World Footy News

USFootyNews.com is counting down the 2010 Preseason Top 10. At Number 8 is the Boston Demons.

The Boston Demons are my dark horse pick for the 2010 National Championship. Keep an eye on the boys from Boston, they mean business.

In 2009, they spent much of the season on the road which helps to explain their 2-4 record during the regular season. At Nationals, however, the showed some glimpses with a draw against the 2008 National Champions, the Vancouver Cougars, and 1 point point loss to Golden Gate.

Head Coach, Scott Nicholas, was encouraged by the performances and is hopeful for 2010. "A very disappointing feeling but also a very encouraging one. We feel that we are getting very close to having the team we want that will give Nationals a real shake."

Boston's Andrew Stratford takes a leap at the 2009 EAFL Tourney in Philly. Photo: Rob Oliver.

An article by Jennifer Witham for the AFL website reports that the Kaspersky AFL Cup, October's match in Shanghai between Melbourne and Brisbane, is a chance to be broadcast live into the Shanghai region. If so, it could reach 100 million viewers and be a great introduction for the game into the Chinese market.

As previously reported, the AFL has been in talks with the Shanghai Media Group to broadcast the match live, and the concept has been boosted with a recent radio broadcast in Mandarin of Melbourne's minor round match against Brisbane by Jamie Pi on 3CW, a Chinese language radio station in Melbourne.

Furthermore, the AFL, Monash and La Trobe University ticket giveaway appears to have been a success, with 2605 students attending the match.

The Melbourne Football Club have been active in pushing the game into China for several years, but for a while appeared to lose momentum as they struggled on and off the field. 2010's on field revival certainly makes the Demons a much more viable option to promote Aussie Rules to China and international students in Melbourne.

Monash's director of sport Martin Doulton said the opportunity to attend Saturday's match was enthusiastically received by the students.

"For our many international students and staff who came along with their Australian friends and colleagues this was truly an iconic Australian cultural experience that will live in their memory for many, many years," he said.

"Lots of students commented on the fact that rival fans could mingle together without the need for fences to separate the rival tribes that is so prevalent overseas."

The following press release indicates a possible exciting TV program that promises to bring an American youngster to the AFL Draft Camp. On first viewing it all looks very speculative, but the accompanying video quickly shows that this is a serious endeavour.

We reprint most of the release below. It is somewhat disjointed but in short American Footy Star, created and produced by former F.I.F.A. sports agent Miro Gladovic; who will host a U.S. based, athletic talent competition in search of the next Australian Football League (AFL) star. The kick-off event will take place at the residence of the Australian Consul-General Saturday evening, May 8th, 2010 in Brentwood, CA, to celebrate the sport of Footy while introducing Australian Football to new fans here in the United States.

One lucky American athlete will be selected from the inaugural Dallas, Texas Footy Combines, and will win a trip to Australia and have the opportunity to be mentored by the AFL celebrity judges and be invited to the AFL “2010 Rookie Draft Camp.” Australian and American celebrities along with AFL representatives and sponsors will be on hand to show their support and love for Aussie’s national pastime.

Kevin Sheedy, legendary AFL coach and future coach of the 18th AFL club, Greater Western Sydney, has put forward the idea of an 11-per-side tournament to replace the NAB Cup, the AFL's pre-season series. And he reckons it could have an international flavour:

"It might encourage other countries to find 15 young players in say USA, Japan, Great Britain, Ireland or South Africa. They could come out and have a crack at it".

Sheeds has said the Rugby 7s in Hong Kong was his inspiration, although he has been heavily exposed to international Australian football, where the concept of reduced numbers games has been regularly applied for many years, especially across the United States and Europe. His idea also is very similar to a proposal put forward by worldfootynews.com to the AFL and also partially published online. So certainly then some of us here think the concept has plenty of merit.

As foreshadowed recently on WFN, the AFL today announced the appointment of a full time AFL International Development Manager. Former Fitzroy, Collingwood and Hawthorn player, Tony Woods, takes on the role.

The 40 year old previously had extensive experience in his role with Austereo, as well as establishing the commercial base for the Gold Coast FC and more recently with Collingwood. From debut to retirement his AFL football career spanned 1989 to 2002.

The AFL's David Matthews stated that "This is a significant strategic appointment for the game. It is the first full-time dedicated international role at AFL Head Office".

"In recent years, with relatively modest budgets we have worked with international affiliates, AFL Clubs, Government and corporate partners to test the game's potential and identify priority international markets".

The European Australian Football Association has appointed the first-ever full-time regional manager for the sport of Australian rules football in Europe, with Peter Romaniw the successful candidate.

EAFA Chairman Gerard Murphy says four candidates were interviewed in a marathon session on March 2nd. "Peter has been working with the AFL in a development role with coaching, umpires, administration and volunteers. He has degrees in Sports Administration and Sports Science, has previously worked overseas and speaks fluent Ukrainian."

"With such a large emphasis at both the Zagreb and Frankfurt Conferences being placed on umpiring, coaching and junior development and accreditation, the Commission are sure that Peter will be a wonderful asset to Australian Football in Europe," Murphy says.

Romaniw brings to the position a broad range of experience in both Game Development and politics, having previously worked as a Multicultural Development Officer with the Richmond Football Club and AFL Victoria, as well as Community Liaison Officer to the Australian Federal Minister for Sport.

He is also involved in a volunteer capacity with the Ukrainian World Congress International Sports Council, and worked as an observer to the 2004 Ukrainian Presidential Elections.

Whilst Gerard Murphy says the details are still being finalised, Romaniw is expected to take up the position in the coming weeks. WFN wishes him well on his appointment.

In this age of growing footy throughout the world, the challenges facing the organisers of the largely amateur-status sport are many. Finance, player availability, available venues etc. One of the things you don't expect to come up against too often is Mother Nature.

One of the important but easily overlooked issues for the growth of international Aussie Rules is providing good coaching, and perhaps even more importantly, good umpiring. Whilst expat-Aussies often help kick start clubs and leagues, long term it is crucial to get locals involved in these important roles - and Australians often have a thing or two to learn about the laws of the game too.

Australian football in Canada recently received a boost with two weeks of official accreditation occurring across the country.

Recently we reported that David Matthews (pictured), the AFL's General Manager, National & International Development, was shifting from Melbourne to Sydney to take on the role of General Manager, Market Development - see Game Development head shifts to Sydney. We had a quick chat to Matthews to see how this might impact the AFL's burgeoning involvement in international development of the sport.

First up we asked if other Game Development staff such as Josh Vanderloo, who has worked closely with international leagues, will also be shifting. The answer appears to be no, and in fact there could be an expanded international section. "(We're) about to appoint a full-time International Manager based at the AFL in Melbourne reporting to me as part of (the) Department".

A growing international flavour is likely to help give credibility to the game in emerging markets like western Sydney - something we've argued the case for at WFN since we first began. So with Matthews' move to the Sydney area, will that accelerate? Matthews confirmed that the "(international) profile will keep increasing".

And finally a bit of speculation as to whether his shift could suggest that the 2011 International Cup might move to New South Wales as part of the Greater Western Sydney drive. But Matthews but that theory to bed. "My move is irrelevant as far as venue concerned".

Clubs from around England and Wales descended on Cardiff last Saturday for WARFL's British "Clwb" Challenge, now in its third year. It was a perfect day for footy with a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Welsh capital setting the scene for a great day of fast paced action which would be the first competitive football in Wales for 2010.

The clubs this year fighting it out for the cup included last year’s winners Nottingham Scorpions, and the South Cardiff Panthers who were also the first ever Welsh club to enter a team into this tournament. They were joined by newcomers Birmingham Bears, Portsmouth Pirates and European powerhouse West London Wildcats.

The Wildcats went into the tournament as certain favourites, with a squad of 16 that included only one non-Australian, which coincidentally enough was Welsh international Tom Cleary.

This report courtesy of the WARFL.

The Bali Geckos will this June be hosting the 2010 Bali Masters 9s Australian Rules Football Championship. Held at the Canggu Club, Bali, the event is looking set to be Asia’s biggest ever Aussie Rules event. 11 teams have already registered for the tournament, including teams from across Australia, as well as East Timor and Dubai. A number of other teams are keen to join, with a projected 16 teams from six countries expected to play in this year’s tournament.

The event sees teams play following specially modified 9-a-side rules, with the inclusion that all players must be over 35 years of age. The event is endorsed by AFL Masters, who are the governing body for Masters rules football in Australia. With the large number of teams attending games will be played over two days, with the grand final being played under lights.

The Bali Geckos have a history of setting the standard in Asian football. The club’s uniquely conceived Bali 9s increased the professionalism of Aussie Rules tournaments in Asia. At the time the Bali 9s were the biggest footy events on the continent, even attracting the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard to attend.

The 2010 Bali Masters 9s Australian Rules Football Championship will be held at the Canggu Club Friday June 11 and Saturday June 12. More information can be found at www.baligeckos.org or by emailing ted@balinines.com.

In another sign of the fast growing numbers of footballers in Germany, the inaugural season of the three team Bavaria League (BL - Bayernliga in German) kicked off on April 1st.

The weather provided the April Fool’s joke, as intermittent snowfalls throughout the day and sub-zero temperatures greeted the players and officials in Munich’s Hirschgarten. However, neither the cold nor the discovery that day of a 500 kilogram World War Two bomb a couple of torpedo punts away could dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of the two competing teams, the Sendling Blues and the Pasing Hawks.

The new league, Germany's first regional league, has been set up by the Munich Kangaroos Football Club, which was founded in 1994 and has had some success in the national competition, the Australian Football League Germany (AFLG).