The round 21 AFL clash between Sydney and Essendon this week represented a quiet milestone in Australian sport. 

Jayden Nguyen became the first AFL men’s player with a Vietnamese background. 

The 19-year-old whose parents arrived in Australia in the 1980s, said he hoped he would be followed by other members of the Vietnamese community.

“I’m pretty wrapped with the support I’ve got over the past few days from the Vietnamese community, and the Asian community in general. I just feel like it helps push me and makes me feel proud about myself,” Jayden told the Guardian. 

And despite Essendon’s 14-point loss, Jayden’s debut game was an important step forward from struggling to adapt to the reality of a multicultural Australia. 

Vietnamese footy fan Tuan Nguyen says he was thrilled to see his community represented in the AFL. 

“It was huge for us. As Vietnamese Australians, we follow footy, but we have never seen ourselves represented among the players. Now we do,” Tuan said.  

“Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but for us it’s like a massive step forward,” he said. 

The AFL does not have an ideal record when it comes to inclusiveness. 

In 2019 it was shamed into issuing an apology to Swans champion Adam Goodes in 2019 for failing to support him during a period in which he was targeted by repeated booing and the behaviour of abusive fans on social media. 

And, last year a University of South Australia study found half of AFL match attendees reported racist barracking, compared to just a third of NRL fans and 27 per cent of those at A-Leagues soccer matches. 

The study found the situation had worsened in all sports over recent years. 

In the light of this, the AFL is set to launch a cultural diversity action plan which aimed at highlighting the game’s geographic and increasing participation and engagement within non-traditional football communities. 

The action plan promises to introduce new school and community programs in 21 targeted local government areas around the country. 

The plan sets out the guiding principles for the AFL’s priorities in attracting diverse communities, including co-design, intersectionality and an appreciation that for some communities, progress will be slow. 

Recently, AFL met in western Sydney for an education and training workshop. And the first programs, including a multicultural one in Dandenong and another with the Chinese community in Perth, kicked off. 

At the same time, in a first, Hindi commentary was provided by Fox Footy for the Western Bulldogs versus GWS Giants game and Mandarin commentary for the Brisbane versus Sydney match. 

The Western Bulldogs have long had outreach programs aimed at diverse communities, who make up a large proportion of the population in their western Melbourne heartland. 

The intention is not just to grow participation, it is to leverage the power of football to bring people new to the country, or those on its periphery, together. 

It includes a health program in languages including Vietnamese and Hindi, which has included attending matches with hundreds of footy novices.