World Footy News

A genuine European Championships, under IC eligibility rules and played either 16 or 18-a-side on full-sized fields, is a hot topic of discussion at the moment. In addition to the "original three" of Ireland, Great Britain and Denmark, the "next generation" of Spain, Germany, Finland and Sweden have also played test matches on full-sized pitches under all-local content rules, all except Germany having now appeared at the International Cup down under.

The Spain Bulls, drawn from the Madrid Bears, have since disappeared from the spotlight somewhat, but the Catalan league has continued to show healthy growth and has a large pool of local players for a potential full-scale national squad.

A number of others are within range of mounting a competitive 22-man all local squad. France definitely have the numbers, particularly if they can get one or two more clubs off the ground in the near future. Croatia performed very strongly at this year's EU Cup with an all-local squad of almost 20.

Some have also suggested inviting the Israel-Palestine Peace Team to any future European Championships to help try and cement footy in the region.

All of this adds up to an 8 or possibly even 10-team European Championships being feasible within the next few years. The details of ARFLI president Ciarán O' Hara's suggested model and the completion of his main AFL Europe proposal follow.

In the second half of O' Hara's AFL Europe proposal, he suggests a structure for a triennial European Championship, for the first time bringing together the teams of the older established leagues in Europe with the newer countries that have competed separately in tournaments like the CEAFL Championships, the Eastern European Tri-Nations and the rapidly growing EU Cup.

We will also be bringing you some information in the next few days about another concept for the European Champs that was discussed at the EU Cup conference in Prague last weekend. AFL Europe proposal - continued

Competitions

We are firmly in support of a European Championships of Australian Football but feel there are a number of factors which must be addressed. These are.

1. Timing

If as expected the AFL opt for a three year cycle for the International Cup, we would favour the same cycle for a European Championship, with the first such competition taking place in 2010, the second in 2013 and so on.

2. Location

We believe the fairest means to assign the hosting of each Championship is for member leagues to present bids to the council with the winning bid being awarded the tournament. The following criteria should be assessed – The Playing Facilities, Dressing Room Facilities, Accommodation, Transport Infrastructure, Finance and Media Strategy.

3. Competition Structure

One thing which was highlighted at the recent International Cup was the difference in playing standards between various nations, which resulted in some demoralizing defeats for many participating teams. We believe that a championship with a similar structure to the IRB Rugby 7s is the best way forward this would mean that as the tournament progresses teams would find themselves in tighter more competitive games as the tournament progressed, it would also meant that a Cup for the Top Tier Teams was available and a Shield Competition for the second tier teams. For developing leagues with only one or two clubs a separate nine a side championship for a Plate could take place meaning that all members would be in a position to compete.

We also believe that it is incumbent upon the European Association to allow for the participation of the Peace Team to help their programme develop in the years ahead. The CEAFL could choose to enter a combined regional team in the main competition or continue to participate separately in the 9 A Side. It will be easier to improve the quality of the competition though if talent is concentrated.

The Main Tournament hypothetically would proceed like this.

Day 1
Preliminary Round
Peace Team v Spain (Winner to progress to Qualifying Round, loser into Plate Competition where they play biggest loser from Qualifying Round)

Day 2
Qualifying Round
Denmark v Peace Team
GB v Germany
Ireland v France
Sweden v Finland

Day 3
Shield Preliminary Round
Spain v Germany

Day 4
Cup Semi-Finals
Denmark v GB
Ireland v Sweden
Shield Semi-Finals
Peace Team v Germany
France v Finland

Day 6
Ranking Matches
3rd/4th Denmark v Sweden
7th/8th France v Peace Team
Cup Final
GB v Ireland
Shield Final
Germany v Finland

Exhibition Game Spain v Plate All Tournament Team

The 9 A Side Plate Competition hypothetically could proceed like this.
Day 1

Plate Quarter-Finals
Czech v Italy
Austria v Turkey
Holland v Norway
Belgium v Croatia

Day 3
Plate Semi-Finals
Czech v Austria
Holland v Belgium

Plate Placings Rd 1
Italy v Turkey
Norway v Croatia

Day 5
Plate 7th/8th
Italy v Norway
Plate 5th/6th
Turkey v Croatia
Plate 3rd/4th
Austria v Belgium
Plate Final
Czech v Holland

4. Competition Rules

Both Competitions should be played according to the Rules of Australian Football with some variations. The main Competition should be according to the same playing rules of the International Cup, this will help standardize these rules for International Football and prepare teams for participation in the International Cup. The 9 A Side Competition should be played over four quarters of 15 minutes with a Red/Yellow Card rule also applied for discipline.

5. Player Eligibility

We would advocate the same eligibility requirements as the International Cup for the main competition, this is the best way to encourage the uptake of the sport by nationals of member countries.

6. Umpiring

Each country should provide a minimum of two field umpires for the tournament. Goal Umpires should be provided on a roster basis by teams not playing at a particular time.

Commercial Activity

There is strength in numbers and a unified approach should help us gain sponsorship or grant revenue which should be used to carry out the activities of the association. Any Surplus after the operating costs of the association should be divided out on the basis of participation numbers in a particular league. This will encourage all leagues to work on their participation models. Once we have formed an association we should also look at obtaining a blanket insurance policy for all European leagues, clubs and also at leveraging bulk purchasing power in obtaining other resources such as apparel, footballs and coaching resources.

Media & Promotion

As a Pan European body we should look to grow the brand across all our territories and so using any media contacts whatever the country will be important in the spread of our sport. For this reason a pooling of information on the creation of websites, magazines, Video Content, Flyers is essential it will be the role of the Media Relations Executive to make this happen.

For The Greater Good, A Greater Game

These are just a few thoughts we have on the future of Football in Europe. We look forward to hearing feedback from the Prague Forum or from any of you individually. It may seem at times that we are very remote from the processes of European Football but we have always worked well with partners assuming that our membership are in agreement with the route they're going. We've always had good relations with AFL Britain, DAFL and SARFL. One of the best experiences of the International Cup for us was meeting our Finnish and Swedish counterparts on and off the field and we look forward to working with all of you to make our great game a greater game.

Regards,
Ciarán O' Hara
President, ARFLI.