World Footy News

The AFL Fiji was officially launched last Friday, with AFL Oceania Development Manager Andrew Cadzow telling the local press that he predicted the Fijians had the potential to be a top ten finisher in the 2011 International Cup.

In an interview in the Fiji Times, Cadzow said "In the last International Cup, 16 countries participated and come 2011 tournament 24 countries are set to take part. There is no doubt whatsoever on Fiji to make the top 10 countries by then."

"This region (Oceania) is a magnificent region for this sport. We are looking at 10,000 people playing the sport in next 18 months... Currently, the Oceania region has a very low participation in the sport but we will see amazing statistics in next three years."

"We will have the Fiji U16 squad (for the Oceania Cup later this year) selected on Monday. We couldn't get players from the whole of Fiji but definitely we will expand our search throughout the country by next year."

"We will also have a national senior squad by next year. We are really excited about the development of the sport."

Western Bulldog hopefuls Solomoni Loki and Inoke Ratu also rated a mention in the local media this weekend, with an article entitled Local AFL hopefuls told to improve kicking game detailing their struggles with the Australian game's unique skill set.