World Footy News

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.

[youtube:yw7CwcmA5_o]

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.

The Chinese Red Demons are making their second IC appearance in 2011, with the bulk of the squad hailing from the Beijing Bombers. The Shanghai Tigers also have a representative in the cadre of 16 players coming over from China.

The rest of the squad have been recruited from Chinese nationals currently residing in Australia, including one each from LaTrobe University (Melbourne) and the University of Adelaide.

The Red Demons faced a steep learning curve at the IC08, eventually breaking through for their first win over fellow debutants India in their last game of the tournament. Captaining the side is Zhang Hao from Beijing. Their inspirational leader Jiaming Pi from the 2008 squad will be back as vice-captain, this time joined by a further five Chinese nationals who play alongside Pi at the Asian community-based Southern Dragons in Melbourne's Southern Football League.

The team's average height is only 178cm, although they have some bigger players in Zhao Liutao at 195cm and the duo of Zhang Wei and Yang Yang, both of whom are 190cm.

 

The Leverkusen Wombats are hoping to launch Germany's 7th club in the coming months, with the goal of entering the AFLG as soon as next year.

Tim Böger discovered the sport whilst spending 18 months traveling and working in Australia, and decided to try and start a club upon his return to Germany. So far he's recruited around eighteen players to the squad, but is on the look out for some experienced Aussies. "Unfortunately we have no Australians in our Team, but they are more than welcome to join us. We have German and Polish players so far."

"We chose the Wombat because of one major reason. Everyone expects it to be a cute and harmless animal. But no one realises that if it is in danger, he can be really strong and can fight."

Leverkusen is located in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, only 10km away from the city of Cologne where AFLG power club Rheinland Lions are based.

Anyone hoping to contact the Wombats can do so via their Facebook page.

Updated 12 August: Final list and correct player jumper numbers

The India Tigers return in 2011 to contest their second International Cup. Like Ireland, a majority of India's players are Australia-based although in India's case these players are largely inexperienced.

The squad's average age is 24. Most players are from or originally from West Bengal, Kerala or Goa; the "soccer states" of India. Nine players from the 2008 tournament remain in the squad. Making his debut for his country is Srinath Lakshmaiya, who played football in the Welsh Australian Rules Football League. Another possible debut is GWS Academy-listed player Dhruv Kaushik, although he is currently sidelined with an injury.

The squad will be lead by Sudip Chakraborty (Captain) and Vishnu Rishie (Vice Captain).

The South African Lions have arrived in Australia as part of an extended build up to the AFL International Cup.

The Africans were the rising stars of 2008 as they rose up the ladder to 3rd spot.  This time around sees a fresh faced list (along with some returning warriors).  The Lions have been steadily building relationships in Western Australia and that has been boosted by a special partnership with WAFL side the Swan Districts Football Club.

As part of their support the South Africans have played a combined Pilbara representative side, although the result was very much one-sided.  The Lions arrived in Perth on Friday July 29 for a 12 day development tour which will include two practice matches and a series of training sessions and coaching workshops, all under the watchful eye of Swan Districts FC.  The Lions' first game on Saturday (July 30) was a curtain-raiser to a WAFL fixture between Swan Districts and East Fremantle in the remote community of Karratha in the State’s far north, around 1500km north of Perth.

Thanks also to Darren Moncrieff at Aboriginal Football for giving us a lead on this story.