World Footy News

The USA and Finland have not met in International footy before. In cool and overcast weather this morning it was probably the Finns who felt a little more at home on the Western Oval.

Quarter Time USA 9.1 (55)  Finland 0.1 (1)

 

Photos taken by various WFN reporters at the IC14 launch at Federation Square and treking down to the MCG.

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World Footy News Women’s World Rankings

We haven't yet formalised Women's Rankings since few games have been played, but if exactly the same criteria and World Ranking Scheme is applied to the Fifteen (15) Women’s International Tests/Matches played so far the Women’s World Rankings would look like:

1. Australia
2. Canada  43.72    8 matches played*
3. USA         40.12    8 matches played*

Provisional:

Ireland 49.37 5 matches played #
PNG 33.51 5 matches played #
AIM@ 33.29 4 matches played #

Kevin McSorley has waited a while to get out on the field and debut with the Irish Warriors at an International Cup. Originally selected as part of the Warrior’s squad for IC11, Kevin sustained an injury which ruled him out of making the trip.

But tomorrow, his second chance arrives when the Irish Warriors take on the Fiji Tribe as stage one of the team’s quest to win back to back International Cup titles and win their third men’s title.

But Kevin’s road to Melbourne has been both exciting and varied. “The mix of GAA and rugby gave me the fundamental [football] skills along with the compromised rules series Ireland v Australia. I was introduced at age 19 to the Irish club Belfast Redbacks.”

“A few years with Belfast Redbacks led to Irish trials and Euro 9’s cups in Belfast and Edinburgh winning both. Then the Euro 16’s last year, also playing for European Islands [in the curtain-raiser match] before Bulldogs v Power in London and also the European Titans v AIS/AFL Academy. Now there is this IC14 [which is] a great pathway and [offers] excellent opportunities.”

Cam Holmes takes a look at the World Footy News World Rankings and how they may change during the first two rounds of IC14. More info on how they are calculated and links to the results used to calculate them can be found at World Rankings

Round One
In all but two of Round 1 matches, the rating gap between the competing nations is greater than +/_ 10.00 rating points. When the rating gap exceeds +/- 10.00 no advantage is gained by the higher ranked nation and likewise no points are lost by the lower ranked nation. The Ranking Scheme predicts that the higher ranked nation will win more often than not so in this case it would extremely unlikely for any of these matches to go the way of the underdog.

However if the lower ranked nation does actually cause an upset the points exchange can only be the maximum of +/- 3.00. This has only occurred once in 252 eligible International matches e.g. Great Britain upset Ireland in April 2013. (Rating gap +/- 11.26)

The Ranking Scheme predicts that the higher ranked nation will win more often than not and as WFN World Rankings are calculated using a 'Points Exchange' system, in which sides take points off each other based on the match result. Whatever one side gains, the other loses.

Following today's launch the International Cup teams paraded from Federation Square to the MCG. Decked out in team uniforms and following their nation's flags and banners the 18 countries marched joyfully to the home of Australian Football, the MCG.

Once inside they all queued expectantly until the nod was given and onto the hallowed turf they went. The parade of nations allowed all those who have come so far - not only to Australia but in their footy journey's to represent their countries - to have the amazing opportunity to walk the boundary with their team mates ahead of today's AFL match between Melbourne and Hawthorn (an official crowd of 37,082).

The IC14 launch took place this afternoon at Federation Square in front of the competitors of the many countries and nationalities competing in the tournament, as well as international footy fans, friends, family and interested onlookers.


All twenty five teams, 18 men's and seven women's, were represented at the launch however the most of the Chinese team will not arrive in Melbourne until tomorrow morning.

The teams were welcomed by Senior Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy-Wandin and presented with a branch of a gum tree and invited to each take leaves from it.

We've been using live streaming audio of some matches. You can access it via the embedded player below. The player should either play live or the latest recording from earlier in the day.

Note that there are now numerous episodes listed - the horizontal bars icon accesses all our recordings.

Also note we will not be streaming audio of the Grand Finals.

In a story that has been splashed across the mainstream media of Australia, AFL players have been taxed by the New Zealand government for matches played in Wellington over the last two years.

The first-ever match on foreign soil to be played for premiership points saw the Swans take on the Saints in a historic clash in 2013. The Saints then returned to Wellington in round six of this year to take on the Lions.

However, it has been revealed that the players who took part in the matches were taxed a portion of their match fee because the Kiwi government deemed them to be ‘entertainers.’

Bringing both mens and womens squads to Melbourne for the International Cup, including travel, uniforms, and over 2 weeks of accommodation and food - is no small undertaking for any nation. For AFL Fiji the support of others is crucial and the opportunity exists via 'MyCause' to make a donation to assist.
Donations can be made at Bring Fiji to AFL International Cup.

With the 2014 International Cup now just hours away players from all teams are just itching to get out on the fields in and around Melbourne to show their skills and seek rewards for their efforts. The Chinese team is certainly out to make a mockery of their 15th seeding and are keen to pull off upsets galore.

 

Below is the Chinese squad, featuring names and their team local team. The team will be captained by Shaoling Chen from the Guangzhou Scorpions. He is part of a group of 23 Scorpions in the squad, along with one from the Beijing Bombers, one from the Dongguan Giants, four from the Southern Dragons and two from La Trobe.