World Footy News

As we come to the end of 2010 worldfootynews.com has its annual reflection on the year gone by. We've been in the happy position over our existence to be able to report on 6 to 7 years of excellent growth in international Australian football. This year has been no exception. And that's not spin presented to try to give the impression footy is on an upward curve.

There is no question that, from a modest base, Aussie Rules has been doing very well; not always exploding in numbers, and with plenty more to do, but very positive indeed, after a rather sluggish first century or so.  Instead of going into depth on all the various achievements, this year we'll just list some of the highlights that come to mind from across the year, as well as some more dubious events.

Of course because international footy is now so diverse and widely spread, even with around 500 stories in 2010 we're bound to miss some significant achievements, either on a larger scale or great local happenings.  Did we miss something special?  Got your own favourite?  Let us know by posting a comment on this story.

 

January

15 Nations establish the European Australian Football Association (EAFA) in Frankfurt.

AFL lists (including scholarships) features 21 truly international players who came to Australia specifically to play AFL - 11 are Irishmen, 5 Papuan, 2 Fijian, 1 New Zealander, 1 American and 1 Canadian

February

Australian Indigenous youth side, Flying Boomerangs, tour South Africa.

Dutch AFL launches first full domestic season.

March

West Coast Eagles announce an interest in looking for talent in South America.

Western Bulldogs explore possibility of selling home games to play in New Zealand.  Later Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett suggests an AFL side based in NZ could be viable one day.

Emerging PNG Mosquitoes side win 3 out of 4 in pre-season competition against Cairns (North Queensland) clubs.

April

AIS-AFL Academy youth team tour South Africa again.

Scholarship program announced for young South African players; called the Geminder footyWILD Future Stars.

South African Bayanda Sobetwa arrives to play with GWS in the TAC Cup Under 18 competition, the country's first real shot at developing an AFL player.

Indonesia's Jakarta AFL features six teams, all locals.

EAFA appoints first full time development officer, Peter Romaniw.

AFL appoints first full time International Development Manager (former AFL player Tony Woods), an acknowledgement of the ever increasing demands and efforts of AFL Game Development.

First news of Australian football seeding in Peru.

May

Iceland AFL's first official club season.

American Footy Star launched - highlight or no light?

Roma defeated Milano in the first ever Aussie Rules match in Rome, the Eternal City, as the first AFL Italy premiership season progresses.

June

USFooty focuses on its USAFL branding and launches new website; a step forward for the game there and/or a step back for Australian football's use of the term "footy"?

Finland's league sees its first all non-Australian club match, a milestone for local development.

GWS sign Israel Folau from Rugby League; Folau's Tongan descent will later become a useful marketing tool for the AFL.

July

First international sides compete in the AFL Under 16 Championships (Division Two), with the World XVIII reasonably competitive and the South Pacific almost defeating Queensland.

US defeat Canada in Toronto, maintaining their dominance of their neighbours in men's football, while the Canadian women reversed the result.

August

Canadian Mike Pyke's AFL experiment confirmed as at least moderately successful, as Sydney extend his contract by 2 years.

Inaugural European Championships staged in Denmark and Sweden, won by Ireland.

AFL announce deal with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) to televise matches live into China.

September

Inaugural U18 Australian Youth Girls National Tournament.

Geelong's Gary Ablett joins the Gold Coast Suns; a highlight for some, a low for Cats fans.

Greece gets its first taste of Australian football.

Collingwood draw with St Kilda in the Grand Final, the third in VFL/AFL history and first of the modern era.  Collingwood win the return bout - a highlight or lowlight of 2010?

October

Australian Amateur Football Council Under 23 side tour South Africa.

New York Magpies win the men's Division One at the US Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, with 6 teams competing in the Women's division.

First hint of footy development in Sri Lanka.

Asian Championships in Shanghai see 12 teams compete, won by Dubai Heat.

Exhibition match between Melbourne and Brisbane in Shanghai, and a curtain raiser between China and development squad from Japan.

The 9-a-side European Cup under the EAFA banner (transitioning from the EU Cup) sees 15 mens sides compete, with Croatia cementing their reputation as a formidable team in the reduced format of the game.

The first ever international between the women of Ireland and Italy, including the debut of both sides, as part of the European Cup.

David Rodan Cup staged in Fiji, accelerating development in that country.

Australia win the two Test International Rules series in Ireland, with no sign of the violence of recent series.

Hawthorn hold talent testing in New Zealand.

November

NEAFL to re-shape the second tier of Australian football in the north east of Australia.

Australian Convicts tourist side the first Aussie footy team to venture to South America.

GWS Giants announced as the name of the new AFL side, as of 2012.

AFL announced that the AIS-AFL Academy youth side will tour Europe in 2011 (April), attending the academy in Varese (Italy), a match against a European rep side in London and a visit to Gallipoli.

Confirmation scattered across the year of a steadily emerging University-based Aussie Rules competition in the UK.

Senior Oceania Cup (scheduled for NZ) cancelled due to problems for travelling teams.

December

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou confirmed that the AFL will look to play matches for premiership points overseas in the future.

Australia's bid to host the soccer World Cup failed - an opportunity lost or a big risk avoided?

AFL Vanuatu taking a solid step forward, being incorporated and sending a group of players to the Youth Oceania Cup.

Former Swans captain Brett Kirk and International Cup Ambassador announced with the AFL the 2011 International Cup in Sydney and Melbourne (August), with around 24 nations expected, a record number.

The successful Youth Oceania Cup in Tonga (won by PNG), with 7 sides competing including the Solomon Islands' first representative squad.  Excellent coverage in mainstream Australian media and also in Fiji, and the impressive win of the South Pacific youth side over the Australian Indigenous Boomerangs side, highlighting the tremendous talent available in the region.

Confirmation that the Word XVIII youth side will in 2011 again compete in the AFL's Under 16 Championships.