Football Victoria will this weekend celebrate our multicultural strength as a sport through Multicultural Round. It’s a chance for us to celebrate football’s important role in social cohesion.
Ahead of Cultural Diversity Week (March 16-24) Football Victoria is encouraging our Clubs to celebrate diversity within their own communities across this weekend, sharing some of the stories that highlight multiculturalism in their football family.
For men and women, boys and girls, football is truly a game for all and we as a sport have become enriched by our diversity.
Football Victoria CEO Peter Filopoulos said the round was a celebration of football’s strength.
“Multicultural Round is a fantastic acknowledgement of the values we live and breathe in football every day, all year round” Filopoulos said.
“Our many peoples and cultures are the strength of a global game, that appeals to and welcomes all.
“Football recently demonstrated its power for good by coming together to save Hakeem Al-Araibi from injustice. It has shown what is possible when the football community unites as one for the collective good of not just the game, but the people who play and participate.”
The central figure of the Save Hakeem campaign, former Socceroos captain Craig Foster, spoke ahead of Multicultural Round to rally the Victorian football community to support the campaign.
“It’s wonderful that we will be celebrating with Football Victoria and all of our community a Multicultural Round this season," Foster said.
“To have the opportunity through a Multicultural Round to celebrate what we are as a game, is very special for all of us.”
You can show your support online with the official Victorian Multicultural Commission’s hashtag #ProudToBelong.