Footy the winner at 2022 TAC Unity Cup

The 2022 TAC Unity Cup took place at La Trobe University on Sunday 27 March with hundreds of young multicultural Victorians coming together to engage positively with their peers and the community through their mutual love of Aussie rules football.

The round-robin style event saw teams compete against each other in games of AFL9s, a modified game which allowed players to show off their talent on the field. Off the field they were able to socialise with their peers and engage in a variety of other activities.

TAC and the L2P program were set up all day providing road safety information and gift bags to the players and spectators. The make-your-own footy card booth was one of the highlights with the players.

The Australian Federal Police were also in attendance showing support for the event and providing education to the players.

Players pose in police gear with a member of the AFP.

Richmond AFLW player and former TAC Unity Cup program coordinator, Akec Makur Chuot attended the event and participated in matches, and she commented on the significance of the program.

"The Unity Cup program is a very special program...I [came] with a group of girls and a lot of them are young mothers and it's a great opportunity for them to be physically active."

"We've come back from COVID and to see all the kids out here from different schools, different backgrounds, just doing what we all love which is footy, it's really special."

Akec Makur Chuot embraces one of the players after a match.

Whilst medals and trophies were awarded to the winners, the results were an afterthought, as it was clear that the event had succeeded in providing a fantastic opportunity to bring together different cultural communities to play the game of football and learn valuable life skills.

For a full album of photos from the cup, head to our Facebook.