- Ensures every player has equal opportunity to maximize their time in the game, regardless of their background.
As the AFL continues to grow, we aim to enhance the awareness of cultural diversity within our game.
We want to make sure players are in a supportive environment to maintain and grow their connection with their culture and to help educate not only clubs and teammates, but also fans on the backgrounds of these players.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MULTICULTURAL GUIDELINES
By doing this we aim to strengthen the bonds that each one of these groups has with one another in a collaborative way.
With these documents has come a great deal of work by the AFLPA and community leaders to provide information to create a more inclusive game for all involved.
Every player, no matter where they are drafted to, should have an equal opportunity to achieve success in the game.
We believe that with these guidelines and map we have taken a step in the right direction of total inclusions of all cultures from all over the world and look forward to the strengthening of the multicultural community within the AFL.