Peace Team returns
The community is invited to watch as Jewish and Muslim footballers face off in the last footy match on the MCG this year.
JEWISH and Muslim footballers will face off against one another in the last match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before the goal posts come down later this month.
But while the players will be adversaries on the day, the event is about peace and unity.
The players will train together in the lead-up to the match, and then the best players will come together next year as the latest iteration of the AFL Peace Team, which first competed more than 11 years ago, to compete against an Indigenous team and other multicultural teams.
“We have brought the essence of the Peace Team, which is about tolerance and unity, to a local level,” Tanya Oziel, who was behind the first AFL Peace Team of Palestinians and Israelis, told The AJN.
“All of this is about breaking new barriers and doing things that we haven’t done before.
“If we can do this through football and with the power of AFL then it would be amazing because we need it now in the Australian community.”
Richmond Football Club multimedia executive Tiffany Cherry said the club is excited to be involved in the project, with the Muslim players coming from the Bachar Houli Academy based at Richmond.
“We are excited to use football as a vehicle to bring about tolerance and peace,” she said.
The game, which will see players from both sides run through the same banner and exchange jerseys at the end of the match, will kick off the festival that the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club) puts on after the grand final.
The AFL Peace Team first competed in the 2008 AFL International Cup and returned in 2011 to compete again.
The team included 13 Israelis and 13 Palestinians who competed as a united Peace Team, making Australian sporting history.
The community is invited to join the teams on Sunday, September 29, at the MCG.
Gates open at 8.30am and the match starts at 9am.
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