The GIANTS are delighted to launch the Welcome Game when they take on Carlton at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday night.
The Welcome Game celebrates the diverse communities of Western Sydney and welcomes new audiences to Australian Rules football.
The game will feature a pre-game multicultural festival within the Stadium precinct from 5:30pm that will celebrate and spotlight the incredible diversity of the Western Sydney community and the contributions they’ve made to our great game.
Featuring a range of cultural performances, music, food and entertainment across the game day, the Welcome Game will showcase the rich cultural diversity of Western Sydney and brings together new and existing fans to experience Australian Rules football.
GIANTS Chief Executive Officer David Matthews said the club is excited about the special GIANTS initiative.
“Welcome Game is a celebration of diversity. It acknowledges the contribution that diverse communities have made to our game for generations and welcomes new fans,” Mr Matthews said.
“Western Sydney is an incredibly rich and diverse cultural region in our country and we’re incredibly excited to welcome along and celebrate people of all backgrounds in what’s sure to be an amazing event.
“Our club aims to represent all people across our communities and this event is about representing them and welcoming them to be a part of our great game before what will be an exciting clash with the Blues.”
On Tuesday the GIANTS launched the Welcome Game while Minister for Multiculturalism and Minister for Sport, the Hon. Steve Kamper MP announced significant funding for the club’s multicultural community programs – the Stephen Coniglio and Amanda Farrugia Cups.
The programs are designed to connect male and female students from non-English speaking backgrounds across 45 Western Sydney schools to their local communities through education and physical activity.
The program culminates with two AFL carnivals held at a gala day – the Stephen Coniglio Cup and Amanda Farrugia Cups – named after two of the GIANTS’ most high-profile players.
This program targets students in the Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool, Fairfield, Cumberland and Canterbury Bankstown local government areas and between 2020-2023 the program delivered eight Cups, 48 school peak performance education workshops and eight cultural awareness workshops reaching over 4000 participants.
Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said:
“The sporting ground, is common ground. Sport has a way of uniting communities, and the NSW Government is proud to support the Stephen Coniglio and Amanda Farrugia Cups.
“The event gives students from multicultural backgrounds in western Sydney the opportunity to learn about Australian culture through sport.
“The GIANTS’ efforts to promote community harmony in western Sydney through AFL are commendable and I hope that some of the players competing in this year’s tournament don the GIANTS jumper in the future.”
The GIANTS take on Carlton on Saturday at ENGIE Stadium with the multicultural festival to begin at 5:30pm and first bounce at 7:30pm.
