(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
Free entry for international passport holders, Bollywood dancing and commentary in Hindi and Mandarin.
The Australian Football League is hoping to entice more migrant Australians to get into Aussie rules during this weekend's multicultural round.
Sacha Payne reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
The multicultural round has become a permanent fixture on the AFL calender, following the success of the Indigenous round.
Kicking a footy around the backyard is the quintessential Australian childhood experience.
And it's an experience the chief executive of the AFL, Gillon McLachlan, hopes will be enjoyed by many more.
He wants more Australians from migrant backgrounds to get involved in the AFL.
And in turn, he says the AFL needs to reflect the 'changing face of Australia.
"Reflecting the growing diversity of Australia is extraordinarly important both in the context of where our game is now and where it's going to be, so this round I can only see getting bigger and bigger every year. We'll be celebrating different cultures throughout the games whether they be through food or music or art or Bollywood dancing or different stuff on concourses, in the crowd at games."
The AFL hosted its first multicultural round in 2011.
Victoria's Multicultural Minister, Matthew Guy says, like the Indigenous round, it's become a highly anticipated event.
Mr Guy says the AFL has played an important role in recognising diversity in Australia.
"Victoria is one of the most multicultural places in the world. And the rich harmony that this state embraces is something that we have to work toward. It doesn't just happen. And it's not just government that needs to be a leader in this field."
During this year's multicultural round, 18,000 people from multicultural communities across Australia be given tickets to AFL matches and international visitors will also get in free.
As well as Bollywood dancing, there'll also be African drumming, foods from a range of cultures, and even citizenship ceremonies between play.
The Greater Western Sydney Giants game against Geelong on July the 19th will be broadcast in Mandarin via narrowcast and online radio station, Muse Radio.
And the Essendon versus Western Bulldogs game on Sunday will be broadcast in Hindi on Fox Sport.
SBS Radio broadcaster Manpreet Singh will be part of the commentary team.
She says the commentary will be a mix of the languages commonly understood by Indian-Australians.
"The idea is to try and reach out to as many from the Indian sub-continent as possible. So our brief is very loose - to keep the language as accessible to as many people as possible. So let's see how all of this transpires, with a mix of Hindi and Punjabi, but the concept in itself is good, to have in-language commentary for an AFL game. It's a first for AFL."
Manpreet Singh says the Indian-language commentary recognises the growing interest from a community, which has traditionally been more interested in cricket.
And she says this is reflected in the growing number of Indian Australians now playing Aussie Rules.
"AFL tells me that there are three or four potential Indian players in the VFL (Victorian Football League) that might come through and there is definitely one in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, the VAFA, so hopefully in the not too distant future you may see a Singh or a Kumar or a Khan playing footy."
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