World Footy News

A side drawn from Melbourne's Indian and Sri Lankan communities is currently in training for the 2010 Harmony Cup, with around thirty keen players vying for a place in the final squad.

The side is predominantly born-and-bred in Melbourne, although there are a handful of international students also involved. Some of the Melbourne-based Indians who strengthened the Indian side at last year's International Cup will also be in the squad.

While the Indians won't have anyone with the AFL-level experience of some of their Harmony Cup opponents, team coordinator Vishnu Rishi is confident they will be a competitive outfit.

Rishi explains that whilst most of the squad don't currently play regular club footy, around four or five of them play at suburban clubs including the Balwyn Tigers, and most have at least junior and school footy experience.

In addition to this, the majority have been meeting on Sundays to play on an informal, social basis for a number of years. It was through this group that Rishi first heard about the AFL India and the International Cup.

"Basically, last year we were contacted out of the blue by AFL Development Officer Yuta Kobayashi, and asked if anyone was interested in helping out playing with India at the International Cup."

"Four of us went along to the information session and ended up playing at the tournament. That was the first we'd heard of AFL India."

The members of the team come from different backgrounds from across the Indian subcontinent, although Rishi estimates that the majority of them have a family background in the southern Indian region, with the squad divided roughly evenly between those of Indian and Sri Lankan origin.

Balraj Singh, a former Adelaide Crow and the only Indian-Australian to date to have been on an AFL club's list, has been coming down to training sessions for a kick, but is unfortunately going to be unavailable for the Cup weekend.

The side recently found a major sponsor in telecommunications company iPrimus with help from Harmony Cup tournament director Brian Clarke, which will pay for the squad's match day gear including jumpers, shorts and socks. Richi explains that an initial search for an Indian business to sponsor the team proved difficult. "We wanted to approach Indian businesses first, as we're an Indian community team, but they felt that it was too expensive for a one-off tournament."

The four team members who played at the International Cup are still in touch with the AFL India members who came over from Calcutta, but whilst they're keen to help, Rishi says that from Melbourne there's only so much they can do.

Regarding development in the Melbourne Indian community however, there are some plans in development which could see the team continue after the Harmony Cup. Rishi indicates that the Southern Dragons, who grew out of the Vietnamese team at the Multicultural Cup in 2005 and are now a stand-alone senior club, could provide some inspiration.

With the welfare of Indian students in Australia receiving a lot of negative press in both the Australian and Indian media in recent weeks, a positive showing by Team India at the Harmony Cup would be a great result all round.

Team India at the 2008 International Cup in Melbourne

For more information on footy in India, visit AFL-India.com. The Harmony Cup Indian/Sri Lankan team can be contacted at their Facebook page.