Zreika awarded Multicultural Player of the Round

Image courtesy of Auburn-Penrith Giants Media.

 

During Round 19 of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, the GIANTS Multicultural Festival will be held at Spotless Stadium ahead of Saturday’s game against St Kilda.

Part of one of the most culturally diverse regions in Australia, the GIANTS have long supported the growth of Australian Football in Western Sydney with an annual Multicultural Festival.

To acknowledge the diverse nature of our Indigenous game and to profile the exceptional talent of players from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds (CALD), this year AFL NSW/ACT introduced the Multicultural Player of the Round Award. Nominations were sought from clubs across New South Wales and the ACT, and following, Haneen Zreika from the Auburn-Penrith Giants has been awarded the inaugural award, for which she says she in honoured.

“I feel really excited and honoured to be named in something so amazing, and it really means a lot that it’s for something relating to my multicultural background,” said Zreika.

A rookie listed player in 2018 for the GIANTS AFLW side, Zreika is proud of her Lebanese heritage. As her nomination says, she hopes to use her influence as an AFLW player to inspire culturally diverse girls to believe in their potential and not see their diversity as a limitation.

Zreika’s big personality matches her impact on the field as she inspires her teammates to lift their intensity and work rate.

As a rugby league convert, Zreika continues to encourage people whose first choice of sport may not be AFL, to give it a go.

“You never know until you try something.

“AFL might not be something people usually watch or play, saying this from my background, knowing not many people watch or play it.

“Honestly, you will be surprised at how much you will enjoy this amazing sport.”

Zreika’s was nominated by her local club, the Auburn-Penrith Giants, one of AFL Sydney’s most culturally diverse clubs. With players from more than twenty different cultural backgrounds, the club is very active in encouraging and promoting the game of AFL to diverse communities across western Sydney.

AFL NSW/ACT congratulates Haneen Zreika on being named the 2018 Multicultural Player of the Round.

For the first time the GIANTS, with the support of Multicultural NSW, will bring the Multicultural Festival within the Spotless Stadium precinct before Saturday’s game against the St Kilda. We will celebrate the diverse cultures that make our game so great with loads of family-friendly entertainment, cultural performances workshops, clinics, food stalls and even rides. The Festival begins from 1pm, click here for maps, the schedule and more.

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