World Footy News

Stateside Footy presents an EAFL match between the Florida Redbacks and the Boston Demons. 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 island nation of Fiji will debut at this year’s AFL International Cup. A nation that until a couple of years ago was unknown on the footy international scene – but, also a nation with a fair representation in the AFL by way of David Rodan, Alipate Carlile and Nic Naitanui. It is with great interest then that we’ve tracked the progress of AFL Fiji over the last couple of years and a name that has been at the forefront is the Wolfgramm family name.

Recently WFN caught up with one of the family and Fiji’s inaugural under 16s captain (from the 2009 Oceania Cup), Dylan Wolfgramm, who will be a key member of the Fijian squad in Sydney and Melbourne later this month.

WFN : Firstly, confirming that Dylan would be playing alongside brother Max, I asked how exciting the build-up has been for the Fijian International Cup debut.

DW : Yes I have been named in the Fiji IC11 Squad and proud that I have been named along with my brother Max. The build-up to the cup has been both a challenge and exciting in terms of this, being Fijis debut and that in finding support back in Fiji through sponsors and also the public to embrace and help carry AFL Fiji along.

Another sample of the action from the 2008 AFL International Cup - this time Big Hits and Highlights from across all the rounds.

The Canadian Under19 team known as the Wolfpack are back in Australia. They played a series of matches just prior to IC08 and are doing the same thing again this year.

Their first hitout was against the Ballarat school St Patrick's college, which traditionally has a very strong football talent pool drawn from far and wide as the school has many borders from other rural areas in Victoria as well as interstate.

The Canadians went down to St Pats in the match but Mike McFarlane told us that "Our boys were a little in awe for most of the first half but in the second half they played really well and competed right to the final siren. St.Pats told us that they were impressed by the boys tackling and general skill level and the way they keep going right to the end regardless of the score. They said that they had to work hard for the win. Our best players were Nico Valderamma, Cormac Hotti and Chris Steer."

The AFL are running a competition to win an official IC11 Sherrin football signed by former Sydney Swans Captain and IC11 Ambassador, Brett Kirk and all 23 IC11 team captains.

They are also giving away five double passes to each of the IC11 curtain raiser games: St Kilda V Swans game in Sydney or Hawthorn v Bulldogs game at the MCG.

What do you have to do to win?  Go the competition page on the AFL website,  and vote for your favourite team guernsey and tell them why it is your favourite in 25 words or less.

Footy doesn’t stop in nations not attending the International Cup. In the Solomon Islands activities have been ongoing. With the previous RAMSI head Graeme Wilson finishing his stint in the Solomon’s, which included being heavily involved with footy, the Solomon’s have welcomed Ed Burton, taking up an AYAD (youth ambassador) posting and assuming the role of AFL and Cricket Development Officer.

The week just gone has been a big week. As WFN tweeted recently, there was a move to establish a schools program, and Ed is able to report that most school clinics are now up and running for the school term, along with 2 new training centres. Ed and other volunteers have been working hard and getting more people involved.

“We have had a good response at Tenaru, Burns Creek and Honiara High with around 40 participants at most centres.”

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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