World Footy News

With the build up to this years AFL International Cup picking up across the globe - the anticipation of seeing nations making their debut is one of the many highlights of these tournaments. The first appearance of the Solomon Islands will be a fine achievement building on the work of many over the last 10 years in particular - including the Australian High Commissioner to South Africa Graeme Wilson who as Special Coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) played a key role in getting the Solomon Sharks first national representative team to Tonga in 2010 for the Oceania cup of that year.

With the formation of the official body of the Solomon Islands AFL the tireless efforts of Job Vulita as National development officer as well as more recently Rowan Fajerman helping oversee the progression we now see the graduation of the first junior side into a senior squad to take on the world - so to speak. Below is an update provided by Job.

This year marks the biggest and busiest year for the Solomon Islands Australian Football League Federation (SIAFLF). 2014 will be the first year that Solomon Islands will send a senior squad to an International Competition. In August, the team will travel to Melbourne, Australia and compete in one of two divisions. In 2011, Ireland defeated Papua New Guinea in Division A and Fiji defeated France in division B. The Solomon’s squad will be decided in the coming weeks. There are currently two training sessions available: 4:00pm on Mondays and Thursdays at KG Oval and 4:30pm on Mondays and Wednesdays at White River. Training is open to all and we encourage everyone, including new players, to come down for a kick.

The Solomon Islands third annual AFL competition will commence next month with the inclusion of a fifth team. Matches will be played on Thursday and Saturday afternoons with the first game to kick off on Thursday 27th of March. For the first time, there will be a cash prize to be split between the two finalists. The competition is yet to be named and SIAFLF is seeking sponsorship from willing businesses/parties enthusiastic about supporting the growth and development of AFL in Solomon Islands.

AFL Development has also begun running Solkick clinics at local Primary and Secondary schools around Honiara. There is an open Solkick clinic available for all kids commencing at 8:30am on Saturday mornings at Woodford oval. We invite parents and kids to come along and join in.

For more information about school clinics and the AFL competition, please contact Jobby Vulita on 7444878. For more information regarding sponsorship, please contact Cheyne Warren on 7473303.