World Footy News

1. Where is home and who is your home club?

Originally, I am from Goettingen, Germany, however I have lived in Australia for four years now. I joined my team, the Sydney Uni Bombers, this season.

2. How many years have you been involved in Australian Rules football?

After my arrival in Perth in March 2013, I joined the SNESA Angels, now Perth Angels Football Club. I played three seasons with my Perth team before moving to NSW, where I joined the Sydney Uni Bombers this year. I have completed a coaching course and have helped out with football coaching for people with impairments in WA for a brief period of time before moving over east.

The French Coqs will take the field in Division 1 of the IC17 this month, their third International Cup campaign in succession. Whilst they have a tough draw in the pool rounds, the French will be very keen to make an impression and make a mark as an up-and-coming footy nation.

International Cup 2017 & World Footy News World Rankings

Two new Nations will become fully ranked on WFN World Rankings in the Round one of IC17.

Indonesia’s Garudas and Great Britain’s Swans both play their eighth qualifying International match in Round 1 at this year’s International Cup.

Indonesia will become the 22nd nation to be fully ranked on WFN World Rankings when they play International Footy newcomer Sri Lanka on day one of the IC and if they win as expected will slot into 14th place behind Croatia.

Great Britain will likewise become the 6th nation to be fully ranked on WFN World Rankings (Women) when they tackle Pakistan “Dragoons” in the very first match of the competition on Sunday 6th August. The Swans have proven to be a revelation since bursting onto the International Footy scene, twice defeating and drawing once with Ireland to win the Inaugural Women’s European Championships in 2016. A Swans win over Pakistan will see them enter the ranks (briefly) in 3rd place behind Canada. Further matches during the day will probably see them end the day in 4th or 5th place.

AFL Fiji’s men side arrived in Melbourne last night ahead of their third International Cup appearance. Hopes are high as within the team with Fiji sending its best side to date, hoping to move up in ranking and provide suitable competition to the powerhouses of international football.

Fiji Tribe have got what they wanted and move up to Division One in 2017 and will face France, New Zealand, South Africa and Great Britain in the pool game stages, fighting to snap a top three position.

India returns to Melbourne for their fourth successive International Cup. Their first visit Down Under resulted in a series of heavy losses, however the team continues to improve with each return.  At IC14 the team did go winless again, but will be expecting to notch up a victory in 2017 where they will be known as the Essendon India team.

The Country and Australian Football

India is the world’s second most populous nation (1.2 billion people) and arguably one of the most diverse.

The unsung heroes of the game. The Umpires. The AFL have been able to organise a great group of umpires from across Australia to umpire at all five international cups so far.  This one will be no exception and with these volunteers the game will on.

Lesser known are the umpires that have travelled from overseas to be part of the International Cup to boost the umpiring pool. But since at least 2005 been the case. Usually volunteering week in week out so that the game can go on around the world, the opportunity to come to the home of Australian football is a great reward for those that can make the trip.

Rick Shaibani interviewed Chris Adams*, an Aussie that has been part of footy in the US for many years about his upcoming stint as an International Cup umpire along with his son CJ who is very much an American. We also detail all the international umpires rostered for the competition.

*Chris is also a former World Footy News writer.

Just to get you in the mood for IC17 that kicks off at Royal Park in just 4 days time. Here's a look back at some highlights of IC14.

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Nauru is a tiny Pacific Island nation that has the distinction of being the only country in the world that has Australian Rules as its national sport (assuming that status is disputed/shared by several sports in Australia). The capital city is Yaren and the population is just 12,000 but the number of Australian football participants is around 300.

The the national team is known as the Nauru Chiefs and they are a team just below the top tier at the International Cup and capable of stepping up with an upset.  We think tactically they may have advanced their game and this may be the impetus for them to rise to a higher finish.

1.       Where is home and who is your home club?

I am from Tembisa [midway between Pretoria and Johannesburg] in South Africa. My home club is Warriors FC in the footyWILD Premier League.

 

2.       How many years have you been involved in Australian Rules football?

I’ve been playing the game since 2008. I got a scholarship in 2011 to spend 6 months playing footy in Tasmania with South Launceston. I’ve played two International Cups and this will be my third International Cup. 

World Footy News will be highlighting as many aspects of the International Cup (IC17) as possible over the course of the event, including player profiles. First up is veteran Fijian defender, Nagasavulavula Sovuta.

1. Where is home and who is your home club?

My home is Ra but I’m living in Raiwai in Fiji. My local club is Raiwaiqua.

2. How many years have you been involved in Australian Rules footy?

I started playing football in 2011 and have been involved until now. I was also involved in the creation of the Raiwaiqa Bulldogs club. We won our first AFL Fiji premiership in 2014.

The Lions are coming to Australia with one goal in mid – to roar loudly and look to continue their climb of recent years to take the Division 1 title. Finishing fourth at the IC14 event was something to be proud of, but not enough. This time they have an even bigger fish to fry.

The Road To IC17:

According to AFL SouthAfrica, “the road to the IC17 started immediately after the IC14. Fresh new talent and some of the talented kids who were too young to participate in the IC14, as well as the senior players were invited to camps that made sure that everyone’s skill set is progressing.” 

“These players participate in our national premiership known as footyWILD Premier League. The league has eight clubs ( Divines, Bluebirds, Warriors, Super Owls, Hurricanes, Giant Bees, Wildcats and Platinum Buffaloes) and we also have Provincial League - sort of like interstate league made up of four provinces (KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and North West Province). Finally, we have the footyWILD Under 14 championships. They involve the kids we train everyday via mass participation. So the elite kids participate and they feed the senior teams depending on player development.”

Firstly, let me preface this article by clarifying two things – I was on the losing end of that scoreline, and this was only my second game for this club so I haven’t endured the season this particular club has. Having said that, very few articles about footy dare to look at the positives that might be found in a 290-point loss. Here goes!

In helping out another local team earlier this season, and playing my first ever senior game in the process, I was a part of a similar hiding. Without bothering to research the web for the actual scores, I can say with some surety that the opposition that day kicked about 35 goals. Our tally was far easier to deal with – we got one. It marked the first time in my predominantly junior and reserve grade career that I had experienced such a loss. It was an eye-opener, but for vastly different reasons that many might think.