World Footy News

The NZAFL has announced plans to conduct a three-day tour of North Island city Gisborne, as part of their efforts to grow Australian Football in New Zealand's regional centres.

Gisborne is located on the North Island's east coast 500km south-east of Auckland, and is the first city in the world to see the sun rise each day. The city and its environs are home to approximately 45,000 people attracted by the region's pleasant climate. The NZAFL tour is the result of requests from Gisborne residents for exposure to Australian Football. Features of the three-day visit will be the staging of Australian Football clinics at local schools and the organisation of an afternoon football competition.

NZAFL General Manager Rob Malone said that administrators would like to see the sport continue to expand its reach in New Zealand.

"Obviously AFL is entrenched in the major four centres in New Zealand, however strategically we see the game growing in areas like Gisborne, Hawks Bay (North Island), Dunedin and Ashburton (South Island)", Malone said.

"This will not only be a great opportunity to visit the schools, but more importantly, we will use the trip as an information gathering exercise to see what AFL programs can be delivered in the town and what resources are available to enable the area to continue to deliver AFL Football".

More information about the encouraging growth of Australian Football in New Zealand can be found at the NZAFL website.