World Footy News

Aussie Rules continues its steady growth in the United States. The heavily populated state of Florida has budding players spread across it, including Tampa, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Apollo Beach, Orlando, Ocala and Naples. After a formative year in the SEAFL, the players will again come together as the Florida Redbacks to play in the inaugural Eastern AFL season.

As with many US teams, the Redbacks have managed to get some local press. Recently they had an article in the Tampa Tribune. They'll be hoping to gain new recruits to their local league, which sees the Tampa Devils play regular matches against the Sarasota Sharks. The article reports the role played by Marc Karver, originally from Massapequa, New York, but who first became hooked on Australian footy when he was studying at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. As is increasingly common in the US, he moved around but was able to find a side in many of the places he went. But in Florida, the Redbacks were yet to be established so Karver and several others got down to work to make it happen. With such enthusiastic allies, footy will continue to grow in North America - sometimes in fits and starts, but the long term trend is up. And with its warmer climate and population of over 16 million people, Florida might be fertile ground.