World Footy News

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.

The Norwegian local Australian Rules football competition has moved into power mode now as the major national competition heads towards its 2015 decider. The Kenguru Cup pits the three main Norwegian teams – Oslo East, Oslo West and Ås Battlers – against each other over five rounds of battle between May and August.

With four rounds completed it is the Oslo West team leading the way with four wins ahead of Oslo East (last year’s winners) on three wins and Ås Battlers locked with East on three wins. For Oslo West it is an historic occasion, already having been the first to qualify for this year’s final for the first time. This follows successive last placed finishes over the past couple of years.

The final round in two weeks gives Oslo West the chance to hone their skills and put plans into action whilst Oslo East, last year’s winners, and Ås Battlers fight it out to be the other finalist. It will make for a fascinating final round, especially given the both East and Ås will be keen to win both of their matches to secure a finals berth and putting huge pressure on West to keep performing well.

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.