United’s diversity showcased in The Multicultural Game

Written by Melbourne United Media

Melbourne United have embraced and showcased the diversity of the city they play in during their Round 16 win over the Adelaide 36ers.

Starting with a Multicultural Festival outside of John Cain Arena, the ladder-leaders made sure to put on a show for their fans as they debuted their new Multicultural Jerseys.

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Running away with a 27-point victory, players and coaches alike shared the significance and importance of the win.

“It’s great,” United Captain Chris Goulding told the media following the game.

“Just the representation of everyone, there are a lot of guys that are away from home.  Whether you’re from Australia or from the other side of the world. (These jersey’s) are a little piece of their heritage and their family that we take with us onto the court.”

Teammate Brad Newley, who put together a great performance off the bench (15 points, four rebounds and a block), expanded on CG’s comments in the post-game press conference.

“Basketball is a great vehicle to drive multiculturalism,” he said.

“At the end of the day basketball is our language and what we’re all here for. It’s an interesting team that we’re on, I think we’re one of the rare NBL teams that doesn’t have an American import, we’re all from different parts of the globe.”

Having helped build this team, which featured players from Samoa, South Sudan, Nigeria, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Togo, Germany and the USA, assistant coach Rhys Carter said bringing together a diverse group has been a focus for United over the past few seasons.

“The last few years we’ve made a huge focus on bringing in guys from different cultures and different places in the world and embracing that and really trying to find out about each other’s culture.

“This round’s really special for us, we’ve got such a multicultural group, everyone’s flag is represented on the jersey. We love this round… to get a win on this day and celebrate such a multicultural team in a multicultural city is just a great result.”

United will enjoy a week between games, with their next game coming at home against the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday 27 March from 3pm.

Tickets to the contest, which will also be United’s Member Appreciation Game, are on sale NOW.