World Footy News

Mickey Randall writes for The Footy Almanac - a great piece written around the modern international world of Auskick on Australia day with the Singapore Sharks and taking Mickey back to his own junior days in Kapunda, South Australia.

Sometimes we can look at a sport or activity we enjoy and wonder why it doesn’t just automatically catch on and happen elsewhere. In the case of Australian Rules football, many of us see the glam and glitter of the game on television, or take in the atmosphere of a game by being there in the stands and think it’s all too easy.

But the reality is that it takes incredible amounts of money, time, people, resources and drive to make the game grow, whether that be at the MCG, the local club, or in remote outposts of the game in places like South Africa. This story looks at an account of how difficult it has been to fly the Australian Rules flag in a village called Bodibe.

It is almost ten years since Victorian club, the Hampton Rovers, donated a set of their footy jumpers to the Bodibe club. The following is an extract of an account of that event, taken from the Hampton Rovers website:

We welcome Alex as our first dedicated US reporter for some years to WFN.   Alex is a long time servant of the Nashville Kangaroos and in 2014 begins his 10th season as goal umpire including numerous matches officiating at the US National Championships.  2014 is also his 6th season as host of "USAFL Weekly" live webcast which can be seen on Ustream and the 5th season of his footy blog . 

Recently a number of the USAFL teams gathered for the traditional Australia Day Weekend to celebrate with our Aussie mates.  While some teams gathered at several local establishments for purely social events (the New York Magpies, Boston Demons and Tulsa Buffaloes, among others), other teams took to the streets and the fields for fun. 

Four of the teams, the Fort Lauderdale Fighting Squids, the Sacramento Suns, Golden Gate Roos and Nashville Kangaroos went for their first games of the year in Metro competition and in the case of the Sacramento Suns and Golden Gate Roos, it was history in the making as well.  

The following article, written by Sikhona Vesi , the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) Provincial Development Manager, has been reproduced courtesy of AFL Footywild. It focuses on the national championships held for the first time in Durban late last year.

The footyWILD National Championships is by far the most important event in South African footy. It reunites friends, divides teams and is known to conquer our imaginations, as it possesses the opportunity for our provincial teams to battle it out for our ‘holy grail’ which is to win the Championship and the bragging rights to be called the ‘Champs’.

In both divisions (high school and extreme) the games are highly competitive, as the players are not only playing for the pride of their respective teams, but also for places in the Geminder squad, the South African Lions and also to be part of the team in next year’s International Cup to be held in Australia.

The following article was written by Kym Morgan, published in Adelaide's Sunday Mail and is reproduced below.

SOME arrive without boots.

Others are slightly weary after having travelled six hours just to be there.

But every member of the Jakarta Bintangs Aussie Rules team beams with excitement - and tonight is only training.

"The level of enthusiasm and the love these kids have for Australian Rules is pretty phenomenal,'' team coach and Adelaide expat Adam Bray says.

Bray moved to Indonesia with his wife 18 months ago and, as a former amateur level player in Adelaide, decided to join the Bintangs to stay involved in footy.

Today, he finds himself not only coaching the Bintangs but helping drive the growth of AFL among 12-23-year-old Indonesians.

The Asian football year has kicked off with simultaneous games being played around the region in the East Asian Australian Football League (EAAFL) and the South China Australian Football League (SCAFL) for the Australia Day weekend.

The Vietnam Swans defeated the Cambodian Eagles in a dominant performance, winning 13.15.93 to 3.6.24 at RMIT in Ho Chi Minh City in the first game of the year after the festive break.

The match was preceded by an AFL 9s game between Reds and Whites, inviting everybody to get involved for the lower contact version, and included a high percentage of women.

The following story is a little late in arriving, but courtesy of AFL Footywild in South Africa we can now share their account of the recent visit late last year (2013) of the newly crowned AFL premiership team, Hawthorn. This follows on from a recent series of stories published by World Footy News concerning the School Sports Australia Under 15’s tour to the nation to play the South African Lions team. In coming weeks we will have further insights into the more recent developments of the game in South Africa.

AFL South Africa would like to thank the Hawthorn Football Club for their hospitality in allowing us into their sanctum for the day. It was an experience that will stay with the Lions players for many years to come, and motivate them to hopefully play AFL in Australia one day. We wish Hawthorn the best of luck for the rest of their stay in South Africa and for season 2014.

In a very special event for AFL South Africa, AFL Premiership team Hawthorn invited members of South African Lions players and umpires to visit them during their 12-day preseason training camp in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Article courtesy of Anthony Nolan of the Tyne Tees Tigers

The old saying that “Aussie Rules is a man’s game with no rules” was well and truly kicked over the boundary line by Newcastle based Aussie Rules team Tyne Tees Tigers ARFC when they held a taster session for women in the area at their Shieldfield training base.
 
A total of eighteen women fronted for the taster session, run by the club on Saturday. Ageing from 13 through to a few 30+ year olds (a women never reveals her age I’ve found!) and displaying skills that led one male player at the club to ask “Do the girls qualify to play in our team?”
 

Northern Territory football fans, and particularly the excited fans in Alice Springs, are gearing up for one of their biggest matches of the year when the Melbourne Demons take on the Geelong Cats at Traeger Park on Friday 28th February as part of the AFL’s NAB Cup pre-season competition.

A few days earlier, Townsville gets its moment in the sun when the Gold Coast Suns return to the city to take on the Brisbane Lions at Tony Ireland Stadium.  The North Queensland city, recipient of the effects of successive cyclones (Dylan and Edna) last week, will be looking forward to the excitement of big time AFL football again after successfully hosting the Suns v Kangaroos match last year.

The touring School Sport Australia Under 15’s team have completed their tour of South Africa earlier this week by whitewashing the series against the South Africa Lions. But, although the results might suggest three wins, the margins of 30 points in Game 1, 70 points in Game 2 and a 59 point result in Game 3 suggest three solid wins, but no blowouts. The South African team remained committed to their goal of making life as tough as possible for the visitors, and succeeded.

MATCH 3 RESULTS
24 JANUARY 2014- KHAYELITSHA CRICKET GROUND, CAPE TOWN

School Sport Australia 12.11.83 d South Africa Lions 3.6.24

The AFL will hold an AFL 9s skills session and game next Saturday (1 February) at the Midsumma Festival, Victoria’s annual arts and culture festival for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) community.
 
In conjunction with Carlton player Brock McLean and Yarra Glen footballer Jason Ball, the AFL 9s session will give members of the GLBTI community a chance to try the AFL’s newest form of the game as part of the Midsumma Team Melbourne Sports Day.
 
AFL 9s is fast, free-flowing and involves nine players on each team playing on a smaller field with no tackling, making it suitable for everyone. It enables people of all ages and ability to participate in male, female or mixed competitions that fit around their busy lives and provide an environment where fun, enjoyment and safety are a priority.
 
The skills session and game are part of the AFL’s ongoing efforts to promote AFL 9s to new audiences as well as to further encourage diversity and inclusion in Australian football.
 

Advertising Feature

World Footy News welcomes aboard a new sponsor - Tribal Sport, headed by David Lake, International Cup coach of Papua New Guinea as well as QAFL club Morningside and previously coach of Mt Gravatt in the NEAFL.  Here Tribal Sport discusses their origins and a deal on offer to all countries competing at the 2014 AFL International Cup.

The brand Tribal Sport was built on serving the Sporting Communities of the Pacific -  Supporting the players, the volunteers and fans so that they too could send their message to competitors about their Pride, Heritage and Culture. The gear is made with all those things in mind as we attempt to accentuate the virtues of the participants from these regions.

As they have developed and supported the brand in the Pacific we have now taken our place in the Australian market as a key supplier to all the different sports AFL, Rugby, Netball, Cricket, etc.

As we continue to form key alliances in the Australian and South Pacific markets we look to strengthen our position as a key supplier in the supply of Sportswear to clubs/schools and corporates.

With the upcoming IC14 coming along in August this season we are looking to further expand our brand through Australian Football teams across the World. What better way than to offer starter deals so you can get your country's team looking its best. Click on the Tribal Sports banner link to view the deals we have put together for you. If you can’t see what you want please contact us on mytribe@tribalsport.com.au and tell us how we can best give you what you need for your country.

So far it's ‘welcome to the tribe’ Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

We look forward to making our brand at Tribal your vehicle to success at the upcoming IC14.