World Footy News

 

Following on from yesterday’s lucrative broadcast deals for the AFL, Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan announced at the National Press Club in Canberra a potential scheme to help develop and grow the game of Australian Rules football further. By looking towards a more focused development of multicultural and indigenous communities, McLachlan can visualise an idea where all existing AFL clubs buy into a “zoning” program to develop their own markets.

 

Similar in some ways to the zoning of Victoria in days gone by, just on a national scale, the idea certainly may have ramifications for the further tapping of indigenous talent across the country. It may also be a huge step towards the genuine development of player talent across a spread of multicultural communities nationwide which might see greater numbers of players from all over the world embrace the game. What might start small may one day grow into an enormous pool of future talent.

 

 

The following article is from the ABC News website and details McLachlan’s vision which, if funding and his own drive have anything to do with it, may take off in some form in the very near future.

The 2015 Brit Cup was held last weekend at Huddersfield, with the local Rams team hosting the event for the first time. In an event that was dominated for many years by London based clubs (West London Wildcats and Wandsworth Demons) the event has now see a shift in focus to the Central and Northern England region with the Rams making it four or the last five victors being AFLCNE clubs.

The Huddersfield Rams 2015 victory follows on from the Nottingham Scorpions wins in 2011 and 2014 and a combined Wolverhampton/Birmingham/University of Birmingham team in 2013.

In a statement from the Huddersfield Rams, “Rams won the [Brit Cup] competition. After some very good games played the Huddersfield Rams emerged victorious not losing a game all day, showing that they are the best all-British team in the country. In the Women's competition the Irish Kookaburras [defeated] an England/Scotland All-Stars team.”

The following is a media release from the AFL Diversity Unit highlighting the recognition of the Multicultural programs both at a football and wider community level. Being involved first hand there is an enormous amount of work involved and this award recognises the efforts of many people to grow the game for a healthy and diverse future.

The AFL is pleased to announce the AFL Multicultural Program has been awarded the Virgin Australia Sports Leadership Award at the 2015 Australian Migration and Settlement Awards in Canberra yesterday.

Hosted by the Migration Council Australia (MCA), the awards recognise the contribution of organisations and individuals in supporting migrants settle in Australia.

The AFL last night announced it had completed the broadcast rights deal for the period 2017-2022. The deal for Australian free to air, Pay TV and digital media rights will provide the clubs and players of the AFL with financial surety for that period and also allow the AFL to divide up the remaining cash to run the competition and fund development.

The following statements from CEO Gillon McLachlan and AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick outline the deals.  Any mention of international footy or fans outside Australia is notably absent which is somewhat understandable given this deal is all about domestic broadcasting.  It is still disappointing though that in the statements relating to the current state of the game and future growth that there is no mention of the game outside Australian shores.  The details of any carve up of cash and what proportion may go into international development will come down the track but given the omission in the following statements it would seem to be currently far from front of mind for the CEO or the Commission.  Having said that it was not mentioned during the previous deal announcement either. 

The 2015 edition of the 49th Parallel Cup between Canada and the United States was played on the weekend of 31/7/15 and 1/8/15 with both men's and women's matches played out. There was mixed success for the US with the Revolution triumphant over Canada's Northwind in the men's match and the Northern Lights defeating the Freedom in the Women's match, continuing the trend between these four sides.

These were the first full field internationals since the International Cup last year, with this post-IC year continuing the tradition of not seeing much international vs international footy action. The only change in our men's World Rankings was the United States swapped places with Canada moving from 8th to 7th. For the women there was no change.

The AFL Women's match from Etihad Stadium starting in just under an hour between Western Bulldogs and Melbourne will not be streamed on WatchAFL streaming services. The AFL has advised that you need to do the following to view the stream outside Australia

"The only option would be to download the free AFL app and watch it through the ‘News’ section."

The 2015 ARFLI competition moves into its final round of matches before the finals series this weekend. Whilst the Belfast Redbacks have enjoyed a terrific season, undefeated after seven rounds, it is the battle for other finals places which holds greatest interest.

Currently, the Leeside Lions, South Dublin Swans and Galway Magpies are locked in a three way fight for second place and this final round will see all of those teams in action in a fight to the finish.

Fighting for a home semi-final berth on August 22nd, the Swans must take on the powerhouse Redbacks. A very tough task, especially as it is a road trip to Belfast’s home ground. But the other game sees the Galway Magpies hosting the Leeside Lions with the winner likely to take second place and the home semi-final should the Swans lose to the Redbacks.

Now that most of the national Australian Rules football competitions across England have wound down, the Brit Cup fires up with the Huddersfield Rams hosting the event this weekend. Hosted last year by fellow AFLCNE team, the Tyne Tees Tigers, the event pits teams from across England in battle.

As once described by AFL England’s website, the Brit Cup is “an annual tournament which only the British players from the UK clubs can compete in…the event has been held in a number of venues around the country and is a great chance for the regional clubs to level the playing field against their Aussie-rich London counterparts.”

According to the AFL England website, “AFL England is delighted to announce that the Huddersfield Rams will be hosting the 2015 Brit Cup at the Huddersfield YMCA.”

In a “massively successful game yesterday for all involved” the Merseyside Saints in Liverpool took to the field for the first time in a match against the Wolverhampton Wolverines last weekend. The match was played at the Saints’ home ground at the Wirrell Rugby Club, south of the city of Liverpool across the River Mersey.

The match was a great opportunity for the Wolverhampton team to enjoy an end of season trip to Liverpool and have another competitive hitout – one that marks a new chapter in AFLCNE history. The match was a comprehensive margin in favour of the Wolverines, but the Merseyside Saints stated that “stuff like this [the match] will ensure our club survives and grows.”

Final Scores:
Merseyside Saints 10 13 73
Wolverhampton Wolverines 23 21 159

Friday night footy at the SCG kicks off Round 20 with Sydney hosting Collingwood. 

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

The AFL recently announced a number of changes to the organisation's management structure. While these moves may appear to be a long way removed from how footy around the world fits into the AFL jigsaw puzzle, the individuals at the top, their priorities and how their attitude to international  footy develops is key to the future. We will have more to come on this in a follow up article.

AFL Statement follows:

Former General Manager of Broadcasting Simon Lethlean has been appointed as General Manager of Game Development and will oversee community football. This portfolio will also include Customer, Diversity, Female Football and International.

Current Head of Corporate Affairs Elizabeth Lukin has been appointed to the AFL Executive as General Manager Corporate Affairs & Communications.