World Footy News

2006 will see Sweden and Germany in a tri-series against Denmark for the first time. This year's Swedish national side will be the first to be composed fully of Swedes - and the German national side will be the first official side drawn from teams across the nation to ever take the field. The series will kick-off with Denmark facing Germany in Bielefeld in June.

Matches in the Tri-Series will most likely be full field 16 or 18 a side plus interchange, depending on dimensions of the available grounds. According to Ian Hill from the Danish camp, "Our side will be all locals - or at least non-Australian. I suspect we will have an Icelander playing and - oddly enough - a German citizen. And we use the International Cup rule to decide nationality (where the player lived most of his life from the ages of 10 to 16)".

The Swedish side have also stated that they intend to field an all-local team. Mark White from the Swedish AFL tells WFN that a player board is being set up and any Swedish players will be eligible for selection. The Swedish home fixture against Germany on October 7th may also coincide with an E4 Cup match between Stockholm and Southern Sweden.

The Danish national team pulled out of the 2005 International Cup mainly due to financial restraints, but the squad is rebuilding to make sure they can be in attendance in 2008. The Swedish side are looking forward to the possibility of the Elks making it across in 2008, but it remains to be seen whether funds and playing numbers will make a competitive travelling side a reality.

Scratch German national teams from AFLG clubs have occasionally taken the field, including a squad at the 9-a-side EU Cup held in London last year, but the AFLG has not to date put an official national side on the paddock - citing the costs involved and whether the money would be better spent in building the grassroots. With the league this year growing to 6 sides and a core of players from Prague also playing semi-regualrly with the Rheinland Lions, the league may now be better placed to put growing numbers into a strong European presence. Whether the league looks at sending sides to the International Cup in future remains to be seen however, as AFLG President Malte Schudlich has in the past stated that the amount of money spent could also pay for a nation-wide promotional program.

Further south and east, three of the newer nations in European footy - Austria, the Czech Republic and Croatia - will play their own tri-series. Though the competition will be 9-a-side tournament series and with a healthy dose of Australian expats, hopefully these sides can become the starting point for building competitions capable of fielding a full national team of home-grown players. Croatia in particular has had a handful of diehards working for a number of years hoping to finally get a team off the ground - perhaps now a permanent presence can be created.

In the Baltics, the Helsinki footy scene had its first home kick last Saturday, May 12th, the Stockholm Dynamite defeating the Finnish Lions 8.13.61 to 7.7.49. The Finnish footy enthusiasts are hoping to start a local competition - the game against Stockholm being the first Aussie Rules match ever played in Finland. Hopefully the Finns can build some locals into the competition and can get their own league off the ground.

Tri-Nation Series Dates and Venues

June 24th in Bielefeld, Germany
Germany vs Denmark

September 30th in Farum, Denmark
Denmark vs Sweden

October 7th in Malmö, Sweden
Sweden vs Germany