World Footy News

AFL Fiji is today hosting a 2013 'AUSTRALIA DAY CHALLENGE' – with regular combatants the Cats versus the Swans in an Australia Day game. Also, the Fiji Tribe 2012 OCEANIA CUP SELECTED REPS - 11 IN ALL - WITH THEIR PARENTS ACCOMPANYING – will be meeting at 4PM today, ALBERT PARK – and will receive vital information with respect to APRIL in Australia.

MR GLEN MILES (Acting Australian High Commissioner) has as a special guest for the 'AUSTRALIA DAY' MATCH AND MEETING AT ALBERT PARK 4pm. Mr Miles will hand over our 2013 Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP) GRANT as well as TOSS THE COIN for the match.

As a new season of footy in France is underway it is time to look back at a very exciting 2011 - 2012 season. For the first time in its young history, the France championship was divided in two separate divisions; The Super League (Bordeaux, Paris, Toulouse and Strasbourg) ultimately competing for the national title and the Development League (Aix-Marseille, Perpignan and Montpellier) offering valuable game time to young or struggling teams.

This separation was decided at the end of the 2010-2011 season to ease the pressure of travel on less established teams. But even this new format proved to be a challenge for the teams in the Development League as 4 out of 6 games had to be cancelled due to a lack of players. At the end of the season, which ran from September 2011 to March 2012, the Montpellier Fire-Sharks took the title easily defeating Aix-Marseille (60-36).

On the other hand, the Super league proved to be a success, offering what is shaping up to be a great rivalry between the Bordeaux Bombers and the Paris Cockerels. Both teams started the competition as favourites, Bordeaux being the reigning champion and Paris holding on the 2011 French Cup.

Opportunities for junior talent throughout the remote areas of the Northern Territory to follow Australian Rules football pathways have been enhanced, as outlined in this media release from AFLNT.

“AFL Northern Territory’s Remote Projects Department have joined forces with Northern Territory Football League clubs to create and improve talent opportunities available for remote players across the NT.

“The NTFL Partnership Program was initiated with great cooperation from our NTFL Clubs to further develop and fast track the progression of our remote players into our talent pathways,” said AFLNT Indigenous Programs Manager Kevin Bruce.

Each of AFLNT’s nine remote projects where full-time staff are located have been linked with an NTFL team to further foster and develop opportunities. “So far, a total of 38 players from all over the Territory have participated in the program, where they not only play for an NTFL club, but spend 10 days supervised in Darwin learning life skills and participating in all training and recovery sessions that the club has,” advised Bruce.

AFLPNG is perhaps the brightest burning beacon of Australian Football development pathways outside of Australia. And so, the appointment last week of Cornelius “Connie” Papau into the newly created position of Operations Manager: Senior Football for AFL PNG heralds a further step forward for an organisation that has been steadily developing in recent years.

The following press release from AFL PNG serves as a useful introduction of Connie and a description of his role.

The New Zealand Hawks team to play the visiting AIS AFL Academy side at Westpac Stadium on Saturday the 26th of January has been announced with a major shock being the inclusion of 44 year old AFL legend Wayne Schwass joining Frankston’s VFL powerhouse forward Khan Haretuku on-field. Schwass (pictured left), who was born in NZ, will fulfill a lifelong ambition to wear the Silver Fern and his involvement is sure to not just be good for him but great for football.  He played 282 games across his career with North Melbourne and the Sydney Swans.

Of interest to football followers concerned with the international growth of the game, NZ will field 8 teenagers in their squad of 25 spearheaded by Shem Tatupu, who Hawthorn have committed to listing as an International Rookie alongside Kurt Heatherley in 2014 and Ben Miller, who is one of five young Kiwis to be awarded an International Scholarship so far.
 

St Kilda Football Club players and officials arrived tonight in Wellington to take part in the first Australia Post AFL Community Camp in New Zealand.

 “These camps provide a tremendous boost to communities across Australia and we’re hoping we can do the same in New Zealand. We want immerse ourselves in the Wellington culture and encourage them to become involved with St Kilda Football Club,” Head Coach, Scott Watters said.
  
During the camp, the Saints will take part in a host of activities, including an AFL Super Clinic, open training sessions and meeting the Wellington sporting fans.
 

Head Coach Kevin Sheedy will visit Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory tomorrow to launch a new partnership between the Giantsand the Galiwin'ku community. Sheedy, a passionate advocate of Indigenous Australia, will meet members of the community and attend a local football match.

Galiwin'ku, about 520 kilometres from Darwin, is the largest community on Elcho Island and the second largest Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory with a population of 2290 people. It was the inspiration for the song 'My Island Home', originally performed by the Warumpi Band, and later also performed by Christine Anu. It is also home to the blind Aboriginal folk singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.

AFL South Africa has named the South Africa (Geminder Youth Academy) Squad To Play Against Australia Flying Boomerangs U/17 - on the 28th January and 1st February 2013.  This is an U/18 Squad topped up with 5 players U/20 years.

4. Tshepiso Mogapi

As previously reported, The Flying Boomerangs are once again headed for a tour of South Africa.  The concept is a personal development and leadership program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young men aged 14 -15 years-old, supported by the Coles AFL Indigenous Program.

Selected from the 2012 AFL KickStart Under-15 Championships, the Flying Boomerangs squad of 25 players will play two matches against South African teams in Potchefstroom and Durban, coached by former St Kilda player Raphael Clarke.

The Boomerangs will also conduct a footyWILD clinic in Cape Town township, visit Table Mountain and Robben Island where former South Africa President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in 1964 for 18 years before being moved to another prison.

AFL National Community Engagement Manager Jason Mifsud and AFL Indigenous Programs Coordinator Xavier Clarke are attending the tour.

Itinerary and squad listed below:
 

The Flying Boomerangs are holding true to their name and returning to South Africa for the fourth time later this month.

“It’s always a great opportunity for our town, Potchefstroom to host overseas visitors and most important for kids who are involved in our program throughout the year to come and witness the exciting game playing live. Our South Africa Lions players to get more experience and help prepare for the International Cup in 2014, which I hope to be part of once more,”  said Sipho Magongo, footyWILD Development Coordinator.

For a bit of fun take a look at the Youtube video put together by two Australian girls kicking the footy around the world.  A similar idea has been mooted before as a promo video for the International Cup with players from each country kicking the footy around the world, but is yet to happen.

[youtube:ECbeHmpXQGM]

North Melbourne International rookie Eric Wallace is currently in Tasmania where the club is in training for the upcoming 2013 AFL season. He spoke to SEN Radio in Melbourne yesterday morning about his journey so far. He will today front the media at a press call in Tasmania. The interview can be heard in the Youtube clip below.

[youtube:GwnVogzZ3sE]

You can follow Eric's Blog HERE.