GEORGIE PARKER: AFL venturing into Indian sporting market will be tough but is worth a crack

Some say taking an AFL game to Mumbai will be a complete waste of money, time, resources and energy.

I understand the scepticism. We’ve seen the AFL’s international ambitions before, particularly in China, and many would argue those efforts never delivered the breakthrough that was promised. It’s fair to ask whether this latest venture is heading down the same path.

But I think this is different.

That doesn’t mean it will be easy. In fact, I think India is one of the toughest sporting markets in the world. Cricket reigns supreme there in a way that Australians can barely comprehend. It’s more than a sport - for many, it’s religion. Breaking into that landscape is incredibly difficult.

Yet there is still merit in the AFL having a crack.

The reality is that modern Australia is a multicultural nation, and sport cannot afford to ignore that. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nearly one million Indian-born people now call Australia home, making India the largest overseas-born population in the country, narrowly ahead of England. When you include second-generation Indian Australians, that number is even greater and that figure is only likely to grow.

If the AFL wants to remain relevant to future generations of Australians, it needs to think beyond its traditional audience. It needs to consider how it connects with communities that are becoming an increasingly important part of our national story.

That is why I have a lot of respect for the Western Bulldogs, the first AFL club to put their hand up for this opportunity. The Bulldogs have long embraced the multicultural identity of Melbourne’s west and have shown a willingness to engage with communities that have not always felt represented in Australian football.

There is something powerful about refusing to accept that AFL should remain a sport dominated by the same demographics it has traditionally attracted. Growth requires visibility. We say it all the time in discussions about women’s sport: if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. The same principle applies here.

Now, the numbers in India itself are tiny. Reports suggest only around 20,000 people play AFL in a nation of more than 1.4 billion people. That sounds insignificant because, frankly, it is.

But I’m not convinced participation numbers in India are the AFL’s primary target.

Of course, it would be wonderful if more Indians took up the game. However, I suspect the bigger goal is creating awareness and familiarity among people who may one day migrate to Australia or who already have family and friends here. The AFL wants to become part of the cultural conversation for Australians of Indian heritage. It wants to be the winter sport they watch and follow, knowing cricket will always dominate summer.

Viewed through that lens, the strategy makes far more sense.

That said, I do have doubts about how much traction the game can gain on Indian soil. The grip cricket has on the country is extraordinary. To understand that, consider hockey.

Many Australians would be surprised to learn that hockey, not cricket, is officially India’s national sport. India has enjoyed tremendous success in hockey, particularly at the Olympics. It even has a professional domestic competition modelled in some ways on the IPL. Yet despite all that, hockey still lives in cricket’s shadow.

If India’s own national sport struggles to command attention and commercial power, it is reasonable to question whether AFL can make any meaningful dent at all.

That is why I think expectations need to be realistic. The AFL is not going to conquer India. It is not going to challenge cricket. It may not even establish a significant playing base there.

But success does not have to mean replacing cricket. Success could simply mean building awareness, creating connections and making Australian football more accessible to communities that are increasingly shaping modern Australia.

Many critics will declare this project destined for failure. Some of those voices are often the same people who resist the idea that Australia itself is changing.

The country is multicultural, and its sporting codes must evolve alongside it. If the AFL wants new fans, new audiences and new opportunities, then becoming more multicultural can only be a good thing.

Mumbai may not transform the game overnight. But standing still rarely grows anything.