Nestled among the trees at Shepparton’s Victory Park next to the cricket ground is a sports pitch of a different kind.
Afghan men in Shepparton gather here to play ‘sangi rag’, a traditional game popular in their homeland.
Greater Shepparton City Council officially unveiled the pitch on Monday after working with the Afghan community and the Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District for several years to find and construct a new playing area.
Played in teams of four or five, sangi rag involves throwing smooth stones at a target from distance, with each player given 10 throws to complete a round.
The closest team to the target each round gains a point, and the first team to 10 points wins.
Games, before the COVID-19 pandemic, were held in bushland off Archer St in Kialla, but after several snake sightings in the area, the community reached out to see what could be done.
Abdullah Naveed, a community development officer at the Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District and Hazara community leader, fielded much of the community concern.
He said finding a new area was necessary not only because of snake sightings, but for the mental health of community members, many of whom lived in Shepparton on temporary protection visas, isolated from families back home.
“It was before the pandemic when the community was playing at the end of Archer St in the trees; they would come to my home or call me to say that one day one of us will lose our life because of a snake bite,” Mr Naveed said.
“Please do something for us, if we stay at home we will get sick, and if we keep playing, one day we’ll be in danger.”
The purpose-built pitch was constructed by council’s Parks, Sport and Recreation team after hearing of the story from Mr Naveed.
“From all the community, we are so thankful to Shepparton city council, thank you very much, you heard your community’s voice,” he said.
The pitch in Shepparton is the second in Australia, according to Mr Naveed, after the first was established by the Afghan community in Dandenong.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said he was proud council was able to help uplift the local Afghan community.
“When I heard last week that we could come down for the official opening I had to look into how many other places have something like this,” Cr Sali said.
“As we heard before, there’s only one other in Australia, in Dandenong, so it’s fantastic to have something like this here in Shepparton.
“It’s an investment from council to support a traditional sport and the community.”