World Footy News

Round 18 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks off tomorrow night at the Adelaide Oval with the Adelaide Crows hosting Geelong.  The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

 

 

MATCH	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	STATE	LOCAL TIME	GMT
1	21-Jul	Night	Adelaide Crows vs. Geelong Cats	Adelaide Oval	SA	19:20	09:50
2	22-Jul	Day	Essendon vs. North Melbourne	Etihad Stadium	VIC	13:45	03:45
3	22-Jul	Day	Melbourne vs. Port Adelaide	MCG	VIC	13:40	04:10
4	22-Jul	Twilight	Western Bulldogs vs. Gold Coast SUNS	Cazalys Stadium	QLD	16:35	06:35
5	22-Jul	Night	Sydney Swans vs. St Kilda	SCG	NSW	19:25	09:25
6	22-Jul	Night	Fremantle vs. Hawthorn	Domain Stadium	WA	17:40	09:40
7	23-Jul	Early	Richmond vs. GWS GIANTS	MCG	VIC	13:10	03:10
8	23-Jul	Day	Collingwood vs. West Coast Eagles	Etihad Stadium	VIC	15:20	05:20
9	23-Jul	Twilight	Brisbane Lions vs. Carlton	The Gabba	QLD	16:40	06:40

China returns for their fourth consecutive International Cup with a mix of youth and experience that reflects their progress across the past decade of the Chinese national team’s existence. With several players with Australian experience and momentum building amongst a core group of players who’ve recently played competitive international matches, China are a chance to be a major competitor in the Men’s Division 2 of this year’s International Cup.
 

In the first of our 2017 International Cup previews we welcome the European Crusaders women's team who will make their International Cup debut.  A combine of players from across Europe they will have their work cut out for them.  The Crusader's concept is a great vehicle to allow players that otherwise might never get to experience the International Cup for their own nation be part of this great tournament. 

Europe and Australia Football

Australian football has been played regularly in many parts of Europe since the late 1980s when leagues formed in England and Denmark. These first leagues led to the first international game between two European teams was played in 1994 between Great Britain and Denmark.  Football matches have been played much earlier by Australian troops during war time and also between students at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England.  As more cities and countries formed teams and leagues precursor bodies to today's AFL Europe formed and a number of tournaments held. 

The 2017 International Cup Women's fixture can be seen below

Women's Division 1 - AFL IC17 Competition Structure

• Two pools of 4 teams
• Pool A - Canada, Fiji, Great Britain, Pakistan
• Pool B - European Crusaders, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, USA
• After 3 group matches - semi finals: Pool A winner v Pool B 2nd place, Pool B winner v Pool A 2nd place, Pool A 3rd place v Pool B 4th place, Pool B 3rd place v Pool A 4th place
• Winner of Semi Finals play each other (11 v 12, 15 v 16) and losers play each other (13 v 14, 17 v 18)

The Men's Division 2 Fixture can be seen below

Men's Division 2 - AFL IC17 Competition Structure
 •Two pools of 4 teams
 •Pool A - China, Croatia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka
 •Pool B - Germany, India, Japan, Pakistan
 •After 3 group matches - semi finals: Pool A winner v Pool B 2nd place, Pool B winner v Pool A 2nd place, Pool A 3rd place v Pool B  4th place, Pool B 3rd place v Pool A 4th place
 •Winner of Semi Finals play each other (1 v 2, 5 v 6) and losers play each other (3 v 4, 7 v 8)
 

The Division 1 men's fixture is below

Men's Division 1 - AFL IC17 Competition Structure

• One pool of 10 teams
• Canada, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, USA
• After 4 group matches teams are ranked on a ladder from 1 - 10
• Grand Finals are 1 v 2, 3 v 4, 5 v 6, 7 v 8, 9 v 10:

The AFL today confirmed that the men's competition for the International Cup will be split into two divisions.  The top 10 finishing nations from IC14 (with Tonga not competing) have been automatically placed in Division 1 and the balance of teams will compete in Division 2.

It is hoped that the two division setup will avoid the massively one sided affairs between nations early in their development and the highly experienced nations that we expect to finish near the top of the final standings.  This should produce more competition for the top sides and give the lower ranked sides more competitive matches that will hopefully ultimately aid their development rather than crush their spirit.

In the past it seemed that all nations wanted to be in the top division believing they were a realistic chance at the title, but it is understood that this time around more nations understand the vast gap between themselves and the top tier and have been happy with the decision to compete for the Division 2 title this time around.

The women's competition will remain as one division with eight teams competing for the title.  It is hoped that in 2020 there will be enough numbers for a similar 2 division split.

 

The AFL today released the 2017 International Cup fixture.

The 2017 AFL International Cup will be played in Melbourne from August 5 to 19 with 18 men’s teams and eight women’s teams competing.

Men’s teams: Canada, China, Croatia, Fiji, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Nauru, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA.

The AFL today announced the final list of nations set to compete in the International Cup.  The competition will be split into two men's divisions before the tournament with 10 teams in Division 1 and 8 teams in Division 2.  New comers to the International Cup will be Germany, Sri Lanka and Croatia in the men's competition.  In the women's competition Great Britain, Pakistan and the European Crusaders combine team will make their debuts. 

Making a welcome return to the competition after missing the 2014 International Cup are the PNG Flames women's team.

The AFL has put out the call for interested parties that would like to call International Cup matches.  The commentary will accompany the streaming vision from International Cup matches.  In 2014 the matches went out without commentary and it is hoped that the commentary will add another dimension for viewers around the world.

Interested individuals can submit expressions of interest to participate as a commentator for this year’s event by emailing kirstie.fitzgerald@afl.com.au by close of business Melbourne time tomorrow 19th July.

It’s official: Chris Scott, the premiership coach of the Geelong Cats, will be the new coach of the Australian team for the 2017 International Rules Series against Ireland, as appointed by the AFL’s general manager of football operations, Andrew Dillon.

Scott said that he was honored to be named the team’s coach following Alastair Clarkson’s prior decision not to return for a third IRS.

In a battle befitting first versus second on the ladder – and very possibly a grand final preview – the Edinburgh Bloods ensured they would play finals by bringing down the previously undefeated Greater Glasgow Giants. In a season that has seen many games go down to the wire, the Bloods held their nerve to claim a 110 to 102 victory.

The Giants had already claimed the first finals berth due to their previously undefeated reign at the top of the SARFL ladder. It was a game which the Giants could probably afford to lose in some respects – better a loss now and galvanise for finals – but they would still be disappointed at giving the Bloods a psychological edge so close to finals time.