Multiculturalism is booming in the NRL while the AFL is getting whiter

March 23, 2026 — 10:53am

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The NRL is becoming more multicultural by the day, while the AFL is getting whiter.

And at AFL HQ, they’re getting worried.

The NRL has been heading this way for some time. A touch over half the playing population is Pasifika or Maori – 51 per cent to be exact. A further 12 per cent is Indigenous.

Of the 550-odd NRL players, 27 per cent were born overseas, 57 per cent have a father born overseas, 47 per cent have a mother born overseas and 68 per cent have a grandparent born overseas.

In the AFL, it is an entirely different story. The elite level of the game is getting whiter by the year.

About 14 per cent of the 800-odd AFL players are “multicultural” – as in, they have a parent born overseas or were born overseas themselves.

There has been an increase in the number of players of African descent, but there is only an average of about one per club. It is hoped this number will grow rapidly during the next decade or two.

Alarmingly,the game’s Indigenous population is declining, and the AFL is in a panic.

Only 62 listed players – or 7.5 per cent of the playing group – are Indigenous.

That’s down from 86 in 2020, and is a 20-year low. The number is........

© Brisbane Times