AFL Community Award

Winner: Australian Somali Football Association

(Left  to right) Ahmed Dini is congratulated by Ali Fahour, National Multicultural Programs Manager at the AFL

The Somali Men’s Football Association was named winner of the Community Awards sponsored by the AFL, for its staging of the inaugural Somali Men’s Football Championship last December, in Melbourne.

The championships involving youth from the Horn of Africa which ran over five days involved players who speak a variety of languages, so there were communication problems. There is only one publication to service the five communities but the Association used every tool available – email, Facebook, posters and flyers distributed at community hubs. All these tools drove potential supporters to a single website, created through a business partnership.  Somali-language telemarketing was conducted to win the trust and support of the community leadership.  They also used SBS and community radio.

Following the success of the championships the association formed one team from the five which went to Barcelona for the under 18 Mediterranean International cup - the premier under 18s tournament in the world.  As a result, of this the team has been incorporated into the Federal Federation of Victoria’s United Through Football Program, targeting Horn of Africa communities and funded by VicHealth, and has been adopted as the official talent identified team of the Football Federation of Victoria. Those players now have a direct pathway to have their talent recognised in this sport.

The Chair of the CRC, Stepan Kerkyasharian said: “The Somali community is now, through this project, starting to create a new wave of young community leaders who are already well integrated into Australian society. Those leaders have now brought forward a new generation of community heroes on the football field to inspire the youthful members of the community. The young men who have already been recognised for their sporting talent now have a direct pathway to mainstream Australia”, he said.