World Footy News

If you fancy yourself as a coach capable of changing the fortunes of a growing club in Europe - Denmark, to be exact - then the Odense Lions are looking for you.

According to club president Morten Merhoj “the Odense Lions footy club from Denmark is looking for a new coach from Australia to come and help us improve our club. “

Certainly this presents a fantastic opportunity for anyone with a coaching background and a desire to travel. The Odense Lions have grown steadily since their introduction to the DAFL a couple of years ago. Danish footy holds a special place on the European stage, winning last year’s Euro Cup in London and being a regular powerhouse on the bigger stage. The opportunity to be part of a successful club in a successful league in a country that has embraced the game would be highly attractive to many.
For those who are becoming interested, Morten provided this overview of the club in 2015.

“It is the second year of Australian football in Odense since the start of the Lions. 2015 looked to be the best yet with Odense Lions and Lionesses finally getting their own jumpers with a new and unique design. We also got new goal posts and expanded our field to better host the bigger numbers at training and ordered 20 footballs to make sure our members as much time with the football in their hands.”

“The numbers have grown to more than 40 paying members and the season has just started. The Odense Lionesses played a big part in the creation of Women’s Nordic AFL who will have the first season in 2015. It will be the league where the three women’s teams in Scandinavia play against each other.”

“Also, Odense has started a local league where mixed teams with boys and girls play, this is a great chance for our many new members to get a game before trying a DAFL game and our girls can get some more games and experience.”

Odense also hosted the indoor tournament for the men in Odense during the winter and organized friendly games on artificial grass in the pre-season - a hard job in Denmark where the field needed to be cleared of snow before the game could start.”

“The rest of the DAFL has also spotted the many talented new players from Odense and six Lion players were asked to join the national team training weekend in April.”

“It is safe to say the future looks good for Odense Lions and Lionesses. The setup is great with clubrooms being made available at the school where our field is. A sports pub has agreed to show AFL on big screen at AFL events. The club has received an offer to work at the town’s local festival during summer to get the tickets free. Another fun footy trip is planned in July to Amsterdam”
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The only problem with the club growing so much and players improving their skills so fast is that our club is in need of an experienced football player to help us improve our game even further. An experienced person with love and passion for the game could really improve our club even more.”

“Odense is the birth place of fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and Odense Lions is a fairy tale in the making with amazing progress in its only short history. It is one of the biggest clubs in Denmark, has the first women’s team in Denmark and is a pioneer in winter season football events and recruitment.”

If you are interested in this challenge, bringing the best out of the Odense Lions and Lionesses, contact their president, Morten Merhoj via email at mm@dafl.dk or by Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/morten.merhoj