World Footy News

For the first time, all five Scandinavian countries hosted regular season footy in 2010, in addition to hosting the first-ever full-field European Championships in Australian Football.

Whilst Denmark and Sweden remain the most established leagues in Scandinavia, the Icelanders and Finns are also playing premiership seasons, and the clubs in Norway are laying the groundwork for league play in future.

Read on for the winners and losers in domestic footy around Scandinavia in 2010.

Denmark and Southern Sweden (DAFL Premier League)

The 2010 DAFL Premier League season was dominated by the Farum Cats and North Copenhagen Barracudas, with both sides amassing a percentage over 250 after the home and away season. The two clubs from across the bridge in southern Sweden, the Port Malmö Maulers and Helsingborg Saints, took out third and fourth places respectively, the Maulers defeating Helsinborg in the 1st Semi Final, but unable to defeat Farum in the Preliminary.

The Grand Final was a tight affair, but the Cudas pulled away in the last quarter to win 7.6 (48) to Farum's 5.3 (33).

Denmark's growth has plateaued somewhat over the past decade, after quick expansion in the 1990s saw them become one of the first nations in Europe with a national footy league. When the Randers Dockers were founded in early 2009, they were the first new team Denmark had seen since the Århus Bombers were founded in the mid-90s. The Dockers are now one of three sides in the Jutland Local League, along with Århus and the Aalborg Roos, feeding into the Jutland Shinboners in the DAFL Premier League.

A further new club is under creation in the Copenhagen area, with the East Coast Bulldogs spending 2010 recruiting players and laying the groundwork for their new team, to be based in the suburb of Hundige and hoping to run out at the start of the 2011 Danish season.

The Øresund Region, spanning metro Copenhagen and the area directly opposite in Sweden, hosted the 2010 European Championships, the first full-field championships played under IC eligibility rules. The home sides performed strongly, with the Denmark Vikings taking home silver after they were defeated by Ireland by 17 points in the final, whilst the Sweden Elks overcame Great Britain in the playoff for bronze.

Sweden

The Swedish footy scene sees games played in three main areas, the four-team Stockholm regional league, the southern clubs in Helsingborg and Malmö, and the westerners Gothenburg and Karlstad.

In Stockholm, the Solna Axemen took out the premiership with an 86 point win over the Bromma Vikings, 17.17 (119) to 5.3 (33), after dominating all season and finishing the home and away series with an 8-1 record. The Södermalm Blues and Bromma finished second and third respectively, whilst the Årsta Swans had a tough season, only scoring one win from their eight matches.

In the west, no premiership was recorded, although the Gothenburg Beserkers, Karlstad Eagles and Norwegian side the Oslo Crows played a number of friendlies.

Southern Swedish clubs Port Malmö and Helsingborg took out third and fourth spots respectively in the DAFL Premier League.

The Sweden Elks finished third in the inaugural European Championships held in Copenhagen and southern Sweden, defeating Great Britain in the bronze medal playoff, and are now building for their second International Cup campaign.

Finland

The Turku Dockers took out their third-straight premiership flag in 2010, defeating the Salo Juggernauts 19.17 (131) to 8.5 (53) in the Finland AFL Grand Final.

The national league again consisted of three teams in 2010, with Turku and Salo joined by the Helsinki Heatseekers, however the Finns are planning for at least one more club to join the FAFL next year, after the Waasa Wombats made their debut at the post-season club tournament. The Espoo Roos may also reform, having been formed as the Helsinki region's second club back in 2008, but merging with the Heatseekers for the past two seasons.

After making their International Cup debut in 2008, and competing at 2010's inaugural European Championships, the Finland Icebreakers national team is keen to head back down under for the IC11. Finnish footy pioneer Fredrik Romar recently enlisted the help of AFL newcomers the Gold Coast Suns to get some tips on physical preparation for the tournament, after the Icebreakers' 2008 IC campaign was marred by injuries that saw them play without an interchange bench for essentially the entire tournament.

An article on Romar's visit to the Suns can be found here.

Iceland

The IceAFL kicked off their inaugural premiership season in 2010, with the Bulls, Dragons and Eagles playing a series of 9-a-side matches in Reykjavík. Eventual premiers were the Bulls, who finished ahead of the Eagles on percentage in the regular season, and who also went through the lightning club tournament undefeated.

Iceland's national rep side, the Ravens, made their full-field debut at the 2010 European Championships, where they finished 6th after defeating Finland but going down to Denmark, Great Britain and Croatia. The Ravens are planning to back this up with their first International Cup campaign in Australia in 2011.

Norway

The Oslo Crows finished 2010 with a 2-2 record, all against Swedish opposition, having defeated the Karlstad Eagles twice, but being unable to score a win over the Göteborg Beserkers in their two meetings. The Crows also played a few training matches against the Oslo area's second club, the Ås Battlers.

Whilst a Norwegian domestic season still looks to be a little way off, player numbers are growing, both among Norwegians and expats.

Up in Norway's Arctic north, the Tromsø AFL played their second season over the short northern summer. On the cards for 2011 is a challenge match between Tromsø and the Oslo Crows.

The Norway Trolls brought together players from across the country for their only test of 2011, against the Finland Icebreakers in Salo, Finland on July 17th. The Trolls were the stronger side on the day, winning 36-34.