World Footy News

The Southern Dragons Football Club, in Melbourne’s Southern Football League (SFL) have had quite a big week. They have received a great little kick along financially and have received some mainstream media exposure. One example is the Herald Sun article that can be found here. 
 

AFL Victoria and the TAC have this year run a campaign named 'Blood Oath’. It’s targeted at young men and is about getting them to pledge to look after their mate’s safety when they're driving. More info: www.facebook.com/mybloodoath

It might not capture the world's imagination quite like being invited into the Oval Office at the United State's White House, but a visit to the Australian Prime Minister's Sydney residence, Kirribilli House, is still a special invitation.  That's what some of the International Cup combatants will experience on the morning of Tuesday 15th August.

Each nation has been invited to nominate two representatives to attend Morning Tea at Kirribilli House on the morning of IC11 Game Day 2.  No word yet as to who the guests will meet, but both Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson are very serious footy fans.

Note that the Prime Minister's official residence is The Lodge in Australia's capital Canberra, but Kirribilli House also commands a special regard given Sydney's status as Australia's financial capital and largest city and is often used for official receptions.

The Peace Team are returning down under for the IC11, again bringing a squad of Israelis and Palestinians to play footy and build bridges between the Jewish and Muslim communities.

Coordinated by the Peres Centre for Peace, the team were a widely reported good news story in the Australian media during the 2008 tournament.

The Peace Team faced a steep learning curve onfield at the IC08, finishing 13th overall in a field of 16. Five players from the 2008 tournament are back again this year, including Kamal Abu Althom, Yonatan Belik, Kfir Kol, Abed Abu Raduan and Naseem Almanasra.

Another name in the squad which may be familiar to WFN readers is Doron Zauer, who is a long-term member of the "AFL in Israel" group which organises social footy in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The Timor-Leste (East Timor) Crocs will be making their IC debut this month, doubling as their debut in full-field international footy. Whilst the Crocs have been an increasingly regular competitor on the Asian footy circuit, this month will be the first time an all-Timorese team have played an international test match under IC eligibility rules.

The Crocs will be playing for the pride of their relatively young nation, which only achieved its independence in 2002 after a long period as a Portuguese colony, followed by occupation by Indonesia. Timor-Leste now has numerous connections to Australia, including the security forces helping rebuild the country's political structures and infrastructure.

Although the Crocs are somewhat of an unknown quantity, on paper it looks like their main weakness may be a lack of height, with their tallest player standing only 178cm - 5 foot 10 in the old scale. One key squad member could be vice-captain Carlos Britto, described by the AFL Timor-Leste as probably the only Timorese citizen to have played representative rugby, and also having playing experience in the AFL Sydney.

9 days to go until the 2011 AFL International Cup. Just to whet the appetite, check out this Youtube video shown at the 2008 AFL International Cup Gala Dinner. Although it focuses a little too much on some "bloopers" I defy any true footy fan to not be inspired.

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The USA Freedom was formed in 2007 and has played in international matches against Canada’s Northern Lights, most recently in the 2010 49th Parallel Cup. The team also toured Australia in 2009 and played against women’s teams in Sydney, Melbourne, Country Victoria and Cairns.

The first ever International Cup Women’s Division will be the first time the team will compete against teams from Ireland and Papua New Guinea.

The New Zealand Hawks squad has been named for IC11.

The Kiwis have an impressive history in the International Cup, never finishing lower than 3rd and winning in 2005 (pictured left). It's probably fair to say that they haven't always had the same amount of raw talent across the field that their main competitors Papua New Guinea have, but the Hawks (formerly Falcons) are always fit, strong and well-drilled with excellent structures and some quality key position height.

With the HANZ UP! program in conjunction with the Hawthorn Football Club there's now a new wave of junior talent starting to come through, reflected in the average age of about 23 years. The average height is 184cm (just over 6 foot), with Michael Tagg from Mt Roskill topping the numbers at 196cm (6'5").

Ted Richards from the Sydney Swans was languishing in the Swans' reserves last year, and had lost so much confidence in his future as a professional AFL player, that he was considering leaving the AFL entirely and joining his brother Jake, who is studying for his MBA in Stockholm and plays with Stockholm regional league club the Solna Axeman.

He has since found some form and signed on with the Swans until 2013, so the Sweden project will have to wait, but Richards and Swedish footy got a bit of a write-up on the AFL website here.

This article was updated on August 3rd to include the Australian squad list, but very little height or age data available at time of writing.

The fourth International Cup is also the first time a women's division has been staged. Four nations are heading for Australia and will be joined by an Aussie side made up of women with indigenous and multicultural backgrounds (OzIM).

The stand out statistic is that the three Northern Hemisphere squads have average ages of mid to late 20s whereas Papua New Guinea's is just 18. But whereas their men often have to overcome a significant height difference for the women this will be vanishingly small. Note that not all players had data provided so averages are based on what was available.

The US Freedom has an average age of nearly 29 and height of 166 cm (5'5").
Canada's Northern Lights has an average age of nearly 27 and height of 165 cm (5'5").
The Irish Banshees has an average age of just over 27 and height of 167 cm (5'6").
The PNG Flame has an average age of just over 18 and height of 163 cm (5'4").
Basically no age or height data available for the Australian side at time of writing.

Below are all the international squads.

The South African Lions finished 11th in 2002, 8th in 2005 and roared up to 3rd in 2008. Their goal in 2011 is to make the Grand Final and have a crack at winning the tournament. With such a fast rise up the ranks the trajectory suggests that it's certainly possible, but some tough teams stand in their way.

When asked about the likely style the Lions will bring, AFL South Africa Operations Manager Joel Kelly explained that the South Africans have a lot of new players. "The 2011 squad of 28 features 19 new faces and there’s no doubt we will benefit from the fact that 3 of our key players have experienced State League footy in Victoria and Tasmania this year – the team is not tall by any standards but does have good leg speed and the skills have improved quite a bit since 2008, so you’re more likely to see a ‘run and carry’ style of game that plays to our strengths".

The Country and Australian Football

The Republic of South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation as it integrates so much of the cultural spectrum. Estimates vary, but the population is around 51 million and it is steadily, though too slowly for some, building up the standard of living after years of repression. Australian football got its start in South Africa in the 1990s, but then did it tough for some time. But building up to IC08 it became the number one focus for international development, with its relatively cheap costs, abundant population without access to organised sport, and various synergies with business investment. With extra AFL support and a genuine grassroots movement the sport began to flourish.

Stateside Footy presents a Boston Metro footy match between the Watertown River Rats vs Jamaica Plain Buffaloes. Stateside Footy is a cable access TV show produced at WCTV - Wilmington Community Television in Wilmington, MA. It features Aussie Rules Football as it is played in the U.S.A. Visit the show's website at http://www.statesidefootytv.com.