AFL
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Changkuoth Jiath with the SisterWorks Manufacturing Hub team
AFL and SisterWorks partnership recognised with global Sport Positive Award
The AFL and SisterWorks partnership has won the Purpose-led Partnership with a Non-Profit category at the 2026 Sport Positive Awards.
The international award recognises a partnership transforming end-of-life football textiles into practical new products while creating paid employment for women from migrant, refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds.
Turning football textiles into opportunity
Through the partnership, AFL uniforms, apparel, event banners and promotional fabrics are repurposed at the SisterWorks Manufacturing Hub in Melbourne.
The materials are transformed into functional products including tote bags, lanyards, cushion covers, toiletry bags and gym accessories. This extends the life of valuable textiles while creating paid manufacturing work and skills development.
For Dinithi, working on the AFL project created an opportunity she had not expected when she arrived in Australia.
“It gave me proper employment and new skills,” Dinithi said.
She also described feeling more connected to life in Australia through work on products associated with the AFL.
Impact in the first six months
During the first six months of 2026, the partnership delivered:
1,140 hours of paid employment
Employment for 17 women
150 kilograms of textiles diverted from landfill
An estimated $196,080 in social return on investment
The social return estimate is based on $4.30 of social value created for every $1 invested.
These results show how circular manufacturing can deliver environmental, social and economic value through one partnership.
Recognition on the global stage
The AFL and SisterWorks were selected from a global shortlist of 10 partnerships.
The shortlist included initiatives involving the Canadian Olympic Committee, Great Barrier Reef Foundation and McLaren Racing, Newcastle United Football Club, VfL Wolfsburg and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The Sport Positive Awards recognise organisations and individuals using sport to respond to climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice. The 2026 winners were announced at the Sport Positive Summit on 6 October.
SisterWorks Chief Commercial Officer Shamila Gopalan said the award recognised the women working at the Manufacturing Hub, whose skills and experience have transformed AFL textiles into practical new products.
A model designed to grow
The AFL is investing in product development, prototyping and storytelling to help establish a circular textile model for the sporting industry.
AFL Head of Sustainability Rita Nehme said the partnership combines the AFL’s scale and influence with SisterWorks’ experience in ethical manufacturing and women’s economic empowerment.
“We are building a model that can grow across football,” Rita said.
The longer-term ambition is to support AFL clubs to adopt the approach, reduce barriers to circular practices and create further employment opportunities through SisterWorks.
Turn surplus materials into practical impact
SisterWorks partners with organisations to transform surplus uniforms, textiles, banners and operational materials into useful products through local manufacturing.
Each project can support waste reduction, social procurement goals and paid employment for women from migrant, refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds.