World Footy News

The world has a lot to thank the city of Liverpool for. This Lancashire city on the Mersey River estuary, some 280 kilometres to the north-west of London has touched people’s lives in some way.

From The Beatles, Cilla Black (originally White!) and the other Mersey Beat bands of the early 1960’s (Gerry and The Pacemakers, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, The Searchers) to comedians such as Ken Dodd and Jimmy Tarbuck, Doctor Who (or Tom Baker at least), Dr Doolittle (Rex Harrison) or even Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter stories (Jason Isaacs), few have been spared a touch of Liverpool.

More notably, the Liverpool F.C is one of the greatest football/soccer clubs the world has seen, after winning 5 Champions Cup then Champions League. Even the RMS Titanic and the Queen Mary ocean liners were registered in the city.

Now, maybe, Australian Rules football will become part of that story of Liverpudlians, with the new Merseyside Saints club being formed. Their newest incarnation sees a return of Australian Rules to the city. The Liverpool Blues existed briefly in 1993, followed by the Liverpool Eagles for a short-lived existence in 2008.

Geographically, the Merseyside Saints will again create a wall of Australian Rules Football teams across central and northern England through the cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield and even the social club, Hull Mariners running west to east. These teams are also strengthened by the clubs in Nottingham, Birmingham and Wolverhampton to the south and the Tyne Tees club in Newcastle to the north, creating the AFLCNE. In a sense, Liverpool was the missing link.

According to Merseyside Saints presidents:

- Olivier LEMESLE (34 years old, French, Original Co-founder of the Strasbourg Kangourous in 2005 with Marc Jund [Former France National Men Team Head Coach, from 2005 to 2009], Axios EUCup 2013 champion with the England Dragonslayers and Everton FC supporter).

And

- Will SYKES (34 years old, Australian, Original founder of Plymouth Aussie Rules Football Club, and Liverpool FC Supporter),

"Merseyside was the region in England who missed having a Footy team, to complete the AFLCNE league. We did not want to associate our team`s name to a city only, but to the whole region, to make every potential player, staff and supporters feeling concerned to pull the team to the top and being proud to be part of this project."

Already the club has announced some major coups in a bid to build towards one day being a force to be reckoned with. Their Facebook page recently rang out with the news that “We can confirm the partnership of Merseyside Saints and National Division Three rugby side Wirral Aliens Rugby Football Club. This partnership provides the fantastic ground and facilities associated to Wirral Aliens RFC as the home of The Saints!"

"The confirmation of this partnership is a huge achievement for the Saints committee and statement of the intent that the Saints have of being a highly successful club. Wirral Rugby club are synonymous with Merseyside and held in high esteem due to their sporting success".

"Everyone at the Saints look forward to a long and prosperous partnership."

Shortly afterwards the club took another step forward when they announced “[a] massive new signing to accept his halo and become a Saint, former professional rugby full back and current England Rugby strength and conditioning coach, Neil Parsley.”

Already this new club is taking major steps to build infrastructures and a personnel base that will move them quickly to the AFLCNE.

Saints can be contacted through their Facebook group: Merseyside Saints Aussie Rules Football Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/344988882343813