The idea of their children taking up Australia’s homegrown football code, Australian rules, can be a challenge for migrant parents unfamiliar with the game.
“It was a bit of a shock to dad – he just turned his head and was like, ‘Sorry, could you say that again?'” said Jayden Nguyen, recounting the day he told his parents he wanted to play Aussie rules, aka “footy”.
That conversation happened when Nguyen was in primary school. Just over a decade later, he has become the first player of Vietnamese heritage to play the game at the highest level.
It was a similar experience for Samaon-born Western Bulldogs star Mua Laloifi, the first Pacific Islands woman to play in the AFLW, who admitted she never knew much about the game until she picked up a footy for the first time.
“I saw it on TV every now and then, and then I’d flick through it,” she said.
Aussie rules struggles for recognition in the Pacific, where rugby dominates.
“My parents never understood why they passed it forward.”
Children kick footballs at the AFL’s Cultural Heritage Series launch. The league says embracing many cultures is reflective of society.(Supplied: AFL)
Nguyen and Laloifi are two of four cultural diversity ambassadors the AFL has enlisted to help promote the sport among Australia’s migrant communities. The others are Collingwood premiership player Isaac Quaynor (Ghana) and former AFLW star Akec Makur Chuot (South Sudan).
The four were unveiled this week as the AFL this week launched its 2026 Cultural Heritage Series, which it hopes will attract thousands of new fans and players from a more diverse cultural mix to the game.
“Our game is an awesome connector of communities,” Quaynor said.
Chuot said when she moved to Australia as a 12-year-old she wanted to find a way to fit and “speak the language of Australia”.
“The football doesn’t see your colour,” she said.
The initiative comes as ABC Australia broadcasts more games into 18 Asian nations and the game begins to lift its profile, both in Asia and the Pacific.
Each of the AFL’s 18 clubs will host a match a theme of “Many Cultures, One Game”, delivered through community engagement and match-day experiences on and off the field during the men’s season and again in the women’s season later in the year.
Four matches will also be broadcast with Hindi and Mandarin commentary.
AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley said all sports – not just Australian rules – were seeking a sense of connection with the community.
“These four (ambassadors) and others in both the men’s and women’s comp are reflective of modern Australia,” he said.
“It’s about making the game available, making it accessible, but importantly creating the environments where people feel like they can genuinely belong.”
The AFL’s Head of Cultural Diversity engagement, Belle Lim, said the series would help showcase the game to a new set of fans.
For Nguyen, the chance to showcase culture offers a unique perspective for the sport.
“Australia is such a diverse country, and I feel like in the AFL we are embracing the individuality and each other’s differences,’’ said Nguyen.
“So I say to these young kids, just believe you belong (because) your differences don’t make you different, they make you unique.”
Posted 13h ago13 hours agoThu 19 Mar 2026 at 4:01am, updated 13h ago13 hours agoThu 19 Mar 2026 at 4:15am