Western Bulldogs’ ‘red-hot’ push for Indian market revealed as AFL makes global ‘call to arms’

The Western Bulldogs have emerged as the AFL club most determined to help take Australian rules football to India, with their CEO leading a push for the league to one day stage a match for premiership points in the world’s most populous country.

CODE Sports’ Jon Ralph revealed on Tuesday that the Bulldogs are eager to make the Bulldogs the club of choice for current and future supporters from South Asian backgrounds, as the AFL simultaneously ponders venturing internationally once more.

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, Ralph revealed the club’s “red-hot” interest that has been driven by chief executive Ameet Bains.

“The Dogs have thrust their hand very high — they are adamant that they would love to be the first team to play in India for premiership points,” Ralph reported.

“It comes on a night where I think the AFL’s very likely to say: ‘We have absolute ambitions to do just that’.

“Ameet Bains, the club CEO, is red-hot on it. He’s not only open to exploring what a game might look like, but there are a million people who were born in India who now live in Australia. He wants his team to be the number one team that you are to support if you are from an Indian background.

“Andrew Dillon issued a call to arms last week to the AFL’s CEOs at the Commission meeting. He said: ‘We really need to tap into multicultural Australia, we need to grow the game in that respect’. The Dogs have done the work.”

The AFL has previously explored playing matches for premiership points in Wellington, New Zealand, between 2013 and 2015, and later in Shanghai, China, from 2017 to 2019.

However, India has long been viewed as a potential growth market for the AFL due to its strong cricket ties, vast population and significant Indian-Australian community. Estimations have their current population at just shy of 1.48 billion people.

Midweek Tackle panellist Corbin Middlemas backed the prospect of an Indian fixture, arguing the nation’s size and cricketing culture make it an ideal market for the league and its clubs to target.

“I’m with you Jon, I’m an expansionist. I feel like it would be a great move for the game. You think about the population there — one billion people,” Middlemas added.

“(They also have) the oval-shaped venues obviously given how strong cricket is ... it makes all the sense in the world to me that they would try and tap into that market.

“If you get a fraction of the percentage of the Indian population interested in Australian rules football, then there’s a huge economic benefit that comes with it.”

Bains told CODE Sports on Tuesday that the Bulldogs were uniquely placed to pursue the groundbreaking fixture, citing the club’s years of work building its Indian and multicultural supporter base.

Click here to read article