World Footy News

The Randers Dockers last year took the field in Denmark's Jutland 9s regional league, thereby becoming the first new club in the Danish Australian Football League in over a decade.

Founded by Jens Djernes, one of two members of the Denmark Vikings selected in the World All-Stars at the IC08, the Randers club have recently officialised a partnership arrangement between the Randers AFC and AFL club Fremantle, becoming one of a growing number of Dockers partner clubs worldwide.

The Dutch Australian Football Association is gearing up for their first full domestic season, having launched the local league on January 30th in Utrecht.

As we reported in DAFA to launch 4-team Dutch domestic league in 09, the Flying Hollanders have been working to kick-start a local competition since early last year. The country's first local club, the Utrecht Saints, played against the Rest of Holland in May 2009, marking the first domestic fixture in the Netherlands.

The Saints will be joined by the Eindhoven Eagles, the Amsterdam Devils and the Den Haag Ooievaars (Dutch for "the Storks").

The DAFA season kicks off in Utrecht on March 21st, with the first game for the national team a friendly against London's Putney Magpies on March 27th.

After a strong 2009 saw the Flying Dutchmen take out second place at the EU Cup, plenty of international footy fans will be taking notice of what could be a new force to emerge at the Euro Championship 2010 and International Cup 2011.

The AFL Sweden recently concluded a competition to decide on a new logo and jumper for the national team, the Swedish Elks.

The Elks have worn three different jumpers in test matches, or four including Helsingborg Saints jumpers worn for a match against Denmark back in the 90s. The old set of yellow jumpers with the blue vee and three crowns have gradually worn out, as have the all-yellow jumpers worn in a few matches. At the IC08 the Elks wore jumpers based on the Swedish flag, which it was decided were to be retained by the squad members after the tournament. So, it was decided that it was time for a new look for the coming seasons.

AFL Sweden president Jörg Pareigis says the league received widespread interest. "We had 13 entries from four professional and non-professional designers. Matt Bonser won the competition and we will work with him to fine tune the design before we order the new kit that we want to use for the EC2010 and the IC11."

Bonser's winning design that incorporates the Elk and Three Crowns with a traditionally-Aussie Rules "V". Some of the other designs can be seen at the AFL Sweden website.

The newly-formed European Australian Football Association is looking for their new Regional Manager. Funding has been secured from the AFL for three years and the European Regional Manager's task is to develop Australian Football in Europe.

To read more about this position, download the job description.

All applications must be received by 17.00 (local time) on Friday 19th February. All applications must contain a current resume and all candidates must be available for interview on March 2nd, preferably in London.

Applications can be sent to the president of the league in the country where the applicant resides.

The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland is celebrating its 10th year of existence with new and increased plans for expansion while also continuing to focus on the Irish Warriors national team. The league's website at ARFLI.com has been completely re-launched, with several new sections that it is hoped will spread the word of the sport across Ireland and beyond.

With the inaugural European Championships being held in Sweden and Denmark this year and the International Cup again being held in Australia in 2011, the ARFLI is keen for Irish players living abroad to become involved with the National team.

The league is aware of dozens of Irishmen playing the game throughout the world and how this would obviously strengthen the Warriors side. Indeed when Ireland finished fourth at the 2008 International Cup, Australian-based Mick Finn was named player of the tournament. As a result there is now a player registration form on the new website where players interested in being considered for the national side can register.

In addition to this, the England-based Irish Exiles have formally affiliated with the ARFLI.

The University of Birmingham Sharks, one of Britain's newest Australian rules football clubs, last weekend hosted the WARFL Red Devils, the representative side featuring the best players in the Welsh Australian Rules Football Leagues across all nationalities.

In a surprise result, the Sharks' fitness was too much the more-experienced Devils, the home side running out to a comfortable 59-point win, Dan Di-Lieto kicking six goals for the winners.

The Sharks this weekend will host the Portsmouth Pirates, followed by planned matches over the coming weeks against Cambridge University, the Huddersfield Rams and fellow newly-founded collegiate clubs the Leeds Met Taipans and Chichester Uni Cougars.

Closer to home, Birmingham Uni will also take part in the three-team West Midlands Cup against Wolverhampton and the Birmingham Bears on March 13th.

This report courtesy of David Wheaton from the University of Birmingham.

The AFL Italia last weekend held their first-ever all-women's training session, with players taking the field in Milan in muddy conditions.

Women's footy has grown immensely in Australia over the past decade, and also has an established club scene in Canada and the United States. However, the Italians may be the first in Europe to found a full-scale women's club, as the following YouTube clip explains.

The new Gold Coast Football Club was the first AFL (or future AFL) club to play Papuan players at the club's highest level, giving Amua Pirika and Stanis Susuve (pictured) a run in 2009. With a huge influx of some of Australia's best young talent it was always going to be difficult for the two to stay on the club's list as it moves into the VFL (2010) and AFL (2011).

As it turns out, Pirika has moved on to play with Mt Gravatt in Queensland's top league, with the possibility of playing some games with the Brisbane Lions, and Susuve will stay with the Coasters to hopefully play some VFL matches. Gold Coast assistant coach Shaun Hart, himself a triple premiership player with the Brisbane Lions, talked to WFN about where the two players stand heading into 2010.

The SARFL in conjunction with the Glasgow Sharks have announced Scotland's Aussie Rules 9-a-side Club Tournament the "Haggis Cup" will be played in Glasgow on the 10th April 2010.

The Haggis Cup is now in its 7th year, having previously fielded teams from across England, Ireland, Wales, Belgium and France.

Organisers are hoping for at least 6 teams for the competition including Edinburgh and Glasgow to take on reigning Cup holders Aberdeen. The tournament will take place over one day and be played under current European 9-a-side rules in an express format with a post tournament function.

The Scottish Puffins will also soon be holding trials for the national team, which will be heading to Italy for a 4-team tournament on July 4th.

For further information about the Haggis Cup or to register interest in taking part, please contact SARFL President Dougie Hunter via the SARFL website.

After the formation of the European Australian Football Association this January, a major development in international footy, it is useful to look at the development of footy in different countries. In this article, we look at France.

The Flying Boomerangs, an Indigenous Australian team, have proven too strong for South Africa's Coastal squad, in the second and final game of their tour, in Cape Town. An even second half followed a dominant first, in which the large Nyanga township ground allowed the Australians to use their skills to damaging effect.

Amongst the best for the locals was Bayanda Sobetwa. It was following this game that Boomerangs coach Michael O’Loughlin and AFL Commissioner Justice Linda Dessau announced an AFL SportsReady traineeship for Sobetwa which will see him join Greater Western Sydney (GWS) this year in the TAC Cup under AFL legend Kevin Sheedy.

Team GWS this afternoon officially announced the signing of Bayanda Sobetwa (pictured) with the following release.

Team GWS has secured its first international player, with South African Bayanda Sobetwa today accepting a scholarship with the new AFL team for Greater Western Sydney. He will fly to Australia this month to begin training and will play with the Team GWS TAC Cup side for the 2010 season.

Sobetwa, a 19 year old from Khayelitsha Township - south east of Cape Town, was presented with his scholarship by Justice Linda Dessau and AFL Community Engagement & Talent Coordinator Michael O'Loughlin, during the Flying Boomerangs tour of South Africa.