“We exist for a deeper purpose. It is about connecting; connecting with each other and our culture, and connecting externally. We believe our club has a role to play in connecting with community, in strengthening and unifying community, in creating social value.’’ Coming from another club, it would sound like a motherhood statement. At Richmond, these sentiments were on Sunday backed up by boots on the ground, less than 12 hours after the last of their elated supporters had left the MCG. At 7.30am Sunday, a time when most premiership players would be home in bed, sprawled across someone else’s or still propping up a bar with mates, Bachar Houli was back at the MCG, coaching a team of Muslim teenagers against a team of Jewish boys from AJAX. Richmond's Bachar Houli: working hard on and off the field. Credit:AAP They were playing for the Harmony Cup. For the record, the Bachar Houli's Academy team won, which Houli says is entirely besides the point. “It wasn’t about the victory for us, it was about giving the boys an opportunity to practise what they have learned all week,’’ he says.

“It is not based on football skills, it’s about respect and harmony, it’s about being the next group of role models growing up in your community.” In keeping with Richmond’s creed of accepting and embracing difference, Houli left his premiership teammates early on Saturday night to go home and spend some time with his wife. Grand final day was also their 10-year anniversary. A non-drinking Muslim, he was in bed by 11pm. At Punt Road on Sunday, he was clear-eyed about the culture behind Richmond’s success. “Yes, we have got a great system on-field but our system off-field is far greater,’’ he says. “This club is not just about success on-field. It is about building opportunities for everyone. If you look at our squad, it is a great group of guys who have got great character. That is what Dimma (senior coach Damien Hardwick) focuses on when he recruits players to this football club. He looks at players that have got great character because it is infectious.

“We have got staff, we have got coaches, we have got players from all different backgrounds. You want to be able to build those relationships and buy in. I think this club does that better than any other club in the competition, hence why we have been successful in the past three years. We go beyond and we want to learn more about each other.” One of those staff is Rana Hussain, who joined the club three years ago and now serves as its diversity and inclusion co-ordinator. She says although the club has work to do, Tigerland is now a place which reflects the multicultural, fast-changing community with which it is trying to engage. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t do that,’’ she says. “I am constantly surprised when I hear people outside football clubs question these kind of decisions. Why wouldn’t you open your doors to everybody?” Richmond CEO Brendon Gale and president Peggy O'Neal celebrate on Sunday. Credit:AAP Through the Bachar Houli Academy, the Korin Gamadji Institute, the Melbourne Indigenous Training School, the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and women’s football, Richmond is heavily invested in social programs which promote multiculturalism and Indigenous affairs, protect children from abuse and support women in sport.

Richmond’s future ambitions, although still taking shape, will be housed in a proposed, $60 million redevelopment of their Punt Road headquarters which will provide better training facilities for the club’s two men’s teams, two women’s teams and wheelchair team, a permanent home where Houli can manage and potentially broadcast his programs and enough space for an administration which employs nearly 150 people. The new facility, which is planned for completion by 2023, will be named after William Cooper, an Aboriginal political activist and community leader. The federal government has pledged $15 million towards the redevelopment and the club is in negotiations with the state government about an additional grant. For its part, the club will receive a $2 million to $3 million boost from this year’s premiership and should record an operating surplus in excess of $4 million. Loading The club’s record tally of 103,667 members – already more people than can fit at one time in the MCG – is expected to swell further after this year’s success.