The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Souths Cares will celebrate Indigenous sporting excellence across Australia when it plays the Parramatta Eels at Allianz Stadium in round 12 of the 2023 NRL Premiership, which will be the game’s Indigenous Round.
In a week-long celebration of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander sporting excellence, the Rabbitohs, in conjunction with Souths Cares, the NRL, Venues NSW, the Nine Network, and game day partner Zoom Video Communications, Inc., are aiming to produce a series of events to rival any previous celebrations of Indigenous culture in sport in Australia by celebrating everything that our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities contribute to sport in our great country.
The Rabbitohs will play their first home game at Sydney’s newest stadium, Allianz Stadium, on Friday 19 May at 8pm, round 12 of the NRL season. This is the South Sydney-based venue where the Rabbitohs had two of their biggest victories in season 2022, those being two Finals Series wins over the Roosters and Sharks in successive weeks in September.
The week-long celebrations will include a Rabbitohs and Souths Cares launch event to be held at the Usana Rabbitohs Centre, the Club’s soon-to-be-opened Community and High Performance Centre at Heffron Park in Maroubra, on the Sunday prior to the game which will highlight the traditions and ceremonies of Australia’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people as well as the fantastic community work of Souths Cares.
Game day will see some of Australia’s leading musical artists performing pre-game who will be announced closer to the date of the match. It will also highlight grassroots musical and dance performances, a Welcome to Country, and a special performance of ‘Glory, Glory to South Sydney’ played on the didgeridoo.
Some of Australia’s highest-achieving Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander sportspeople from across Australia’s biggest sports will also be highlighted and celebrated at Allianz Stadium for their achievements which is being supported by Rabbitohs Platinum Partner and match day sponsor, Zoom.
Zoom have re-joined the Rabbitohs family in 2023 as a Platinum Partner, as well as recommitting to the Rabbitohs charity arm, Souths Cares, which has played a leading role in establishing the Rabbitohs as the NRL’s leading Indigenous club on the back of its programs and activities in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities for over 17 years, with programs and support being offered 365 days of the year.
South Sydney will wear the Rabbitohs 2023 Indigenous Jersey in this match, once again designed by Uncle Joe Walker. A proud Wahlabul man, Uncle Joe is designing the Rabbitohs Indigenous jersey for the sixth time in 2023.
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly says the Club is aiming for the stars with their 2023 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander sporting excellence celebrations.
“The Indigenous community is so important to our Club. We have some of the most outstanding young men and women representing our Club week-in and week-out, and it’s very important that we celebrate the contribution of our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters on a huge scale in the NRL’s Indigenous Round,” Mr Solly said.
Blake Solly“We’ll be looking beyond our own Club, beyond Rugby League, into other sports, as we pay tribute to our First Nation people that are achieving, or have achieved, great things on a national and international scale.
“We’re all very excited about this concept and we feel that we can match or out-do anything that has previously been done in Australian sport and celebrate people of all walks of life at this game in a way only the Rabbitohs can.
“Both the Rabbitohs and Souths Cares are very thankful to the NRL, Venues NSW, the Nine Network and Zoom for supporting our concept and helping us bring this event to life.”
Souths Cares CEO, Alisha Parker-Elrez, said: “We will be celebrating our culture, our connections to community, and the amazing achievements of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in sporting endeavours over recent decades at the events we’re holding that week in the lead up to the game.
“We’re also very appreciative of the support from the team at Zoom. They are not only a match day sponsor - they are a genuine partner of Souths Cares and our Club and they have played an integral role in helping us put together our plans for this huge event.
“Zoom is an all-in-one collaboration that enabled people and businesses worldwide to stay connected over the last few years and we have all used Zoom at some stage over the past three years during the times of the pandemic. Souths Cares used Zoom extensively to continue our community programs and to stay connected with our communities throughout the years of the pandemic and we connect with our stakeholders regularly using our Zoom Rooms in our offices. Quite simply, Zoom has become an important part of our everyday lives.
“Zoom is achieving great things on the world stage, connecting people all over the globe at a time when that personal connection is so important, and we’re delighted to have them on board to help us celebrate Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people doing great things in the national and international landscape.
Alisha Parker-Elrez“We’re excited about this game day event, our week of celebrations, and showing everyone just how much the Rabbitohs and Souths Cares value our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities.”
Rabbitohs full-season Ticketed Members will be able to redeem their tickets for this match from 3pm on Tuesday 14 March. Tickets will go on sale to all other Rabbitohs Members at the same time of 3pm on Tuesday 14 March. Eels Members will have access to tickets for this game from 3pm on Wednesday 15 March, and tickets will go on sale to the general public at 3pm on Thursday 16 March. For early access to tickets, Rabbitohs Membership packages are available by visiting https://membership.rabbitohs.com.au/. Tickets will be available by visiting www.ticketek.com.au, by calling 132 849 or by visiting a Ticketek outlet.
Corporate hospitality for this game at Allianz Stadium is available from the Rabbitohs by visiting https://corporate.rabbitohs.com.au, by emailing [email protected] or by calling (02) 8306 9997.
