World Footy News

Finland's footy scene has grown rapidly over the past few years, with the Finland AFL being founded in 2006, the first domestic clubs being created in 2007, the Finland Icebreakers national team coming to Melbourne for the IC08 and the inaugural FAFL national league kicking off in 2009.

In 2010, the Helsinki Heatseekers, Salo Juggernauts and Turku Dockers will soon kick off the domestic competition's second season, with a small chance that the Espoo Roos will re-form and a new club in Vaasa will take the field.

Recruitment of new players has been very strong over the northern winter, with the clubs counting around 100 players on paper, with only 6 Australians. All three Finnish clubs have also been hard at work taking the game to local schools.

Finnish footy stalwart Kimmo Heikkilä spoke to WFN about the upcoming 2010 season.

The AFL has asked for expressions of interest from countries wishing to attend the 2011 International Cup, to be held in Australia in August 2011, almost certainly in Melbourne and possibly a Victorian country area.

While we await the official list, here is some speculation about possible attendees.

AFL PNG has had a long relationship now with Queensland footy, but it would be almost impossible to think that any local club would be the home to ten PNG footballers. However, the Coolangatta Blues are doing just that now, with the club hoping the talent from PNG will help them off the bottom of the AFLQ Pineapple Hotel Cup ladder (effectively the second tier of AFLQ's competition).

PNG players (from left) Ferdinand Musi, Ali Pinda, Henry Henry, Ogla Pena, Paul Philip, John Ikupu Junior, Emmanuel Tupia, Johnny Vogae, Freddy Peni (obscured) and Gagu Kaiyage will play for Coolangatta in 2010. (Picture: Scott Fletcher)

The Blues with new president Scott Reid, who is also the president of AFL-PNG, secured the services of the 10 players from PNG to boost the club after receiving the wooden spoon in 2009.

Coolangatta is a partner club with AFLPNG, and are more than happy to accommodate the players, who range in age from 17 to 24 years.

For more information, see PNG recruits to help Blues off bottom of the ladder on goldcoast.com.au.

With the combined efforts of a local enthusiast and the Welsh ARFL, Britain may have its seventh regional footy competition by the end of this year, based in the region of Cornwall in England's rural south-west.

Cornwall, known in the Cornish language as Kernow, is one of the traditional six "Celtic Nations" alongside Ireland, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Brittany in France. It is an area known for tourism, with the local population of around half a million being outnumbered almost ten to one by the five million tourists who arrive from the rest of England each year, its attractions including Britain's best surfing at Newquay and Porthtowan.

Former Thanet Bombardier Liam Marsh is coordinating the project to kick off the Kernow ARFL, with an introductory session and practice match with the Cardiff Double Blues currently planned, and hopes for clubs in towns such as Falmouth, Truro, Newquay and Plymouth. Liam took some time to talk to WFN about his plans.

Two of Papua New Guinea's best exports continue to make excellent progress in Queensland's top league, with John James and Amua Pirika, starring in Mt Gravatt's 8 point trial game win over Broadbeach.

According to the AFLQ website's article PNG Boys Alight, James was at his electrifying best, putting on a best-on-ground display, while Pirika booted for 4 of the Vulture's 14 goals.

Both players were prominent for the PNG Mosquitoes in the 2008 International Cup. It's clear that PNG has joined Ireland as a nation that can regularly produce talent capable of competing to at least Australian state league level.

One of the interesting stories over the next 18 months will be seeing if most PNG stars will be available for IC2011 duty, or whether the Mozzies will effectively become an "emerging PNG" team.

Regional England has seen a great number of new clubs formed in the past few years, with the growth in club numbers lead by the three regional divisions of the ARUK National League, which operated largely separate to AFL Great Britain. 2010 has seen some personnel changes in English footy, and reports indicate that this year the English footy scene will be significantly more united than for some time.

GB Bulldogs coach Mark Pitura told WFN that he is very optimistic about the new structure, saying "AFL Great Britain is more united than ever. All clubs have come underneath this umbrella."

With all footy clubs in England now part of the one structure, last year's ARUK clubs in regional England will form the AFLGB North East, Central & North West and Southern divisions, although they will essentially remain self-governing leagues. Each division will have a main premiership competition featuring five teams, with a number of further development clubs playing friendly fixtures during the season.

World Footy News spoke to a number of key figures from the regional English clubs about the upcoming season.

The fledgling new AFL club, the Gold Coast, this year graduates from playing in Victoria's TAC Cup Under 18 competition, to senior competition in the Victorian Football League. Next year the Queensland club becomes a full AFL side, competing in the world's top Australian football competition.

This weekend the Gold Coast gave a strong sign that they will be competitive in the VFL in 2010, snatching a 3 point victory over the Brisbane Lions' reserves side, in a final practice match for both teams. The Lions reserves compete in Queensland's top league, while the Gold Coast play their first VFL match on April 10th. Given Brisbane's next match is Thursday night, it may well have been that there were heavy rotations in the last quarter, but it was still an excellent showing from the young GC side.

Outspoken Hawthorn Football Club President Jeff Kennett, who is also a former Victorian Premier, has suggested the AFL will expand to 20 teams (up from 16 now, and soon to be 18 with the Gold Coast and Western Sydney). His prediction is that it will occur within 10 to 20 years, and that one of those new clubs may well be New Zealand based.

"I think in 10-20 years there might be 20 clubs. That will be the full bottle for the AFL", Kennett said. "I think there should be one in New Zealand because you think of the young Caucasian athletes over there, they find it very hard to get into their own football code (Rugby)" and "20 clubs, play each other once during the season and then move into the finals".

It was a wide-ranging interview with Kennett on Melbourne radio station SEN, including his disagreement of the way the AFL handled their investigation of the Lara Bingle-Brendan Fevola nude photo incident. Typical of some of the narrow minded Melbourne football media who still don't see the big picture, one journalist suggested that if not for Kennett's credentials he would be considered "a stark raving lunatic" and that "it's not going to happen".

Although Kennett often has some left field ideas that don't always gain traction, it is encouraging that the idea of New Zealand one day fielding an AFL side is beginning to arise in circles of influence.

The AFL have issued a short statement calling for expressions of interest from countries wishing to attend the 2011 Australian Football International Cup. WFN assumes the message was sent to all international affiliates and other AFL contacts. Any national leagues not receiving the information should be able to contact the AFL at international@afl.com.au. The AFL text follows and was accompanied by an April 9th return date.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

The AFL is pleased to extend an invitation to participate in the fourth Australian Football International Cup to be played in Australia in August 2011.

A formal entry form will be forwarded in due course however to gauge initial interest from the international network, we ask that countries interested in being involved register their interest below*.

Once a list of interested nations has been established, a working party will be established to determine the most appropriate timing and venues for the event.

* Not attached to this article.

Papua New Guinea's Stanis Susuve has been named on an extended bench for the Gold Coast's final pre-season game (before entering the VFL), which is against the Brisbane Lions Reserves this weekend. The match is a curtain raiser to the Round 1 AFL match between Brisbane and the West Coast Eagles.

With the Gold Coast likely to bring in 10 to 20 gun new players at the end of the season, all but their very best players will be under the pump to hold their spots. Susuve looks to have bulked up over the off-season and will be keen to establish himself as a regular in 2010. As an international football pioneer I'm sure all the international footy community wish him well in his quest.

In the continuing tradition of London clubs touring Europe for pre-season friendlies, AFL London powerhouse the West London Wildcats will take on the Paris Cockerels on April 10th at 2pm in the Bois de Vincennes.

Cyril Talon, president of both the Cockerels and the French National Footy Commission, says the game will be the third-ever 18-a-side full-field match held in France, after Tasmania Montivilliers versus Paris Cockerels in 2000 and Paris Cockerels versus North London Lions in 2009. The game against the Wildcats will also be a good warmup for the second Anzac Cup, to be held in Villers-Bretonneux the Saturday 24th April.

The Paris Cockerels have stamped their dominance on the emerging French footy scene in recent years, and are currently sitting undefeated at the top of the ladder in the French league, a game clear of the Bordeaux Bombers in second.

Further south in France's rugby belt, the Toulouse Crocodiles recently played a promotional game at the halftime break of a professional Rugby League match between Toulouse Olympique and English club Dewsbury, with a crowd of around 800 spectators. The Toulousains have this year already tasted glory, with a win at the inaugural Coupe de Grand Sud tournament, held in Perpignan in February, which saw the Crocodiles meet the other teams from southern France, along with those from Andorra and Catalonia.

This year's Coupe de France club tournament is scheduled for June 26th in Strasbourg, with hosts the Strasbourg Kangaroos hoping to build this year after remaining dormant through the 2009-10 season.

The 2010 Australian Football League season kicked off tonight with Carlton and Richmond doing battle at the MCG in front of a big crowd.

Both clubs have been strugglers for many years, but Carlton have slowly been rising up the ladder, and as expected were too strong for the Tigers, whose team included four first-gamers. Carlton were without suspended captain Chris Judd.

One of the common media questions leading into this season has been who will replace Brendan Fevola (traded to Brisbane after one controversial incident too many) as Carlton's major goal-scorer. Against Richmond the Blues appeared to share the focus between small forward Eddie Betts (3 goals) and tall targets Jarrad Waite (2) and Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin (3), while Chris Yarran also picked up 3 goals.