A Gala of school fun with AFL Victoria – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

WITH the aid of a football and netball, AFL Victoria and the Shepparton Ethnic Council reached out a hand of friendship and inclusion to school students across the region, with their inaugural Shepparton Multicultural Gala Day. Participants came from St Georges Road, Mooroopna Park and Gowrie Street primary schools, to engage in AFL and Netball drills/games with the aim of having plenty of fun.

Richmond Football Club were abroad with lots of prizes along with Foodshare and Goulburn Valley Water to provide the 350 kids with nourishing snacks and plenty of water.

“This is a great opportunity for kids that haven’t experience AFL before. It’s a key focus moving forward to continue to introduce new participants into our great game and being able to give every kid the same opportunity to get involved,’ said AFL Goulburn Murray coordinator Bailey Bell.

With the focus on community and integration, AFL Victoria hopes to get more schools involved next year, using sport as the medium to keep kids from multicultural back grounds active and enjoying what the broader region has to offer.

‘Kids want to be listened to and accepted, they can find that with sport. They are not left on the street mixing with the wrong crowd,” said the Ethnic Council Manager, Sam Atukorala.

The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District jointly sponsored this event with AFL Victoria on 16 August, 2023 as part of the AFL Goulburn Murray Strategic Plan.

AFL Multicultural Gala Day at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton — Children from St Georges Road Primary School, Mooroopna Park Primary School, Gowrie Street Primary School participated on the day. Photo: Andrew Murley

AFL Gala Day, Shepparton — INCLUSION, FUN AND FOOTBALL… The inaugural Shepparton Multicultural Gala Day. Left to right: Andrew Murley (Ethnic Council) Bailey Bell AFL Victoria, Sam Atukorala (Ethnic Council), Daivd Alderuccio and Kevin Monaghan from AFL Victoria. Photo: Aaron Cordy

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Photo: Andrew Murley

	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.