World Footy News

Australian Rules football in South Africa took another monumental step towards nation-wide development with the recent involvement of a team from Soweto being included in a recent competition in nearby Potchefstroom to the south-west.

The urban area of Soweto (abbreviated from South West Townships) has a population of around 1.3 million and makes up one third of greater Johannesburg’s population. Soweto, part of the already football mad Gauteng Province has included residents such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

Now there is the opportunity for Australian Rules football to slowly take root in one of the most populous areas of South Africa, highlighted by the recent Australian Rules football carnival. It is hoped that this event is the starting point of a long journey of footy in Soweto.

The North London Lions have pulled off one of the most remarkable finals series by downing highly fancied favourites the West London Wildcats to claim the 2015 AFL London premiership. Not only have the Lions won their first flag since 2012, and their fourth overall, they have also become a timely reminder for finalists the world over that premierships can be won, even against red hot favourites, from third place.

Not only that, but the Lions showed that when a premiership is on the line it is the team with the better skills, commitment, heart, teamwork and belief that will win the day rather than talent on paper.

The Lions got away to a good start in the first quarter, taking the game up to the Wildcats and a little more. The first break saw the Lions build confidence by leading 3 4 22 to 2 2 14. Starting the second quarter eight points up would have lifted hearts.

The following article by James Gottschalk on the AFL Europe website looks more deeply at the new growth of the game of Australian Rules football in Poland.

 

The expansion of Australian Rules Football continues to grow at an astonishing rate in Europe, with 2015 seeing the inaugural AFL Europe Champions League taking place in Amsterdam. Ten countries were represented by a team demonstrating that Australian Rules Football has certainly staked its claim as sport capable of growing in such a soccer orientated continent.

 

 

This year’s AFL Europe Axios Euro Cup is hoping to involve the unveiling of the newest AFL Europe franchises – AFL Polska. The driving force behind the inclusion of Poland into the AFL scene is Australian expat, Gareth Smith whose claim to fame is keeping Brett Voss to a handful of possessions back when Gareth was 17. Since taking the reins of AFL Polska and establishing a team in Bydgoszcz, the sports awareness and interests has greatly increase and participation has reached even the “grass roots” level.

With the demise of the Aberdeen Eagles from the Scottish Australian Rules Football League landscape a couple of seasons back there may well have been concerns for the growth of the game in Scotland. But the 2015 season has proved that those concerns have been replaced by an optimism and growth that looks set to take the game further, bigger and better into the future.

A comment from the SARFL stated that “The best thing about this season has been the growth of the sport. No forfeited games. The league was two established sides [since the withdrawal of Aberdeen and the re-branding of the Kingdom Kangaroos] with three newer teams. By Friday night all three of the new ones [teams] had registered over 30 players over the season including a combined 10 in the 16-19 age bracket and at least two clubs have a schools program. Well done to everyone at each of the clubs who keep these things happening - whether you book the pitches or recruit a player it all helps the sport.”

Certainly the on field results this year show some highly encouraging patterns as the league bounces vibrantly into the 2015 finals series.

AFL Japan extends invitation to footy clubs from around the world to contest the Japan Cup.

The Japan Cup has been held every two years since around 2001 and this year will be contested on October 10th 2015.

Originally called the Sugadaira Cup because it was held in Sugadaira, Nagano Prefecture.

Getting to the business end of the season of the VFL.  Shem Tatupu and Conor McKenna's efforts up forward and Mason Cox's ruckwork were the standout performances among the Internationals in the VFL this week.

 

Friday night footy in Adelaide kicks off Round 19 with Adelaide hosting Richmond. 

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. Details of free passes for viewers outside Australia for this round only can be found here.

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

To help celebrate the 2015 AFL Multicultural Round, WatchAFL (the AFL’s official global streaming service) are offering all people outside of Australia with the opportunity to watch ALL Round 19 Matches for FREE (August 7-9) either Live or On Demand. 

Multicultural Round FREE passes will be available at  http://watchafl.afl.com.au  from Wednesday 5th August. 

 

 

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The 2015 AFL Multicultural Round is almost upon us and footy supporters are in for a feast of entertainment, events, promotions and raising of awareness for the diversity of people that make up our great game.

For the past few weeks the AFL’s Diversity unit has been putting in place the organisation of events, media opportunities and social media saturation to ensure that the widest possible amplification of the round is achieved. Volunteers all over the nation, Multicultural Community Ambassadors and other staff, have been visiting schools with clinics, presentations and the like to spread the word through communities, schools and a wide variety of cultural groups.

The AFL is pleased to announce the 2015 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round, celebrating ‘Many Cultures, One Game’ will take place in Round 19 of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.  

Multicultural Round highlights the contribution multicultural communities have made to the game’s history and welcomes new communities to embrace Australian Football as fans, players, umpires or administrators.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said he is proud to announce a record number of activities will take place in Round 19 to mark the Toyota AFL Multicultural Round.

“With 27 per cent of Australians born overseas and around 200 languages spoken every day in Australian homes, the AFL is committed to reflecting Australia’s growing cultural diversity. 

To celebrate this weekend’s upcoming Multicultural Round Port Adelaide will wear a Chinese-inspired guernsey against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

The Power will wear a variation of its V-lined black guernsey. The guernsey will feature both the Chinese and Australian national flags on the front underneath the AFL logo and the respective player’s name in Chinese characters on the back above the number.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said the Multicultural Round guernsey was another sign of the club’s commitment to China.