Funding is again being sought to help prop up the AFL’s Indigenous radio service amid concerns black voices will be drowned out if the coverage cannot be saved.

The National Indigenous Radio Service, which says it has a reach of 700,000 people, has provided a pathway for Indigenous former players to enter the media, calling AFL matches since the 1990s.

But the service’s football operation has been heavily reliant on funding from government, sponsors and the league, living a precarious existence in which it has several times been said to be on the brink of being discontinued.

That is again the case heading into 2021, with former Essendon player and now St Kilda development coach Nathan Lovett-Murray, a member of the NIRS commentary team, expressing his concerns about the coverage’s future on Sunday.