A SUBURBAN football ground in Geelong was the setting for a historic gathering of football talent on Thursday morning.

Michael Walters shared the goalsquare with Maurice Rioli jnr and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, while champion Carlton forward Darcy Vescio honed their kicking skills with West Coast youngster Imahra Cameron.

Meanwhile, Melbourne livewire Kozzy Pickett, Port Adelaide interceptor Aliir Aliir and Hawthorn trio Jarman Impey, Karl Amon and Chad Wingard warmed up under the watchful eye of veteran coach Mark Williams.

The remarkable skills session took place as part of the AFL and AFL Players Association's Indigenous and Multicultural Player Summit, which brought together more than 100 men's and women's footballers from Aboriginal, Torres Strait and multicultural backgrounds.

It's the first time that the AFL and AFLW groups have come together to share their experiences, with a view to continuing to drive cultural change in the football industry and the wider community.

Veteran Fremantle forward Michael Walters said racism continued to be the No.1 issue facing Indigenous and multicultural players, and it was important for the players to get to know each other off the field.

"Still to this day [racism] goes on and although we might not hear about it, as sports stars we're here to talk about those issues," he said.

"We're on the platform where we can [talk] to the broader public as well because it doesn’t only happen in sport; it happens all over the community and all over the world as well. So for us to stand up on a different platform and speak about it, it's the best thing going forward not only for the AFL but for the community as well."

Vescio said it had been a "huge six or seven years" for inclusivity in football since the advent of the AFLW competition.

"I feel like the first season is almost unrecognisable to what it is now and especially having all 18 teams in this year has been unbelievable," they said.

"I feel like we're getting closer and closer between leagues and being able to share our experiences and understanding that we can learn from each other. I really hope that doing these sorts of things where we're able to bounce off each other and I guess be able to understand some of the issues the guys face ... it's a better AFL when everyone's feeling good."

AFL executive general manager of social policy and inclusion Tanya Hosch said the summit provided a vital opportunity for the players to tell the League what was important to them to ensure cultural and psychological safety.

"This gathering is really about allowing the players to connect with each other across teams, across cultures to discuss issues that are important to them, that our industry leadership needs to understand from them – directly from them – how we can make our sector and the game of ARF a place where everyone can thrive, no matter what their diversity is," she said.

The players would not only learn from one another's on-field experiences, Walters said, but also their own cultural and family lessons passed through generations.

"We lean on the people before us, our grandparents, all our family members, they teach us things that they've learnt throughout their life and it's on us to carry those as well," he said.

"This is an industry where we can all lean on each other, talk about those issues and also take a step forward towards us being great."