Migration Museum public forum: Why Football?

September 29, 2022

By SANFL Media

Australia’s national game has enticed many diverse migrant backgrounds over the past 145 years of the SANFL.

Now three well-known multicultural South Australian football identities will talk about how they came to play footy, what it brought to their lives and the challenges they faced in a free public forum to be held at the Migration Museum.

The forum “Why Football?”, hosted by SANFL History Centre manager Chris Halbert, will feature on the panel:

• Peter Phillipou, former West Torrens and Eastlake (ACT) captain
• Bohdan Jaworsky, former Hawthorn and North Adelaide great
• George Fiacchi, seven-time Port Adelaide premiership player

The free public forum will be held on Wednesday, October 5 from 12pm-1pm. Bookings not required.

In a first for SANFL History, the Migration Museum has curated an exhibition to capture the stories of South Australian footballers who either came to Australia as migrants or were children to parents born overseas. The featured players highlight the diverse and the contribution they have made to the national game.

The display includes a slideshow of players in the Multicultural Team of the Century and memorabilia from former North Adelaide and Hawthorn player Bohdan Jaworskj and West Torrens’ Peter Phillipou, father of West Torrens and Footscray player Sam and grandfather of 2022 top AFL Draft Prospect Mattaes.

The SANFL History display at the Migration Museum is free entry and runs until November 7.