The AFL has been recognised on the international stage, winning the ‘Purpose-led Partnership with a Non-Profit’ category at the 2026 Sport Positive Awards.
The award recognises the work of the AFL’s partnership with SisterWorks to transform end-of-life football textiles into new opportunities for people and the planet.
Through the initiative, unwanted AFL uniforms, apparel, event banners and promotional fabrics are repurposed into high-quality, functional products through SisterWorks’ local social enterprise manufacturing hub.
The model diverts valuable textiles from landfill while creating meaningful employment opportunities for women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker backgrounds.
The AFL is investing in product development, prototyping and storytelling to help establish a scalable circular textile model for the sporting industry, with the ambition of supporting AFL clubs to adopt the approach and embed circularity across football.
AFL Head of Sustainability Rita Nehme said the recognition reflected the strength of a partnership designed to deliver environmental, social and economic value.
“We are proud to see the AFL’s partnership with SisterWorks recognised on the global stage, alongside an outstanding field of organisations using sport as a force for positive change.
“This initiative is about more than giving football textiles a second life – it is about creating meaningful employment, strengthening communities and showing how sustainability can generate environmental, social and economic value at the same time.
“By combining the AFL’s scale and influence with SisterWorks’ expertise in ethical manufacturing and women’s economic empowerment, we are building a model that can grow across football and help lower the barriers to circular practices across the sporting industry.”
Dinithi, SisterWorks sister working on the AFL upcycling partnership said:
“Getting to work on products for the AFL was something I never expected when I came to Australia.
"It gave me proper employment and new skills, but honestly, it also just made me feel more connected to life here.
“Like I'm part of something that matters to people in this country. That meant a lot to me.”
SisterWorks Chief Commercial Officer Shamila Gopalan said:
“This award belongs to our Sisters. Women who came to Australia as migrants and refugees, walked into our manufacturing hub, and turned unwanted textiles into something extraordinary with their hands. The AFL believed in them.
“That belief created real jobs, real skills, and for many of our Sisters, a feeling of belonging in this country for the first time. That’s what happens when a partnership goes beyond a contract. It changes lives.”
In the first six months of 2026 the partnership delivered:
- 150 kilograms of textiles diverted from landfill
- 1,140 employment hours created for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds
- An estimated $196,080 in Social Return on Investment, based on $4.30 of social value created for every $1 invested.
- 17 women working on the AFL project
The AFL and SisterWorks were selected from a 10-strong global shortlist that included partnerships involving the Canadian Olympic Committee, Great Barrier Reef Foundation and McLaren Racing, Newcastle United Football Club, VfL Wolfsburg and Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The Sport Positive Awards celebrate organisations and individuals using the power of sport to address climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice. The 2026 winners were announced during the Sport Positive Summit on 6 October.
