World Footy News

We've been discussing the future of footy in Asia and in particular calls to involve more locals.  One proposal was a peak body to help promote and coordinate the game, including with more internationals and quotas to ensure most players are locals.  The difficulty of getting that started is the cost of travel, something expats normally find more viable.  As it turns out several Asian clubs have already committed to a league in 2013, inevitably to be expat dominated, but hopefully a basis on which to build deeper roots in their adopted countries.

The Vietnam Swans have put forward a proposal to the Asian footy community of an East Asia Australian Football League (EAAFL) in an effort to bring structure, uniformity and increased credibility to Asian football. The eventual objective is to be able to play a home and away series throughout the year, have a ladder and be able to state a premier at the end.

With clubs existing in Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, East Timor, Japan and Vietnam, the potential number of teams able to participate is considerably high. Teams of expatriates are generally better funded and would most likely make up the majority, but there is also reasonable growth of teams with local talent.

Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand earlier confirmed their participation for the 2013 season, and in late breaking news Jakarta (Indonesia) and Singapore have joined in the last week and and just in the last couple of days Laos became team number seven.  More teams may follow suit in the coming weeks.

We continue our series on the Asian footy future with a piece that considers how to give players a pathway to international representation even if their own nation is not yet able to field its own fully local team.

The issue of the expat dominated Asian competitions comes to my mind every International Cup, mostly due to the absence of so many countries in Asia that are not represented. Japan have for a long time been involved in footy and have both expat dominated clubs and grass roots locals clubs (mostly dominated by Uni Students that they lose once they move on to employment) and have played in all International Cups. Then along came China and India who have both been able to put together national squads at the last two international cups (with some numerical support from Chinese and Indians in Australia). East Timor were the latest to join the competition in 2011.

But how to get more of the countries in Asia where footy is played involved? The obvious answer is to grow the game in the individual countries among the nationals of those countries. Ideally build up a healthy pool of individuals, pick your national team, raise the funds and the job is done. To my mind nothing beats grass roots, self sustaining community football clubs who can produce and provide their elite players to representative football.

For a variety of reasons it is clearly not that simple.

On face value this may seem like a strange analogy. Back in the 1850’s, when gold was being dug up all over New South Wales and Victoria, people were leaving behind their home countries to try their luck on the goldfields. If they could find enough gold they could be set for life. Some succeeded, whilst others returned home wiser for the experience.

Well, it’s happening again, in a much smaller way and for a completely unrelated reason. The lure of Australian football is drawing young men (and women) to the spiritual, geographical and historical home of the game to give it a go and, hopefully, be the next big thing. There are players coming from Canada, the USA, Great Britain, continental Europe, Oceania countries and even Africa for a singular, united purpose… just like the days of the gold rushes.

Articles have been written already about the likes of Gideon Simon and Brendan Beno (PNG), Kurt Heatherley, Siope Ngata, Ben Miller, Shem Tatupu and Khan Haretuku (NZ), Shae McNamara and Eric Wallace (USA), Adam Ballard (England) and Anthony Trigg (Wales), Zac Tuohy, Marty Clarke, Pearce Hanley, Caolan Mooney and many others from Ireland as well as Patrick Ndongo (Cameroon) and Yoshi Harris (Nauru). There are more not mentioned, but all are enjoying various degrees of success in the AFL or VFL. It could be strongly argued that this is evidence that international Australian Rules football is becoming more and more attractive as a sporting option. And possibly more than ever, players believe there is a pathway of success that can be followed from the smaller local stage to the greatest Australian Rules stages of all.

In a recent article about Maningrida Footy in the Northern Territory, the Michael Long NT Thunder Learning and Leadership Centre was mentioned as a link to allow young players from remote communities to follow the talent pathways on offer for Australian Rules football. It has proven difficult for young players, indigenous and non indigenous, to make the transition to the demands of life playing football away from home. This centre will greatly assist young players in that transition to hopefully go on to play at the highest level.

“Essendon legend and AFL great Michael Long met Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean and Indigenous Health Minister Warren Snowdon in Canberra to discuss progress on the Michael Long NT Thunder Learning and Leadership Centre in Darwin.

At Parliament House, Mr Long, a dual premiership player and Norm Smith medallist, outlined the construction timetable and unveiled the logo for the centre.

Mr Long said he was delighted to update Mr Crean and Mr Snowdon on the progress of the project.

“I am delighted with the final design of the logo as I believe it encapsulates both the essence of the project and the spirit of the Territory,” Mr Long said.

“The release of the logo and branding is an important step as we progress to commencing construction, as planned, in April.

Paul Earley was this week named as the new manager of the Irish team for the 2013 International rules series against Australia. The two match series will be played in Ireland in October this year at a yet to be named venue in Ulster and at Croke Park.

Earley was the first Irishman recruited from Ireland to play in the VFL. Earley played for Melbourne in the VFL in the last match of 1984 after being recruited from gaelic football where he played for Roscommon. He then returned to Ireland and continued his GAA football career and played in the 1987 International Rules series for Ireland.

Over the last few years we've had numerous articles chronicling the rebirth of Australian football in India, but recently AFL India drew our attention to a great article by Glen Cullen on the Australia Unlimited website that very nicely put the whole journey together in one story.  With permission we reproduce it below.  Original article is here: It ain't cricket

One per cent of India’s population is roughly half Australia’s population. So a significant fan base could emerge from converting a small percentage of that country’s bat and ball fanatics to a brand new game.

A young man who wanted to direct Bollywood films; a tour operator stationed in Mumbai; and a UK-based educator – yes, it sounds like the start of a joke. But for Sudip Chakraborty, Lincoln Harris and Rick Shrowder the sport of Aussie Rules is more than just a lark. This triumvirate, very different backgrounds and interests notwithstanding, is passionate about India and also about Australia’s native football code.

Until the end of 2012 the three worked mainly independently of one another, but in December they met at the first Indian national Australian Rules Championships in the southern state of Kerala. 

In India, as we all know, cricket is more than just a game. It’s the game. Up to 80 per cent of the country’s 1.2 billion inhabitants are thought to watch or play it in some fashion. Almost 68 million Indians tuned in to watch their side win the 2011 World Cup. The major international series – the Indian Premier League – has a market value estimated at $US3billion.

The AFL has named the final Indigenous All-Stars squad that will take on Richmond Football Club tomorrow, Friday, February 8 in Alice Springs, captained by Essendon star Nathan Lovett-Murray.

Sydney Swans premiership player Michael O’Loughlin will coach the Indigenous All-Stars, assisted by Roger Hayden, Adam Goodes, Shaun Burgyone and Lance Franklin (Franklin, previously named captain withdrew from playing this week due to injury.)

2013 Indigenous All-Stars squad:

While the football season in most countries has not started yet, in France the domestic season is conducted over the northern winter, and the month of February marks the halfway point of the season. That makes this time of year perfect to review the teams' standing.

In the 4-team Super League, the Bordeaux Bombers are hot favourites after their great 2011-2012 season which saw them winning every possible title. The Paris Cockerels and Toulouse Hawks are determined to regain some of their titles lost to the Bombers, while the Strasbourg Kangourous are hoping to avoid the wooden spoon two years in a row.

In the first round, the Cockerels were no match for their old rival from the east, defeating the Kangourous 168-64. The other game of the day, between the Bombers and the Hawks, had to be postponed due to the pitch being flooded after heavy rains in Toulouse. Bordeaux eventually got the win in the replay, 98-68. The second day of game saw Toulouse easily dispose of Strasbourg (116-36) seriously reducing Strasbourg's chances of a better season.

In Paris, the Bombers and the Cockerels fought hard for the top stop on the ladder, but the Bombers got away with a narrow win (66-62) putting them in an excellent position for the title. For the last games of 2012, Bordeaux hosted a diminished Strasbourg side and easily won, 158-24 and in a repeat of the first game day, Paris had to cancel its travel plan to Toulouse after the pitch was closed due to flooding. The Hawks-Cockerels game has been rescheduled to April.

In the second article on the future of Australian football in Asia, we spoke with Darrell Egan (founder of the Donnguan Blues in China) about how has been engaging locals in the game and the way to replicate and sustain such a program.  In today's piece Darrell expands on his thoughts about developing an Asia-wide body to ensure the region stops being left behind in footy progress.  Later we'll talk to some of the other Asian clubs, including a separate proposal for a Southeast Asian league, and we hope to discuss with the AFL their vision for the region.

We put it to Darrell that he'd mentioned to us the concept of setting up a body or league for footy in Asia and possibly the Pacific.  Are you thinking Asia-Pacific or just Asia?  Did he see it as being a formal governing body for the game in Asia or just a forum for developing ideas and setting up matches?

The Greater Western Sydney Giants have offered an international scholarship to young Danish AFL player Aksel Bang, who will visit Sydney to train and play with the Giants this year.

The 21 year-old is about to start six months national service with the Danish army in Afghanistan and will travel to Sydney during his scheduled break in April/May. He took up the game two years ago after visiting Australia and now plays for the Aalborg Kangaroos and Danish Vikings and was the leading player in last year's Euro Cup.

Giants Chief Executive David Matthews said it was a great opportunity further develop talent from overseas. He said Bang would train with the club and also play in the GWS Giants in the NEAFL.

“AFL Europe has a done a lot of work building the code across the continent and we think Aksel is deserving of an opportunity to further his skills and education in the game," Matthews said.

Australian Rules football has continued to show positive growth in many ways throughout Europe, one of which is the development of new clubs in leagues in France, Finland and Ireland. Over coming weeks, World Footy News will bring more detailed stories of these clubs to readers. But this small overview will still be of interest to those keen to see continued development and growth in Europe.

As mentioned in our opening piece on the future of Australian football in Asia, getting more locals involved is something that has largely escaped the game when compared with South Africa, Europe and the South Pacific.  Darrell Egan is one expat Australian who has found no such difficulty getting local Chinese involved in the sport and he has many thoughts on how to take footy forward - in fact it was Darrell's enthusiasm for change that prompted this series of articles.

First up we thought we should learn a little more about Darrell's background.