World Footy News

At the end of the 2005 Multicultural Cup, it was Team Greece holding the cup, having defeated Turkey in the final. In the 2010 Harmony Cup, they're back to defend their title, featuring no less than 5 ex-AFL players in a squad who will certainly be going into the tournament red-hot favourites.

Angelo Lekkas, Ang Christou, Anthony Koutoufides and Peter Daicos - four members of the Greek AFL/VFL Team of the Century chosen in 2004 - are coming out of retirement for the Harmony Cup, as is former Fitzroy, Port Adelaide and Richmond player John Rombotis.

With the support of Melbourne's huge Greek community and the proud history of Greek involvement in Australian rules football dating back over 100 years, the team will be very tough to beat when they run onto the Whitten Oval on March 21st.

Team Manager Peter Kalla spoke to WFN about the team's preparations.

The AFL's Team Greater Western Sydney, set to enter the league in 2012, has made history by being the first AFL club to sign a player from the AFL South Africa.

19-year-old Bayanda Sobetwa has accepted a SportsReady traineeship, which will see him study and work in Sydney over the coming years, on top of his development as an elite footballer.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy, a long-time supporter of the internationalisation of Australian rules football, has compared Sobetwa to a young Michael Long.

The following story appeared in today's edition of Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

After the successful Frankfurt conference which saw the formation of the European Australian Football Association, the Australian Rules Football League Ireland (ARFLI) ran an article discussing the body's establishment. It also mentioned that Ireland will send a team to the next 9-a-side EU Cup, to be held in October 2010.

Of particular interest is that the locations were named as likely to be either Milan (Italy) or La Manga (on Spain's Mediterranean coast).

In a good result for South African footy, the Inland Lions squad has pushed the youthful Australian Indigenous Boomerangs team all the way before narrowly losing their match by 10 points at Mohadin Cricket Ground, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

After several days of rain a wet ground awaited the players despite sunny conditions on the day. In a see-sawing affair the lead changed hands several times before the Boomerangs saw off the challenge from the Inland component of AFL South Africa's elite training program, which represents the best of the senior and youth talent in North West and Gauteng Provinces. The Flying Boomerangs are a selection of Indigenous Australian talent, this year lead by recently retired Sydney Swans star Michael O'Loughlin. It usually features youth from a range of backgrounds and footballing ability, including some potential future AFL stars.

Details and photos follow, and updated with comments from Micky O and Chris Johnson. Pictured at left is South African Mazizi Sifanelo as he evades a Boomerangs opponent in the wet.

Delegates from 15 Australian football leagues around Europe converged on Frankfurt last weekend to officially found the European Australian Football Association, the long-awaited first pan-European governing body for the sport of Australian rules football.

Following on from the summit held in conjunction with the 2009 EU Cup in Zagreb, the conference has seen a governance structure put in place, with the financial and logistical backing of the AFL.

A six-member commission has been elected, featuring both sports management professionals and leaders of national leagues in Europe, along with the appointment of Gerard Murphy as EAFA chairman and the creation of a full-time Regional Development Officer position being funded by the AFL.

Young PNG star Amua Pirika was one of the breakthroughs for international Australian football, when future AFL club the Gold Coast recruited him in early 2009, see IC08 hero signed by Gold Coast FC. Unfortunately in the tight battle for spots on that young talent laden team Pirika has been squeezed out of the 2010 squad, along with many fine Australian prospects while GC pick up more elite players from around the country.

Fortunately Pirika will have opportunities at Brisbane this year. AFLPNG's Scott Reid explained that "after discussion with the Lions and Mt Gravatt and based on assesments by Gold Coast and Geelong, Amua needs close intensive coaching in a strong footy environment. On that basis after consulting with David Lake at Mt Gravatt he will play and live with David or one of his team, to play under his guidance and like Peter Labi and Donald Barry (both now on official AFL international scholarships) get to play several games with the Lions Reserves and hopefully be ready for the next step to the AFL in 2011 when he will still only be turning 20".

So although Pirika's dream has in one sense moved a step further away, the above assessment is still pretty positive and AFLPNG and Queensland footy will continue to invest in him. The chance is still there for Pirika to grab it.

2010 will see an unprecedented number of players on AFL lists that have come from overseas. We're not talking overseas-born but Australian-raised, but players who actually came to Australia to play in the AFL. In all there are 21 players in this category, though the number is fluid with International Scholarship Listings now occurring regularly.

3 of these players are on AFL senior lists, 10 are on rookie lists, while 8 are International Scholarship Listed. Not counted in the 21 are 2 Papuans unofficially getting experience with Brisbane (through their Reserves) and the Gold Coast.

Of the 21 players 11 are Irishmen, 5 Papuan, 2 Fijian, 1 New Zealander, 1 American and 1 Canadian.

The total could easily double in the next two years. Of course the key number will perhaps be seeing the number on senior lists (3) rise dramatically.

Below is a list of all these internationals. With so many reports coming out there's always the possibility of errors, let us know if you spot any.

On March 21st of this year, the revamped Harmony Cup will see the first-ever Team Albania take the field at the Whitten Oval, promising to bring a big supporter base from the Victorian Albanian community and featuring a few high-profile names on the field.

So far, only one player of an Albanian background has so far played in the AFL, with Adem Yze's celebrated career with the Demons spanning more than a decade, however at a suburban and country footy level there have been plenty of Albanian champions come through the ranks. Adem has confirmed for the Harmony Cup side, as have his brothers Damien and Ramadan who are local footy stars in the Goulburn Valley, and the Albanians are confident of their chances.

Adam Lika from Team Albania spoke to WFN about the side's preparation.

The Flying Boomerangs depart Australia today for the third such tour of South Africa and their fifth international series overall. Twenty five Indigenous teenagers will spend two weeks in the country, conducting clinics, experiencing the culture and playing a match against each of the two South African primary development squads - the Inland and Coastal teams as discussed in Lions name elite training squads.

The youth Indigenous Australian squad is the same concept that travelled to South Africa in 2006 and 2008 and hosted a return visit from the South Africans in 2007. Each tour has seen three matches played and so far the Indigenous Aussies are undefeated against that country. However in 2009 when they toured Papua New Guinea the two matches were split. They'll again have their work cut out for them as the South Africans rapidly improve and contain both youth and experienced senior players, although the Inland/Coastal split will obviously reduce their strength. It should be a good test for all the teams involved and great practice for the new development structure being used by AFL South Africa. The Australian players’ selection follows their attendance at the Qantas AFL KickStart Camp in Melbourne last August.

The 2010 Flying Boomerangs squad will be joined by recently retired AFL players Michael O’Loughlin (Boomerangs coach), Chris Johnson (assistant coach) and Malcolm Lynch.

With the announcement that there will be separate World XVIII and Pacific teams for the AFL NAB Under 16s this year, and given the initial Pacific squad following the Youth Oceania Cup featured no Papuans (who were unable to make it to the tournament in Fiji), there have been some queries as to whether Papua New Guinea players will represent the World XVIII, the Pacific team, continue to be eligible for Queensland as in the past, or none of the above.

Andrew Cadzow, whose official title these days is AFL Asia Pacific Development Manager, clarified that "The PNG boys targeted will be 17/18 years of age for the Under 18 Pacific Team".

So as we'd previously assumed, PNG players will be added to the initial Pacific Team that was listed. As the international sides are able to field older players than the Australian state squads, it would be reasonable to assume that younger Papuans who may be coming through the Queensland representative teams would still be eligible for that state, so hopefully we'll see one or two there as well. Pictured are some PNG's elite young Under 13 and Under 15 players.

Back in 2004 and 2005, teams from some of Melbourne's multicultural communities came together to take part in the Multicultural Cup, an Australian rules football lightning tournament organised by Aussie Rules International.

After a hiatus of four years, the tournament is back in 2010, renamed the Harmony Cup, featuring some new sides and planned for March 21st. Teams from the Greek, Italian and Lebanese communities are back onboard, along with Team Africa and Team Asia from the 2008 International Cup. Also planning to attend with a few players with International Cup are India, and newcomers Indonesia and Albania.

Team Indonesia - branding themselves the "Indo Footy Stars" - are being coordinated by Fawwaz Sungkar, who took some time to talk with WFN about the team's preparations.

While back in the US over the Christmas break in Collingwood's pre-season training, Shae McNamara appeared on breakfast television show "The Morning Blend" in Milwaukee. The host's reference to the Collingwood Mudpies is sure to upset a few fans of the Carringbush. Shae was very keen to see the sport promoted in the United States. A little free press on home soil is always welcomed by the USAFL and Shae comes across as a pretty good salesman.

The interview video can be watched here.