World Footy News

Sunday 28 June 2008 on the playing fields in the Bois de Vincennes in the east of Paris will go down in history as the beginning of a new phase in the establishment of Australian Football in France, the commencement of a new era.

Four teams came from around France to compete in a round robin series concluding in the final. The Montpellier Fire Sharks in the south west is the newest team, having only formed this year. Coming from the Atlantic coast, just above the surfing beaches of south west France, the Bordeaux Bombers are also relatively new, having formed only in 2007.

The Strasbourg team, the oldest team playing ‘le Football Australien’ in France, a team which played for a season in the German league, were the third team, and the losing team in the final. One of the Strasbourg players was Marc Jund, the first pioneer of Australian Football in France.

Home ground advantage matters in Australian Football around the world as the travelling teams are often missing players who are either busy or find the journey financially pressing. The Paris Cockerels, with the home ground advantage and a few more experienced (that is Aussie) players, ran out winners in the final.

It appears that Tasmania is going full steam ahead with its bid to have a team in the Australian Football League. We've previously reported (Tasmania bid adds AFL expansion twist) that the island state has upped the ante to have their own team in the sport's elite competition, a dream the Apple Islanders have harboured since the VFL morphed into the AFL.

A Richmond Football Club delegate, Craig Cameron was in Samoa last week searching for potential Samoan 'international rookies' and it made news headlines in the small Pacific nation. Cameron also made an appearance on a high-rating sports television program, Sports Centre and was interviewed for an article which received colour, back page coverage in Sunday's Newsline newspaper.

Cameron revealed he was on the lookout for "people who are enthusiastic about AFL" and to "find some guys that have the athleticism who could go and play Australian Rules" and see "if there is a possibility of developing the game (in Samoa)." The Tigers' Strategy and List Manager also watched an AFL Samoa practice session at Leulumoega.

According to Michael Roberts, AFL Samoa's National Game Development Manager, "Samoan media is finally warming to Australian football which is great. The support of local radio presenter Ben Talogota from Polynesian Radio is great, along with his weekly review with Rohan Connelly."

One reader of the Samoan newspaper confirmed the positive effect that a non-Australian playing in the AFL can have for that particular country, admitting that they were "raised in Australia" but "still do not understand the concept of AFL" yet would "try to understand it and back our boys if they ever get into the game of AFL. I think Samoans should get into playing this game, it could only take us further."

Roberts was very pleased to have a "visit from such a professional club who was interested not only in the talent and programs but in the future welfare and adaptation to western life for these young players." Cameron had expressed interest in understanding the 'Faa Samoa', a set of Samoan cultural rules to live and treat others by, in order to benefit potential recruits.

WFN can reveal that other AFL clubs have since expressed interest in talent identification in Samoa.

The AFL has some video highlights from the Under 18s Australian Football carnival (Sneek Peek at Future Stars).

Of particular interest is the diversity of names among the talent. Among the standouts are video highlights of multicultural players previously mentioned on WFN including Fijian-Australian Nicholas Naitanui (WA), Ranga Ediriwickrama (NSW/ACT), but also other interesting multicultural names like Zaharakis (Vic Metro), Martiniello (Vic Country) and De Boer (WA).

Unfortunately for international footy fans, true PNG international, John James (QLD) is not included as his state was knocked out early in the carnival. Nevertheless, the AFL has published an article on him called "A buzz in the air", discussing his conversion from rugby league, his enthusiasm for Australian rules football, his upcoming International Cup campaign and his AFL prospects.

Papua New Guinea's junior pathway program continues to rush ahead, with the Under 14 Binatangs having wins in warm-up matches against a New South Wales region and Queensland development side, followed by a comfortable win in the Queensland Under 14 State Championships, and pushing one of the top regions in their other game so far.

Further down the pathway are another group now playing for Coolangatta, and some Papuans have even lined up for the Brisbane Lions Reserves side in the southeast Queensland league. These young men are the real deal and we review their progress below.

The AFL has confirmed their intention to finalise and next week release the official draw for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. The tentative plan is to go public on Monday 7th July, however that is not guaranteed as the final adjustments are made.

We can reveal that one of the listed likely competing nations unfortunately looks like pulling out this week, due as much to difficulties securing the availability of enough of their players as the financial burden.

This would leave the AFL with a difficult task to satisfy all desired outcomes for the draw, and we think readers will find the final schedule very interesting if it plays out the way we expect. But that is yet to be finalised. Sit tight until next week.

When the BARFL re-badged as AFL Great Britain there were two naming concerns to be addressed - the slightly unwieldy length of the name and confirming their new designation and logo with the AFL. After some debate and a few unexpected delays the new title is official - AFL Britain (i.e. they have dropped the term "Great").

AFL Britain's President, Sam Percy, had some interesting things to say on the name and an honest appraisal of the current role of the association in relation to England, Scotland, Wales and their position on Ireland. For the wider audience not across the topic (it's more a curiosity than vital knowledge), we also look at the difference between the terms Britain and Great Britain.

According to a recent article on the AFL website, Vanuatu has joined a growing list of Australian football-playing nations.

Football arrived in the country "when a Gold Coast couple living there introduced Rec Footy." Whilst a senior league is yet to develop, eight teams participated in Rec Footy over the summer. These matches were initially played by expatriates at an international school but before long had attracted "broader interest". AFL Queensland Auskick Manager, Fiona McLarty has since visited the island to help establish a NAB Auskick program, with eighty children signing up after participating in introductory clinics.

Participation in the sport by Vanuatuans adds weight to calls for football's inclusion in future South Pacific Games.

The AFL Commission has approved a proposal for the 17th team in the AFL, the Gold Coast, to have access to up to 20 young Queenslanders. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou on Friday announced the acceptance of the recommendation from the Gold Coast List Management Working Committee, covering the initial player concessions that would be made available. By pre-signing up to 20 Queensland players of draft eligible age in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the new club would be in a position to build a healthy player base with a local identity. All other 16 AFL clubs will be entitled to list an additional two rookies per season for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, to compensate for the compromises in these draft years.

With plenty of PNG talent in the Queensland system, South Africans being fast-tracked, junior development gaining pace around the world (see for example The international players of the future), the international scholarship lists, expanded rookie lists and two new AFL clubs, the time for the first internationally developed draftee must now be very close.

The following is an edited extract of the release from the Victorian Premier's office today.

Premier John Brumby today announced Australia would play Ireland at the MCG on Friday 31 October with Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse to coach the Australian team. “The match will be a celebration of the close relationship between Ireland and Australia and the great sporting rivalry between the two countries,” Mr Brumby said.

“Melbourne is the undisputed major events capital of the world with a year round calendar of sporting and cultural events. This weekend will further boost this reputation. “We expect a huge number of visitors from Ireland, England and from across Australia to converge on Melbourne for what promises to be a fantastic long weekend of major sporting events.

“I expect there will be a great buzz around Melbourne which will provide significant economic benefits to Victoria and be a great boost for our hotels, restaurants, taxis, bars and shops.”

Laura Dundovic, Australia’s nomination for the Miss Universe Pageant, is in Vietnam in the lead-up for this year's final judging on July 14 at the Diamond Bay Resort, Khanh Hoa Province, in Nha Trang.

June 24 saw her pull on a Vietnam Swans jumper for the "National Dress" section of the pageant, after meeting for a photo session with members of the Swans in Saigon. Unfortunately for Laura, she didn't score any points for the outfit, but according the the Swans' Phil Johns "Miss Australia was amazing. While she didn’t do well with the National Costume dress the other day, her wit, personality and charm is exquisite. She is quite the consummate professional."

The organisers claim that globally, there will be 1 billion viewers from 170 countries watching the final event on July 14th. According to the Miss Universe website, the contest is an opportunity for "beautiful young ladies from more than 80 countries not only to share their culture but also their values, intelligence, talent and beauty."

Last month, the Swans played against the Singapore Wombats in Hanoi. Next month will see them travel to Laos to play the Elephants, then finally a trip to the Asian Championships in Singapore in early September when 12 of Asia's finest Australian football outfits will compete.

The following story is contibuted to us by Rebecca Cassidy - Public Relations Officer for the Yankeroos.

Australian Rules football has become a popular extra curricular activity for American ‘Study Abroad’ students studying at The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus. The successful Study Aboard program has been operating for a number of years and sees students from American university’s such as Notre Dame, Indiana and Portland University travel to Fremantle for their ‘cultural and academic’ exchange.

Introducing them to Aussie Rules was the brainchild of local Fremantle businessman, Mr Tony Fairhead. He explains, “The initiative began in Semester 2, 2006 and has become a regular event on the students’ calendar. “The team, called the Yankeroos, is formed at the beginning of each semester. Our aim is to teach American students the rules of the game and how to play, therefore promoting Aussie Rules to the Americans.”