Since the Australian Football League (AFL) grand final is here, here's some footy news for the Indian community of Australia.
Despite their large numbers in Australia today, the representation of the Indian community in footy is microscopic. That may not remain true in the coming few years with a new footy club that is gaining strength in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, home to a large chunk of Indian migrants, especially of Punjabi heritage. Earlier this month, the area’s local Federal MP Rob Mitchell spoke about this club in parliament in Canberra. State MP Ros Spence is also an ardent supporter of the club.
Hume Bombers, supported by the Essendon Football Club, also known as Essendon Bombers, is a new footy club largely populated by young children of Indian migrants. It is headquartered in Craigieburn, a suburb in Melbourne which has a generous slice of Australia’s Indian, particularly, Punjabi population. The presence and impact of Craigieburn’s Punjabi population is highlighted with the fact that it is home to the largest Sikh temple in the southern hemisphere, Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha; Kali Mata Mandir, a Hindu temple dedicated to a popular temple of the Hindu Goddess Kali in Punjab’s city of Patiala and there is a another Hindu temple coming up near the Sikh temple, which also is promoted largely by Punjabi Hindu devotees.
“The Hume Bombers is one of its kind in Australia recognised by the AFL’s innovative model of bringing diverse communities together to share Australia’s greatest pastime, Aussie-rules football. The club is celebrating and embracing multiculturalism and diversity through sport and bringing our community together in such fantastic teams,” said Mr Mitchell earlier this month in the federal Parliament, adding that he “particularly has got to thank Mr Avtar Singh and Mr Guri Singh...” Mr Guri Singh, also a local resident, is a supporter of the club.
The club began promoting footy amongst the City of Hume’s Indian community, under the AFL AusKick programme. “Most of our players are from Punjabi families. However, we do have non-Punjabi members also. When I first came to Australia 20 years ago, being an avid sportsperson, I was disappointed to see that our community had no involvement in Australia’s beloved sport. Now that we live in Australia, we need to be like others here and also contribute to this society which loves sport,” Avtar Singh, the founder of Hume Bombers, told SBS Punjabi.
When asked about the challenge he faced while convincing Indians, who are ardent lovers of cricket, to send their children to train in footy, a sport alien to their culture, Mr Singh said the road was bumpy at the start but now the ride is smooth because our players thoroughly love the game. “It was a struggle to convince Indian parents at the start. They would question our choice and even propose tennis as an alternative, if not cricket. It took some convincing by explaining to them that the preferred sport of Australian children is footy, even though their parents might still prefer cricket. But once they enrolled their children in our club, there’s no looking back. You should come and see our training sessions, the kids just don’t want to go home,” laughs Mr Singh.
The players of Hume Bombers currently train at a playground in Craigieburn’s Highlands area and hopes to get its home ground in the near future. “That will be a huge achievement for us, as that will be Hume Bombers’ territory,” Mr Singh says with hope. He is certain that in the next five to six years, Hume Bombers will play in the AFL. “That is the dream I am living for,” says Mr Singh, sounding dreamy yet confident.
Footy, formally known as the AFL, is perhaps the most popular game in the country, with cricket a close second. Cricket is India’s beloved sport and presumably, by extension, of the surging Indian community living in Australia.
Listen to the interview in Punjabi by clicking on the player at the top of this page.
