Richmond defender Bachar Houli and his Academy will tour Melbourne during the 2016 AFL Grand Final week.

A week-long program based in Melbourne, the Bachar Houli Academy provides pathways for young Muslim men across the country aspiring to play AFL football.

The program also focuses on strengthening players’ leadership abilities and promoting values while providing a unique football development opportunity.

The Bachar Houli Academy is an extension of the Bachar Houli Cup – a platform for Islamic schools across the country to play AFL against other schools in a friendly, fun and safe environment.

Participants from the Bachar Houli Cup may be selected into the Bachar Houli Academy – which has a focus on high performance football talent for emerging junior players aged between 15-18 years from an Islamic background.

Richmond Football Club defender and Australia Post AFL Multicultural Player Ambassador, Bachar Houli, said he was proud to be facilitating the Academy program for the fourth consecutive year.

“Team sport is a fantastic vehicle to engage youth in the community and I’m really proud that the program has grown quite significantly since it was established in 2012,” Houli said.

“The program is about inspiring a new generation of Muslim leaders and to help them achieve their goals. It’s terrific to see these young boys involved in our great game and what better week to do it than Grand Final week in Melbourne.”

With representatives from across the country, the Bachar Houli Academy team will showcase their skills against the Jim Stynes Squad at Punt Road Oval this Thursday.

AFL Head of Multicultural & Indigenous Partnerships & Programs, Ali Fahour, said the Bachar Houli Academy is a fundamental component of the AFL’s long-term diversity and inclusion strategy.

“The Bachar Houli programs engage around 10,000 students across 30 Islamic colleges nationally. The Academy is an opportunity for young Muslim men to be exposed to pathways to pursue AFL, while learning important leadership skills to take back to their respective communities,” Fahour said.

“We are proud that Islamic children across the country have the opportunity to be exposed to our great game of AFL through the fantastic work of Bachar’s programs, which continue to expand year on year.”

The Bachar Houli Medallist will be presented at an evening function with the Rio Tinto AFL Woomeras team this Thursday.