CHAIRMAN Glen Barlett says ‘The Welcome Game’ is about bringing people together from all backgrounds to celebrate everything about Melbourne, including Australian football.

Speaking at the MCG on Tuesday for the launch of The Welcome Game, which will be part of the Melbourne and St Kilda game at the MCG on Sunday, Bartlett said it was an important step for the club.

“We really need to grow the game and our fan base as well, and we really wanted to welcome [people]. We’ve got some many diverse backgrounds in Melbourne and that really struck me [when I first moved to Melbourne],” he said.

“This is an iconic place and sometimes we can take it a bit for granted, but we just want to give everyone experience.

“The city is a growing city and we have the City of Melbourne [Lord Mayor] Robert Doyle right behind it as well. Diversity is really important and we need to grow the club as well and it’s an investment in our future as well.

“It’s opening the door to everyone – no matter where you come or where you’re born or who you love or what your preference is – it doesn’t matter. Everyone’s welcome at the MCG and it’s a big game on Sunday – Melbourne and the Saints. Everyone’s welcome.”

Bartlett said the club was “privileged to hold the name of this great city”.

“People who come to Melbourne – we want them to come to the MCG, come and visit the museum and come and see a game experience,” he said.

“We really want to welcome people to the MCG and to this great club.

“We were founded in 1858 – the oldest club – and there is a lot of heritage and history, something we’re very proud of.”

Meanwhile, Bartlett said he expected the team to keep pushing as hard as it could for the rest of the season, with the hope of playing in September.

“What I expect as a club is that every day we work hard to get better and better and to develop,” he said.

“We’ve always said that it’ll be a rocky road and not a straight line, and there will challenges and adversity, and we’ve experienced that and I’ve been proud of the way the guys have responded.

“We’re in that position again and we’ve got three games on our home deck at the ‘G to finish the year and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Bartlett said he was “very happy” with Simon Goodwin, Brendan McCartney and the rest of the coaching group.

“The work that they do – not just our players as footballers, but as people,” he said.

“There is some terrific work that has been done.”