World Footy News

The Canadian Australian Football Association was first formed in 1989 as a bit of an excuse for a bunch of expats to get together to have a few beers and a kick of the footy.

Two teams were formed, the Toronto Panthers and the Missisauga Mustangs. On October 12 1989, during half time of an exhibition match between Melbourne and Geelong in Toronto, footy jumpers were presented to the team captains of the Mustangs and Panthers.

In 1990 the league doubled in size with the addition of the Scarborough Rebels and the North York Hawks. 1991 saw the addition of the first team based outside of Toronto, the Hamilton Wildcats.

In 1992 the Balmy Beach Saints were formed. The North York Hawks became the Broadview Hawks and the Scarborough Rebels defeated the Missisauga Mustangs to win the flag.

In 1993 another team, the Brampton Wolverines, was added to bring the league to a total of seven (the Scarborough Rebels relocated and became the Lawrence Park Rebels).

1993 also saw the first ever international series with a representative team from Great Britain paying a visit as well as a side from the Sydney competition, Balmain.

1994 was another successful year with the Mississauga Mustangs finally winning their first Premiership.

1995 saw the CAFA make large gains with the local media at last becoming supportive. The Hamilton Wildcats played a CAFA ALL-Star lineup in front of 21,000 fans at half time between the Hamilton Tigercats and Edmonton Eskimos (Canadian Football League). CAFA also sent a team over to England, defeating the Brits by three goals.

1996 saw the formation of the Downtown Dingos. However, 1997 started badly with the collapse of the Balmy Beach Saints. At the league's annual Canada v. Australia All-Star match the Canadians defeated the Australians for the first time in CAFA history.

1998 saw strong competition from all teams, but unfortunately all was not rosy in 1999. Both the Brampton Wolverines and the Mississauga Mustangs had problems with playing numbers. As a result both teams merged. On a more positive note, the Boston Demons visited Toronto in May for a match against the Toronto Eagles. The Canadian national team also traveled to Chicago for a match against the USA Revolution.

2000 saw six strong teams return for a 15 round season. The Toronto Dingos reached their first grand final and the national team hosted the Revolution for a return match.

2001 saw growth in Ontario and Western Canada. The Vancouver Cougars were formed and played several matches against the Seattle Cats. The Edmonton Bushrangers commenced training over the summer and had several inter-squad matches. The Calgary Kangaroos were formed late in 2001 and did not get a chance to play. In Ontario the Guelph Gargoyles were formed, bringing the Ontario Australian Football League to seven teams.

The Canadian national team, the Northwind, participated in the first Atlantic Alliance Cup in October in London. The Northwind played against teams from England, Ireland, Denmark and the USA, picking up valuable experience in preparation for the International Cup.