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LIFE may well imitate art, but AFL multicultural ambassador and Port Adelaide player David Rodan wants it to imitate football.

In the lead up to Multicultural Round, Rodan said today's game functioned as much more than a source of entertainment; he said it was a tool that could help the next generation develop into the people we should all strive to be.

"It's showing children who are growing up, watching TV, that we started where you started - we're the same," Rodan said.

"Bachar (Houli) has done that brilliantly in Melbourne with the prayer rooms and what he's trying to push and people of his culture are starting to think, 'oh jeez - he's just like us'.

"When people start to think that and start believing, that's when we start winning."

As one of 10 AFL multicultural ambassadors named in March, Rodan has been working hard to turn his dream into a reality.

Over the past six weeks he, along with others from Port Adelaide and the SANFL, have visited more than 200 of the country's newest Australians in two to three schools a week to introduce them to our national game.

The program culminated with the David Rodan multicultural gala day on June 22; a time to celebrate and implement the skills Rodan had helped teach, as well as sample delicacies from Fiji, Africa, India and South America.

While he admitted he was excited by what prospects would be uncovered during such football programs, Rodan insisted there was more to them than finding the next Nic Naitanui or Harry O'Brien.

He described football as a "vehicle" and said it helped families new to Australia integrate into the community.

 "There are so many different aspects at a football club that can help families feel involved and that's all these families need when they come from overseas; to feel connected to something," he said.

"While they're connected to the football club their families can be connected to the community."

Rodan knows better than most how beneficial an involvement in football can be for newly immigrated families, having moved to Melbourne from Fiji when he was just three.

An association with football clubs was valuable in helping his family adjust to life in Australia and, having experienced it first hand, Rodan said he felt obligated to gift others that same chance.

"The only thing my dad knew was rugby, but there was no rugby club, so he threw me into football because it was the closest thing," he said.

"Just getting involved in that football club made my parents feel connected to their community and they made new friends.

"I've seen my parents struggle a little bit in a country they didn't know anything about … but the benefits the kids can get by using football as a vehicle is massive.

"I feel my job is to provide those kids with that opportunity."

Rodan is a walking example of the benefits football can deliver both on and off the field.

As the first Fijian-born player to reach 100 AFL games, he personifies multiculturalism in Australian sport.

But Rodan said the embracing of different cultures found was vital not only for Australian football, but for Australian society.

"It's very important to know where you come from, your heritage and your culture… [and] the more people know about your culture, the less ignorant they're going to be with racism and all that sort of stuff," he said.

"Some really big things are going to come from this development in football which is really exciting and something I want to be a part of."

Harry Thring covers news for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry