Bulldogs see growing Indian community as key to AFL’s future

The Western Bulldogs believe the AFL must rethink how it engages with Australia’s multicultural communities, with chief executive Ameet Bains saying the rapid growth of the Indian Australian population presents one of the game’s biggest opportunities.

Speaking at the Australia-India Leaders Forum on the eve of the AFL’s launch of its India strategy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Bains said football could no longer treat multicultural engagement as a secondary priority.

“I think we’ve all been guilty, from an AFL point of view and from a club point of view, of (just) dipping our toe into engaging the multicultural community and how we approach it,” he said.

“I think the change is that now the power of India can’t be denied. And I think that comes through domestically in the population change in our country. The Indian population that is moving here is really driving our population growth.”

Bains said embracing Australia’s changing demographics was essential if the AFL wanted to continue growing.

“If our game is to not only sustain itself into the future but thrive we need people who are living here to really embrace the game. We are the only professional sporting team based in the west of Melbourne and we see the growth through this corridor as phenomenal.”

The forum formed part of a week of Australia-India events in Melbourne, coinciding with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit and the launch of the AFL’s India strategy.

“I think we’ve all been guilty, from an AFL point of view and from a club point of view, of (just) dipping our toe into engaging the multicultural community and how we approach it”

Bains outlined three areas he believes AFL clubs should focus on to build stronger connections with multicultural communities: participation, fan engagement and community programs.

He said encouraging more children to play the game should begin in schools and pointed to encouraging participation figures already emerging in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

“The first is participation and how we can get kids to play the game and that really starts at school.

“The Western Football Netball League now has over 200 kids, boys and girls, who identify as of Indian origin playing which is a great start. In our own Next Generation Academy we have almost 6% Indian origin representation without any deliberate effort so that’s starting to grow.”

Bains said clubs also needed to reconsider how they marketed the game to Indian Australian families, arguing that traditional approaches often failed to reflect community expectations.

“We need people who are living here to really embrace the game. We are the only professional sporting team based in the west of Melbourne and we see the growth through this corridor as phenomenal”

“From a fan engagement perspective there are different ways of doing it and I think we need to shed some of the traditional ways of how we’ve sought to engage fans to come to our game.”

“Understanding how the Indian community works culturally, a trip to the football isn’t just one or two people, it might be 15 to 20 family members who want to attend so how do we engage and accommodate families is quite different consideration.”

He said research commissioned by the Bulldogs had sought to better understand why some members of the Indian community embraced Australian Rules football while others did not.

“We recently ran a research forum to better understand why fans of Indian origin connected with the game and the Bulldogs in particular, and why some family members and community members haven’t.”

“I think we need to do a better job of understanding what the disconnect is rather than making assumptions about how we get people to enjoy our game. We love our game so we’re always going to be biased.”

Bains said genuine community engagement ultimately depended on creating an environment where people felt welcome.

“The final part is community engagement. The most genuine and authentic connection we can really strive to have is in positively impacting the community.”

He pointed to the Bulldogs Community Foundation’s work across Melbourne’s west, including men’s and women’s health programs delivered in community languages.

“What we’ve sought to do, particularly with our men’s and women’s health programs, is run them in language … so participants are getting educated in health and wellbeing by facilitators they can connect to culturally.”

“I think creating the space culturally that people feel safe and comfortable in at your football club is key, because ultimately a sense of belonging, a sense of community, that’s the starting point.”