It's the AFL's designated Multicultural Round, so if a few aspects of the game look and sound a little strange this weekend, now you know why.
For starters, the Sherrin match ball will be emblazoned with the word 'Welcome' in six languages - Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, Greek, Italian, and Arabic - hence 'Bienvenidos', 'Benvenuti' and so on appearing in place of the usual advertising.
There will be bilingual 50m arc markings in six languages, and the hashtag #ManyCulturesOneGame written on the field in place of afl.com.au.
Umpires will wear orange wristbands and orange goal flags to represent harmony, and those fans who happen to tune in to 3ZZZ Community Radio will hear the Collingwood-Adelaide game being called in Mandarin.
There are other initiatives aimed at broadening the AFL audience: SBS Punjabi, for example, is giving away tickets for the GWS-Fremantle match at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
But there is also a practical element to the AFL's campaign to appeal to a more multicultural audience.
Ten clubs have opened their doors to multicultural coaches in 2017 after St Kilda's success with the newly named Alex Jesaulenko Program last year: the Saints placed Jamie Pi in their football program as part of the multicultural coaching pilot developed by the AFL and the AFL Coaches' Association.
A Chinese migrant, Pi has now moved into part-time employment with the Saints, working with their Next Generation Academy and community programs, and spending one day a week with their AFL coaches.
For Pi, the program has not only opened doors at St Kilda but seen him this year named coach of the AFL Victoria All-Nations team, an under-15s representative team made up of players from multicultural backgrounds.
This season, Essendon, Carlton, Richmond, Melbourne, Hawthorn, the Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast, Sydney, West Coast and Greater Western Sydney will also take on one participant under the Jesaulenko program.
