World Footy News

The New York Magpies have taken the 2014 US National Championship title defeating Orange County by just three points in a tight arm wrestle Grand Final Match.

Grand Finals results of each division in the table below.

 

Grand Finals
Division 1	Orange County	2.1.13	New York	2.4.16
Division 2	Columbus	1.0.6	Los Angeles	11.3.69
Division 3	Sacramento	7.1.43	Philadelphia	0.5.5
Division 4	Denver B/KC	4.6.25	North Carolina	7.2.44
Women's	Denver	2.3.15	Golden Gate	0.4.4

 

Tomislav Vlaović, current president of the Slavonski Brod Tigers in Croatia, knows his club has benefitted from the AFL Europe grants program. “We received both grants: the Goal Post Grant (GPG) and Start-up Club Program (SCP).”

“Included in the Start-up Club Program we received the 6 footballs. We obtained the Richmond footy kits ourselves, thanks mainly to my dad, Andrija Vlaovic. AFL Europe made first contact with the Richmond Tigers before I came to club but never got past that.”

“The Goal Post Grant (GPG) included financial assistance in helping erect goal posts on our current playing ground. We applied for 4 x goal posts and 4 x behind posts. Our application was successfully approved and we are very grateful to AFL Europe in helping us to build the first AFL full size ground in Eastern Europe.”

Myles Treanor from the Dublin City University (DCU) is the current club chairman and has put together the following information regarding the fledgling club from Ireland. DCU were the recipients of a Start-up Club Program grant (SCP) in 2014 which will kick along their progress as they compete on a broader scale and grow.

“[In] September 2014 aims we received a grant from AFL Europe over the summer with 6 balls. This was our first year of our own gear. We have used it regularly during trainings so far. DCU’s sport staff are currently helping us design jerseys and fund further equipment.”

Myles goes on to detail the origins and growth of the club.

“The club was founded in September 2013. Myles Treanor and Caoilte O’ Baoill competed for Ireland in the Euro Cup 9’s in Bordeaux. When we returned we set up the club in DCU with no funding or backing. It was made an official DCU club in September of this year.”

“It might not be the biggest of grants, but it was so important when we were only nine guys running around talking about making Odense Lions into a big club. We don't use the footballs we got anymore (we got new real Sherrins now) and we will replace the jumpers next year with new ones. So we are moving on from the first start grant we got, but even that small grant was very important for us. We would have had a hard time without it. It can seem little now with 35 players and two teams (male and female) but it was so important back then.”

These are the words of the Odense Lions and their gratitude for the Start-Up Club Program grant from AFL Europe. Whilst the grant may seem small compared to the resources that might follow, Odense have succinctly summed up the value of the grant, and this is echoed by other clubs across Europe.

Since the early days when the grant helped kick-start the Lions, their adventure has been a success story for Australian Rules football in Europe, and particularly their home nation, Denmark.

Day 1 of the US Nationals is complete with Calgary, New York and Orange County all undefeated in Divison 1.  On today's form Orange County would be expected to beat Minnesota in their match tomorrow morning to go into the final.  New York and Calgary will play each other with the winner headed for the final also and at this stage the likely winner of that match up is too close to call. 

Division 2 reigning champions Columbus and challenger Houston were both undefeated on Day 1 and will play each other tomorrow morning for a spot in the final.  LA Dragons are also undefeated and are looking good for the final if they can get over Nashville tomorrow.

In Divison 3 Philadelphia and Sacramento were unbeaten and will play off in the final if they can win their respective matches tomorrow morning.

North Carolina dominated Division 4 with two big wins and Tulsa were also convincing and undefeated.  The Denver B/KC team also had two convincing wins on Day 1.

 

Division 1		Day 1
Calgary	7.4.46	Golden Gate	1.0.6
Denver	3.0.18	Orange County	2.11.23
Austin	4.1.25	Minnesota	1.1.7
Denver	3.2.20	Minnesota	4.6.30
New York	4.7.31	Dallas	1.4.10
Austin	4.0.24	Orange County	8.6.54
New York	9.7.61	Golden Gate	0.1.1
Calgary	8.5.53	Dallas	0.5.5

The provision of grants by AFL Europe to new and emerging football clubs has seen some successes in recent years that have helped to populate national leagues with new clubs, expansion and greater opportunities for players.

It will be interesting to see which clubs are successful in obtaining grants in 2015. There are always whispers of new clubs coming to fruition across Europe, and there is no doubt that some of these clubs have made it under their own steam. But it is also true that the “Start Up Club Program (SCP)” has helped launch many of these new clubs.

There have been whispers of new clubs in France for some time now. The ALFA Lions and Nancy Bobcats have arrived, but interest remains over the teams from Toulon and Pau. There has been some talk of a club starting in Zenica (Bosnia & Herzegovina), and there have been overtures in Bergen (Norway) for a possible club to start, though that is not much past conversational stage at the moment. But this short list (and there are others, without doubt, that I have not mentioned) could potentially be the candidates for SCP grants for 2015.

As reported earlier this year – 2 representatives from Solomon Islands AFL (SIAFL) were playing the year with AFL Darling Downs side Coolaroo. Francs Ramo and Peter Nuku were afforded a chance of a lifetime to play footy in Australia. And - in what is a relatively young footy region - the Darling Downs having been formed as the Darling Downs Australian Football League in 1971.

The AFL Vanuatu 2014 Grand Final was run and won on Saturday by perhaps the underdog in Mele Eagles who overcame the Erakor Golden Star Tigers by at the end a comfortable 33 point margin.

Ryan Bonga who has represented Vanuatu and the South Pacific in Australia – took out the award for best on ground.

The final score – as the brand new scoreboard tells the story – was Mele 6.14.50 to Erakor 2.5.17.

The Olinda Ferny Creek Football/Netball club visit is a major undertaking in itself and sets a high standard for other clubs to aspire to - read more.....

Without the ability to watch all teams over the course of all matches at the Euro Cup it is difficult to do an all-team analysis. For that reason, this analysis looks at the performances of all teams over the course of the event by looking at the numbers. This analysis looks at both the men’s and women’s teams.

 

Some readers who were there may see things slightly differently, but we would welcome any constructive insights in the comments section of this article below.

 

The corresponding article after the 2013 Euro Cup in Bordeaux was sub-titled “Something for Everyone” - http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20130922221122206 , which was true in that all teams had periods of success or performances which suggested a positive experience.

 

 

Earlier in 2014 the Essendon club undertook their latest multicultural program, Embracing India. Within Australia the program was designed largely to develop and grow a working relationship with Melbourne’s growing and vibrant Indian communities, particularly in the north-west region which is Essendon’s heartland.

 

 

Amongst a host of other community projects, which can be seen by going to the Essendon website - http://www.essendonfc.com.au/community/multicultural-programs/embracing-india - the club has sent a group of players and staff to India. The following story from the Essendon website tells of the focus of the trip and an outline of projects to be undertaken.