World Footy News

We have learnt the sad news that Sean Wight passed away this morning at the age of 47. Scottish born Wight successfully made the transition from Gaelic football in Ireland to Aussie rules along with Jim Stynes at the Melbourne Football Club.

He was scouted by the Melbourne Football Club's Ron Barassi and Barry Richardson on a visit to Ireland in 1982.  Wight was brought to Australia in 1985 and played 150 games for the club before retiring in 1995.  His successful transition to become a top level backman has its legacy in the current day Irishmen playing with AFL clubs.

Our sympathies to his family. 

 Following is a statement from the Melbourne Football Club.

This year's edition of the World XVIII youth side has been released. The side of 14 to 18 year olds will compete in the NAB AFL Under 16 Championships Division Two, alongside fellow internationals the South Pacific and Australian states/territories NSW/ACT, Queensland, Tasmania and Northern Territory. Due to scheduling and concessions the two international sides will play one game less than their Aussie counterparts but the event will still be invaluable in exposing world talent to scouts and what is required to take their game to the next level.

As per 2010 the side will feature true internationals nominated by the AFL's international affiliates and be strengthened by Australian-based talent with recent multicultural backgrounds. Perhaps one disappointment is that the number of players from the affiliates is down from 18 to 12 this year. It's a reminder that whilst junior development is on a tremendous surge in the South Pacific the game is not quite so advanced in the Northern Hemisphere. A strong feature of the 2011 squad is a number of tall immigrants of North African descent.

This year's affiliates to provide players are Canada (4), South Africa (3), East Timor (2), USA (1), Scotland (1), Ireland (1). Notable absences are Denmark and England. The full World XVIII squad is listed below courtesy of Peter Romaniw, AFL Multicultural and International Coordinator .

Stateside Footy caught up with Brett Kirk in Boston on his worldwide footy tour. This great interview by Bill Robert can be seen in the video below and covers Brett's tour so far and the upcoming International Cup.  We also get to find out how Bill came to love Aussie rules and find himself broadcasting it.

The AFL International Development Manager, Tony Woods, has advised us that the draw for the 4th International Cup will be released to competing nations on Friday 1st July.

WFN hopes to publish the draw probably some time late Friday Australian time.

The AFL has several times extended the deadline for competing countries to give all possible competitors the maximum chance to make IC11 but Friday's release should be the final version and contain details of the expected lightning format and how teams will be seeded into two divisions afterwards.  The exciting new format should ensure all nations get to play against a range of opposition whilst still focusing the best teams into the semi-final stages.

Pictured is the 2008 trophy surrounded by some of the national jumpers.

The 2nd Annual Tri-Nations International Tournament in Fontanafredda, Italy was held last weekend, with host nation Italy defeating Croatia and Switzerland to claim the prize.

The tournament matches were conducted on Sunday June 26th, with the Saturday given over to coaching clinics for local 14 and 15-year-olds.

This report courtesy of the AFL Italia.

The AFL today announced East Coast Eagles and Sydney University have been invited to join the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) next season. The two AFL Sydney clubs have been through an extensive application process over the last two months and will now each seek the formal approval of their members before accepting the invitation.

If successful, East Coast and Sydney University will become the first AFL Sydney clubs to join NEAFL’s Eastern Conference, making it a nine-team competition in 2012. The Eastern Conference currently includes the Sydney Swans reserves and GWS GIANTS (next year their reserves as they join the AFL) as well as five Canberra-based clubs.

The pre-eminent second tier football competition in NSW/ACT will provide players with national exposure with cross-conference games between some of the ten Queensland and Northern Territory teams making up NEAFL’s Northern Conference.

Premier Colin Barnett announced yesterday that Perth’s new multi-purpose stadium would be built on the Burswood Peninsula and is scheduled for completion in 2018.  The new Perth Stadium will have the third-biggest capacity in Australia and will be the second largest AFL home stadium.

 It will have a capacity of 60,000 seats with provision for future expansion to 70,000 seats in the style of Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, with similar views, amenities and comfort.  This capacity range will more than adequately provide for both members and corporate seating and generous general admission and visiting team supporters.

New South Wales Minister for Sport and Recreation, Graham Annesley, and AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou today announced the 2011 NAB AFL Draft would be held in Western Sydney on Thursday November 24.

The AFL's 18th club - the Greater Western Sydney Giants - will join the competition for the 2012 season and Minister Annesley said he was excited the Draft, which will welcome the bulk of the new talent to the game's newest club, will be held in the club's back yard.

Nauru were one of the great success stories of IC08. After missing out in 2005 the islanders roared back with impressive performances that seemed to get better each game. They opened with a loss to eventual champs PNG and were never defeated again - by the end of the tournament looked like they may have deserved a top 4 finish.

A key part of their improvement was getting experience in country Victoria prior to the tournament, with players getting games across several regional clubs. Not only was competitive footy important but so too was getting used to grass, given the notorious crushed phosphate surface they play on at home.

Once again the Nauruans are returning to Australia and looking to be billeted for part of the tournament. They're looking for support from country Victoria again including offering labouring services. Full details can be seen in an article on the Bendigo Advertiser site. They need a quick response so anyone that can help please consider this promptly.

worldfootynews.com can confirm that Samoa has withdrawn from the 2011 AFL International Cup.

The islanders were indeed the team we alluded to in an earlier story. The local league has struggled recently, and we've been aware for some time that footy has been under pressure there and the drop-out represents a low point.

Fortunately things appear to be looking up from here. AFL Samoa's Bernard Woodland has told us of several promising changes on the horizon that should steer the country's program back towards an upward path.

Samoa finished 7th in 2002 and 5th in 2005 before dropping to 10th in 2008. Expect to see them return to IC competition in 2014.

We'll have more details on their withdrawal and upcoming changes in the next few days.

Stateside Footy presents an Australian Rules Football match between the Boston Demons and Baltimore-Washington Eagles, played on May 21, 2011 in Fort Washington, MD. 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.