World Footy News

The success of the Irish at Euro Cup 2012 somewhat overshadowed one of Europe’s most successful debutants: the Norwegian team, who brought home the competition’s other prize - the Euro Plate.

In the Plate final, held as a curtain raiser to the grand final where Ireland defeated Denmark by one point, Norway eased past Iceland to win by 6.5 (41) to 1.3 (9) and bring home the second division prize.

Australian Football only started in Norway four years ago, with a mostly Aussie expat friendly between Oslo and Karlstad, which was then expanded into an 18-a-side friendly against the Swedish team. On the back of this, teams started to developed in Ås and Oslo and by late 2009, popularity started to develop amongst the locals.

“We found it was really enjoyable and rewarding to find Norwegians who had perhaps always been looking for a sport containing all the ingredients that Australian football contains,” admits David Stone, one of the Norwegian coaches. “We got better at getting them up to speed quickly, and every now and then you would see someone who just instantly loved the game.”
 

During the early years, the developing teams joined forces to play with AFL Sweden West and played against teams in Karstad and Goteborg. They also played in friendlies against Finland and Iceland, the latter where they were joined by a host from Norway’s equivalent of the footy show.

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With the added publicity of this, Ås finally had the numbers to go it alone and Oslo had enough players to split into two 9-a-side teams, and in 2012 the beginnings of a league was formed. The inaugural season was a success, and the excitement of being able to play for Norway at the end of it was a powerful incentive for the local players.

Convinced that the soccer and handball playing Norwegians had learned enough of the Australian game to make a true impact, Stone, along with fellow coach Adam Pearce, told his players to pack their bags for Edinburgh.

“We had an incredible time at our first international tournament,” commented Stone when looking back at their Euro Cup success. “The pace and physicality are a lot higher than our local league, but the guys just showed a fantastic appetite for the contest. We couldn't be prouder of how well they competed against the big teams like England and Denmark. They then got reward for all their hard work with great wins over Austria and Iceland.

“To win a plate and more importantly, earn some respect for how well we played, was a great achievement for the team. A lot of them have really clicked now and they realise how much fun this game can be.”

With enthusiasm running high after the success of their international debut, there is hope that the game will grow further in Norway, with three Oslo teams a possibility. However, Stone admits there are still some challenges.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about our game,” he says. “Most Norwegians thing the game is rugby and many have the wrong idea of the sport as some violent, rule-less injury fest. So our toughest task is getting people to be a little bit different and actually try this very unusual new sport. But once they do, more and more of them are sticking with it.

“We are going to get more Norwegians involved in managing and running the sport, which will hopefully help position it as not just something for the Aussies. As our guys showed, there are lots of good Norwegian players already, and we want to find even more.”

The Norwegians are surrounded by some of Europe’s most talented and well established leagues and despite their more recent entry into the world of AFL, they came out strong and are confident to make even more of an impact next year.

“We are already excited about Euro Cup 2013!” says Stone.