World Footy News

Odisha became the latest state to embrace footy as they welcomed ARFAI officials to hold an introductory training session at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) campus in Bhubaneshwar.

The Australian High Commission in India deserve a special note of thanks for sanctioning the Direct Aid Program (DAP) grant for the joint venture between ARFAI and KISS. Under this project, ARFAI officials will train senior students at KISS to be footy coaches, who will in turn help in training at least 1500 children by the end of this calendar year.

 

The following is a press release from the Essendon Football Club looking at the upcoming 20th anniversary of the events which led to the changes of AFL racial vilification laws and the Michael Long inspired “The Long Walk”.

 

The Long Walk Launch

Twenty years on from their history changing moment on the MCG, Michael Long and Damian Monkhorst were reunited at the famous ground to launch this year’s The Long Walk.

The theme of this year’s The Long Walk is ‘Together’, and it was fitting that Long and Monkhorst shared their memories of the 1995 ANZAC Day Clash and the AFL’s vilification policy which was born out of the fallout. 

 

“This was a game changer in that moment for the positive and the right things that we see now. You see so many different cultures playing this great game and I don’t think we realise how much that moment changed our great game,” Long said.

Here in tropical North Queensland “rampant mozzies” might mean disease carrying insects, but across central England it might equally mean the powerhouse Aussie Rules team from Manchester. Such was the case in Round Two action last weekend as AFLCNE teams gathered in combat on the footy fields and commemorated combat with pre-match recognition of ANZAC Day.

 

The round was hosted by both Sheffield and Huddersfield. The Thunder played the visiting Tyne Tees Tigers and also hosted the second match between the Birmingham Bears and Manchester Mosquitoes. The Huddersfield Rams played host to the visiting Wolverhampton Wolverines. The Nottingham Scorpions had the bye.

 

 

Thunder started their season in fine style after the first round bye, downing a spirited Tigers by 97 points. The Mozzies put the Bears to the sword to the tune of 59 points, enhancing their premiership prospects further, whilst in Huddersfield the Rams were too good for the Wolverines on the day, home by 63 points.

 

AFL Round 5 kicks off with the blockbuster clash of Carlton vs Collingwood at the MCG in Melbourne, Friday night.

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 brand new season for AFL London got under way last weekend with two huge magnets dominating the program. The Premiership League kicked off with a grand-final replay between the West London Wildcats and the Wandsworth Demons. Equally exciting was the first women’s match in the AFL London competition when the South East London Giants took on the North London Lions.

 

The following reports from the AFL London website give the details of the weekend’s matches.

 

Round 1 Premiership Results:

Round 1 saw some great games of footy in the sunshine here in London, including the huge grand final rematch between the Wildcats and the Demons. Results were:

 

Wildcats 12.7.79 def Demons 9.8.62

Swans  6.6.42 def by Lions 15.14.104

Hawks 15.15.105 def Magpies 4.6.30

The recent allegation of racial vilification aimed at Richmond footballer Bachar Houli is a worrying sign. Whilst the journalist involved has apologised and does not recall having labelled Houli as a "terrorist", the mere fact that there might be a perceived vilifying link is disturbing on so many levels.

Whilst the ramifications go all the way to the rights of all people to a life without threats, bullying, stereotyping and fear, there is also a lesser argument that football codes, in this case Australian Rules football, will be damaged as a brand by the actions of a small minority.

This incident come just over a week after Western Bulldogs player, Lin Jong, was the target of racial slurs. His lineage is both East Timorese and Taiwanese. Richmond's Chief Executive, Brendon Gale stated to the AFL's website that ""Lin Jong is a fine young player and we should be celebrating the diversity he brings to our game."

Likewise, Bachar Houli's contribution to the game in terms of the development of multicultural markets for our game should be applauded and widely recognised. Racial slurs, whether in jest, without thought or deliberately targeted have absolutely no place in our game, or any sport, and all that can be done needs to be so stamp out racial slurs.

This article courtesy of Michael Douglas from the Greater Glasgow Giants.

The Greater Glasgow Giants made their competitive debut at the 2015 Haggis Cup, an annual invitational tournament held in Scotland every April. This year’s event took place in Edinburgh and, with experience levels ranging from 20 years to a few weeks, the Giants’ squad started the tournament excited to develop and get vital game time ahead of the 2015 season starting in May.

They faced a daunting task in the opening match as the Huddersfield Rams had brought a squad full of experience and littered with England internationals. The game went to the wire with the Rams coming out on top by 2 points, the Giants got off to a slow start but came back strong in the 2nd half finding themselves unlucky not to snatch victory late on as they had the chances!

 

Australian Rules football has slowly and surely spread its influence to all corners of the world. Many times it is expats going abroad from Australian to other countries, but many other overseas seeds were planted by service men and women in many locations.

 

There are famous accounts of impromptu matches suddenly erupting on some of the world’s most famous battle fields. The match being played on ANZAC Day in the French town of Villers-Bretonneaux, on the Somme, celebrates wartime accounts of matches played on the site of the Australian War Memorial.

 

Often the seeds of our sport, planted in wartime, burst into flower in the future.

 

Ben Guthrie from www.afl.com reports that Australian and New Zealand troops stationed and serving in Afghanistan will be playing an ANZAC Day footy match. 

As part of the AFL extravaganza happening in Wellington around the Anzac day clash between the St Kilda Saints and Carlton Blues the AFL Academy U17’s will tour playing their third annual game against NZ’s finest.

The Level One side (selected after the AFL U 16 Championships last year) include Ben Ainsworth who is a powerful small forward who leaps high, has a powerful burst of speed and can kick a goal from nothing.

Until this week, he has used those traits as a player for local club Morwell, TAC Cup team Gippsland Power and representative side Vic Country. Now he will face the New Zealand Hawks at Westpac Stadium in Wellington as part of the 100-year anniversary of Anzac Day.

The following list of ANZAC Day commemorations across the USA is thanks to the USAFL -the original article appears here.

100 years ago, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, better known as the ANZACs, fought against enemy forces in the Battle of Gallipoli. The bravery and sacrifice of the men who fought that battle in 1915, and every man and woman who has served afterwards, are remembered and commemorated every April 25th.

Though ANZAC Day is an occasion of solemn reflection and gratitude to for those who have dedicated their lives defending Australia, it is a also a celebration of the identity of her people that was forged over a century ago and that continues to grow and thrive into the future.

Australians everywhere will be marking ANZAC Day 2015 in a variety of different ways, and the US is no exception. From memorial services to games of 2-up to watch parties for the always enormous Bombers-Magpies game from the MCG, here is a look at what's going on this weekend:

Alex Benjamin from USAFL Weekly Report recaps the weekends matches and provides his latest USAFL Standings table (with comparison to the new USAFL rankings poll). He also looks at the matches ahead for the weekend, tells us about his personal Road to Austin walk and previews his Youtube streaming show for this week.

 USAFL Last Weekend

What can I say about the Eastern Regional Weekend except…”Expect the Unexpected…” 2 Upsets and the USAFLWR standings are turned on its head, including the USAFL Top 20 as well. Here’s how the weekend’s games went:

Eastern Regional Tournament: Fort Lauderdale

Game #1: North Carolina 4.1.25 New York 10.8.68
Game #2: Fort Lauderdale 6.7.43 New York 2.6.18
Game #3: Fort Lauderdale 7.6.48 North Carolina 3.7.25

Thanks to AFL Asia

The sport of Australian Rules football will be used to commemorate the ANZAC Centenary across Asia this Saturday through AFL Asia’s massive ANZAC ROUND of matches. Seven clubs will be hosting ANZAC matches in conjunction with dawn services in some of the most significant locations in Asia where Australian Defence Forces have previously served.

 “ANZAC matches have become a special part of playing footy in Asia.” AFL Asia President Darren Whitfield said. “Our clubs and players realise the significance of the day, using it to celebrate the relationship we have with the communities we now live in”.

AFL Asia’s ANZAC games will this year be played on Saturday 25th April in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.