Melbourne (July 18, 2014): This year Fox Footy will be broadcasting live commentary of the Australian Footy Multicultural Round 2014 in Punjabi. Two Sikh Punjabi commentators who have been selected, will bunker down at ‘FOX Footy’ as special guest commentators during Multicultural Round of Footy or Australian Football organized by Essendon Football Club on Sunday afternoon of July 20, 2014.
Here are the Punjabi Commentators for Australian Footy Multicultural Round 2014
Meet Gurtej Singh
Gurtej Singh is originally from Punjab and is a senior commentator at Qaumi Awaz Radio Australia. . He was Footified after watching the Cats vs Pies Grand Final in 2011, where he was overwhelmed by the passion shown by footy fans. In fact, he likens that passion to a sport called Kabbadi, played in Northern India, which is just as popular as footy here on Aussie soil.
Meet Manpreet K Singh
Manpreet Singh, will be rocking along with Akali Gurtej Singh this time. She is a Sikh-Aussie Punjabi Program host with SBS Punjabi radio. Manpreet Kaur was recognised for her work ranging from investigative reporting on the rash of deaths of Indian students in Australia in recent years, to inspirational stories of friendship between Sikhs and Australians.
As a feature of Multicultural Round, Punjabi Footy fans will be able to watch Essendon Football Club’s Sunday afternoon game on FOX Footy with Punjabi commentary by simply pressing red button.
Gurtej Singh during his recent visit at Essendon Football Club said, “I think the Indian fans will love this, it’s excellent, it is a good way to attract other communities to the footy.”
While not fluent in Punjabi or Hindi languages, Essendon Football Club Captain Jobe Watson said he was looking forward to his role in the special comments chair. He will also be the part of commentators’ team.
“The club has a strong connection with the Indian community and I think this is a great way to not only embrace multicultural round but to make AFL more accessible to a large portion of our community who clearly love the game,” Jobe said.