The AFL today launched the 2017 Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round at Melbourne’s Parliament Gardens outside a statue of Sir Doug and Lady Gladys Nicholls.

This is the eleventh year the AFL has celebrated Indigenous Round and the second time the Round has been celebrated since being renamed after Sir Doug Nicholls.

Sir Doug Nicholls was born on Cummeragunja mission in New South Wales in 1906, he played football for Fitzroy before becoming a Pastor and pioneer for reconciliation in Australia. He then went on to become the first Indigenous person to be Knighted and hold the position of Governor of South Australia.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan emphasised the importance of Sir Doug Nicholls’ legacy in a year when the 50^th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum takes place.

“Sir Doug was a pioneer of reconciliation in Australia throughout his lifetime, and he found that sport, in particular Australian Football, was a powerful vehicle for this message,” Mr McLachlan said.

“On May 27 1967 a Federal referendum was held which resulted in the elimination of discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples within the Australian Constitution.

“We are proud to be the first sporting body in the Australia, and one of the first in the world, to have introduced a racial vilification policy which is now over twenty years old." 

Round 10 of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season will celebrate the contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made to Australian Football.

AFL General Manager of Inclusion and Social Policy Tanya Hosch said the significant outcome of the 1967 Referendum still impacted today’s game and grassroots programs.

“It’s pleasing to see that a number of today’s elite players will be changing their playing numbers to commemorate the 1967 Referendum and the significance it still has to them and their families,” Ms Hosch said.

“For the first time since 2006, there will be more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players on AFL lists. This year there are 81 male players who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander which makes up ten per cent of AFL lists, and 11 female players who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in the NAB AFL Women’s Competition.

Each match during the Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round will have the Aboriginal flag painted in the centre circle, the Torres Strait Island flag painted on one of the 50 metre markings on each half of the field, and ‘67’ placed on the other 50 metre markings.