World Footy News

The Australian Football League today released a list of nations that have signaled their aim to compete at the Australian Football International Cup 2011, with 22 countries having submitted an official Expression of Interest as of last Friday.

The 22 nations includes all 17 (Tonga included) who were in attendance in 2008, minus the Peace Team who are yet to submit a response. The six potential newcomers who have returned their official notification are Fiji, Croatia, France, Austria, Portugal and the Netherlands.

In addition to the initial 22 nations, AFL National Participation Programs Manager Josh Vanderloo indicates that the league has also had correspondence with further nations including Vanuatu, Italy and Indonesia who may further expand the field.

Vanderloo said, "The AFL is very pleased to have had such a positive response at this early stage. We now have a large base of interested nations to work with and over the next month or two we will finalise the event details so that they can plan their involvement in the 4th International Cup."

The AFL has not confirmed dates and venues for the IC11, although there is strong speculation that it will run from the 7th until the 21st of August 2011, and again be held in Melbourne and a regional Victorian center.

Any additional nominations will be added to the list below.

The countries who have now submitted an official Expression of Interest are:

Others with whom the AFL has had correspondence, but no official Expression of Interest as yet: