This week is Multicultural Round, an opportunity for the AFL community to celebrate one of the greatest things about our game - diversity. ‘Many Cultures, One Game’ is the theme and if there’s one place where those words ring most true, it’s at North Melbourne in The Huddle.

The Huddle has 15 AFL multicultural ambassadors who hail from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds and help with an array of sport and education programs to get young people engaged in their local community.

One ambassador who is having a profound impact is Nasya Bahfen, a senior lecturer in journalism and media at Monash University and a journalist with 15 years’ experience in Australia and overseas.

Nasya is Islamic and was born in Jakata but grew up in Melbourne, making her acutely aware of the challenges facing young people who have migrated to Australia. Despite her love for soccer, Nasya is now obsessed with Aussie Rules and is committed to bringing people together through the sport.

“I put my hand up (to be a multicultural ambassador) because I thought it really aligns with a lot of the things that I’m really passionate about, which is things like using sport, particularly Aussie Rules to help people understand what life in Australia is about, especially if they’re from different cultural and religious backgrounds,” Nasya said.

“In my professional work, I do research on things like the barriers that stop, particularly Muslim women, from being able to play sport. We’ve identified that a lot of those things revolve around space and cost. Being an AFL multicultural ambassador with North Melbourne allows us to overcome some of those barriers.”

Since working with The Huddle, Nasya has been helping break down preconceived ideas some people may have had about AFL matches and showing them that everyone belongs at the footy.

“They might be a little apprehensive about the amount of booze that’s there (at the footy) but we can tell them that there’s dry areas at the stadium. Or they might be worried about not being able to pray and we can tell them that the stadium has prayer rooms,” Nasya explained.

“I really like the notion of introducing people to the game and the atmosphere of a game. Being supported in things like bringing a group of international students, my community is Indonesian so there’s a lot of students there, to show people that there’s a place for them at a footy match.”

Nasya and her husband Jonathan live just metres away from Arden Street and since becoming involved in The Huddle, they have become avid North fans. Nasya is proud to play a part in the work the club is doing to impact the local area especially by getting more girls involved in sport.

“I never had a club to begin with so now I’m a North supporter. It’s along the same lines as picking an organisation that fits in line with your values, I really like what they’re doing with The Huddle and it’s a good club to be a fan of,” Nasya said.

“I’ve been really lucky to run female sports programs at The Huddle and the clubs’ been incredibly supportive of that. I really enjoy this program.”

Nasya will bring the group of girls who attend her weekly drop-in sport program to North’s Round 21 clash against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.

“I’m really excited about taking them to a match and the girls are very excited.”