World Footy News

The AFL has announced Laws of the Game changes for season 2009. While the rules will immediately affect the AFL season (and NAB Cup competition), it is as always up to bodies around the world on whether they implement these changes or ignore them.

AFL Football Operations Manager Adrian Anderson, Chairman of the Laws of the Game Committee, said the Commission had approved the following at its monthly meeting in Melbourne today:

1) Four minor rule changes for the 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season;

2) Two new interpretations for the 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season;

3) One change to the AFL regulations for the 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season;

4) Introduction of three 2009 NAB Cup / NAB Challenge rules that may be introduced for the 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season;

5) A revision of the rules used in the 2008 NAB Cup, which has seen some rules retained and others discarded to bring the NAB Cup more in line with the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

Melbourne's Herald Sun is reporting that the AFL's NAB Cup match in Cape Town is in doubt due to sponsors pulling out, citing the global financial crisis. AFL corporate affairs manager Brian Walsh said: "A few of our key stakeholders have reviewed their commitment to the game in the context of the world financial situation. We are now looking at that, and what the implications might be for the game".

International AFL matches such as this are largely funded by sponsorship money and rely on corporate packages. In the current economic conditions companies are spending less, and more importantly, want to be seen to be spending less (there have been some high profile cases of public shaming in the United States where company spending has been seen as excessive). The AFL has also advised all clubs to tighten their belts and trumpeted that they are doing the same, whilst also facing growing pleas for further money from clubs such as Melbourne.

In this context it would be quite understandable if the AFL was forced to cancel, and perhaps quite difficult for them to proceed without the sponsors, but it would be a real shame for the South African players and supporters. It has been a decade since the only official AFL match in South Africa (last year's Carlton versus Fremantle game was just an exhibition pre-season game), and taking away the much anticipated return of AFL would send the wrong signals after much recent effort to assure that international development is important.

The Herald Sun article reports that the AFL will likely make a decision in the next few days, and that "It is believed only a last-minute sponsorship arrangement being sought by the AFL can save the match from being transferred back to be played in Australia".

Although the move would not be the end of the world for the South African program it would send the wrong message - let's hope a white knight sponsor emerges, or the AFL Executive makes the tough but strategic call to keep their eye on the game's international growth. In times past the sport's administrators have recoiled and international development has died off - this would be a great opportunity to take a stand for the future. Australian football has given other sports a century head start - now may be the perfect time to make up some of that ground.

AFL South Africa's Western Cape Provincial Development Manager, Allison Simons, has been appointed to a new National role as footyWILD Futures Manager. With her time courtesy of Australian Volunteers International coming to an end, it was important she not be lost to the country.

Simons is remarkably well credentialled with her life already having covered a wide spectrum. She grew up in Kenya, moved to Australia where she studied and played football, and is the recipient of First Class Honours in Archaeology and Anthropology and has a PhD in African Archaeology (see Out of Africa - and back - Allison's football journey). Her new appointment seems to cement her in a career in the wonderful but no doubt challenging field of promoting Australian football in South Africa.

The Australian Rules Football League Ireland (ARFLI) have had many ups and downs in their short history, although two things have always been assured - a strong squad sent to the International Cups and strong clubs out of Dublin.

But away from the Republic's capital only the Leeside Lions have thrived. Several regional sides have come and gone, such as the Clare Crows (no longer active). However in 2008 momentum has been building, and although there can be no guarantees, there are real hopes for several new clubs in time for the 2009 season.

We've previously reported on attempts to kickstart the Mayo Mariners and Kingdom Kangaroos (see ARFLI season running, Mayo and Kerry clubs postponed). Those efforts are continuing and joining them in the race to start next season are the Midwest Magpies, to be based in Galway. The club has been established by Eoin Budds, Aiden Cunningham and National team player Ray Colleran. They are looking for players and officials. More details on the ARFLI website here.

Ironically the key to having more teams in ARFLI is just that - having more teams. By increasing the number of regional sides there will be less travel and more local rivalries, thus improving the chances of retaining players and indeed clubs. Success should in theory breed success. After several false starts it would be tremendous to see ARFLI expand to 7 or 8 clubs in 2009, and it would go part way to ensuring the Warriors continue to keep pace with nations such as PNG, New Zealand and South Africa, at least in the short term.

As expected the AFL has told the Tasmanian AFL bid team that their proposal is very good but they will have to wait as the Gold Coast and West Sydney are next.

The bid team travelled to AFL House, led by Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett. Under the theme Ready When You Are, the presentation showed that the Launceston Aurora stadium, with a capacity of 21,000, would provide a similar deal to Geelong's successful arrangement with the 25,000 capacity Skilled Stadium (Kardinia Park). Combined with corporate support such as a 3-year $4 million deal with confectionary maker Mars and a fervent supporter base, the Tasmanians are believed to have demonstrated they are ready as soon as the AFL gives them the nod.

In 2007 the team at worldfootynews.com analysed the results from international Australian football over 2005 and 2006 to produce their consolidated view of how the world's Aussie Rules teams ranked against each other as at the end of 2006. The results were presented in World footy rankings for 2006. We fully concede this is a subjective analysis, but we thought it worthwhile to give it a go given no other world ranking system is in place.

The focus was on nations perceived to be capable of fielding full squads of local players (non-Australian) under International Cup rules, including 18-a-side on the field. The 2005 International Cup results were used as a starting point. Teams were ranked from Australia at number 1, Papua New Guinea at 2 (just squeezing out New Zealand) down to France at 17 (just qualifying as borderline able to field a full all-French squad).

We are about to undertake this process again, using IC08 as the starting point. But this time we want to involve our readers. Not in an actual vote, which is too hard to monitor in terms of balancing out country biases, but in a discussion of how the process unfolds. So here we welcome comments from our readers and writers. The topics up for discussion in this piece are the status of the Peace Team and Catalonia, and whether to rank Great Britain as one nation.

Now the wind and rain have settled back into the British Isles, there is a chance to look back at a manically busy year of footy in Great Britain. Alongside a steadily developing raft of domestic competitions, 2008 saw huge growth in international footy being played and planned for the near future, with adult and junior fixtures being played in Britain, mainland Europe and Australia.

Probably foremost in many minds was the International Cup (IC), the tri-annual event attended by footy playing nations from across the globe and a chance for the best of the Brits to test themselves against their peers from 4 continents.

Focused preparation had been underway for over a year, giving the coaching staff opportunities to see many more players in action and decide where they could fit into the game plan.

A benefit of this was the chance to look outside the traditional recruiting grounds of the London-based competitions, with 12 players selected from clubs across regional England and the fledgling Welsh league – a real endorsement of the development of British players outside the Aussie-laden and more experienced clubs in London.

The license bid team pushing for a Tasmanian side in the AFL is due to present its case to the AFL Commission on Friday, led by Tasmania's political leader, Premier David Bartlett. The widespread belief is that the AFL will receive the bid but proceed with their plans for Gold Coast and West Sydney sides (the latter perhaps on a slower timetable). In which case the Tasmanians will have to watch on, frustrated again.

Perhaps that reality is already causing frustration. In previewing their case, key bid member and ANZ Chief Economist Saul Eslake stirred up the debate by referring to the West Sydney region, in some respects seen as Tasmania's competition, as Boganville. That's a suggestion that the people of West Sydney are bogans (a derogatory term suggesting they lack sophistication or class). It also has cache because it sounds very much like Bougainville, a semi-autonamous island of Papua New Guinea that was often in the news a few years back. It's a strange call by Eslake, who is very much the public face of ANZ, one of Australia's biggest banks - one wonders what other ANZ staff and shareholders think of their Chief Economist alienating potentially 2 million customers in the western suburbs of Australia's biggest city?

The first game of former AFL player Ben Graham for the Arizona Cardinals today saw him punt 3 times against the St Louis Rams. His first punt of 38 yards was inside the ten with no return yards. He held well for kicker Neil Rakers two successful field goal attempts, from 44 and 22 yards. In the last quarter he punted 50 yards to the St Louis 11 yard line, but the punt was returned 33 yards. His last punt was also a 38 yarder which was not returned following a fair catch at the St Louis 13 yard line. He also held for Rakers' four successful extra point conversions. All up three punts at an average of 41 yards, but only 31 net yards – with all three punts inside the 20 yards line.

Via considerable media coverage Graham again put the game of Australian Rules Football front and centre in another US state as his background was explained to the fans of his new team. It is hoped that he has done enough to impress his new team (which needed Graham to perform as both punter and holder), as they now have secured a playoff spot as they cannot be headed in their division.

The AFL have released some promotion for the upcoming Collingwood versus West Coast match in Cape Town. Pleasingly the video launched via their website features a background on the South African national side, which should serve to educate fans in both Australia and South Africa that the sport is now on the ground in South African communities. No word yet as to whether the commercial will be aired on television in Cape Town.

The game is scheduled for 12:10pm South African time on Saturday 7th February 2009 at Sahara Park, Newlands, Cape Town, and is the start of the 2009 NAB Cup. After the match, locals sides Khayelitsha and Nyanga go head-to-head.

The advert and further information directing people to the AFL South Africa website can be viewed at: www.afl.com.au/southafrica

Robert Harvey was today named the 2008 AFLPA Madden Medalist. The medal recognizes his outstanding on field performance and off-field football achievements, personal growth and community spirit throughout his 21 seasons at the St Kilda Football Club. The medal was presented at a gala lunch at the Peninsula in the Docklands today. Harvey edged out Peter Bell, Shane Crawford, Scott West, David Neitz, Mal Michael and Nigel Lappin for the top honour.

The Top three votes breakdown for the four awards was as follows.

The Madden Medal Presented by AMP
Robert Harvey 28 Votes
Peter Bell 16 Votes
Shane Crawford 15 Votes

Earlier in the day Peter Bell spoke of his football journey after winning The Open Universities Australia Personal Development Award. The award comes on the back of his achievements including obtaining a law degree from the University of Melbourne and serve as AFLPA President from 2002-2007, in between captaining a football club and winning AFL Premiership’s. He is currently CEO of Simpking International Consultants.

Footy is not a new sport in Perpignan, anyone who follows footy in France remembers the game organised between the French national team and a selection of English players back in 2005 that brought 500 spectators to the ground. But soon after that, the local Saint Estève Saints disappeared and footy in the south of France with it.

But during the summer of 2008, a young ex-rugby player decided to bring footy back to life on the Mediterranean shores. After discovering the game on TV and realising that the St Estève team no longer existed, he decided to give it a go, and contacted the Saints former president to start the club again.

“At first I found footy fun, but I did not understand any of the rules" says young Tigers president But after reading them he realised that "Aussie rules is a great sport that deserves more recognition".

In the process the Saint Estève Saints became the Perpignan Tigers. For now no players from the Saints have joined the Tigers, but there's no doubt that some of them will bring their knowledge to the young team.

Damien, the Tigers president, tried to organise a tournament in November with the help of the nearby Montpellier team, but unfortunately he was forced to cancel the event. There is no doubt that the Tigers will play a major part in the future of footy in France.

Ed: World Footy News welcomes Olivier Tresca to our team of reporters. Olivier was a pioneer of French footy, as well as more recent experience in Scotland.