World Footy News

Tanzanian marathon runner Samson Ramadhani took gold at this year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but will be bringing a footy back home along with his medal. Ramadhani was sighted practicing his kicking with other members of the Tanzanian team at the games village after the team were donated two balls by Aussie Rules travel group the Convicts.

The Jakarta Bintangs proved too strong for hosts the Bali Geckos in an all Indonesian final in the 2006 Santa Fe Bali Nines Masters Australian Rules Football Championships on Saturday March 13th. After a dominant first half, the Bintangs came out convincing winners in front of hundreds of spectators at the Canggu Club, Bali’s first private member’s sporting and recreational club.

In another impressive performance by AFLPNG's junior pathways program five young players were in the mix for selection to represent Country Queensland in the Kookaburras under 18's squad that played at the Queensland state championships, with Emmaus Wartovo leading the way on the scoreboard. The country squad struggled against the rapidly improving city teams at the championships through March 2006, but the next step for AFLPNG will be to get some of their lads into the state U18s team picked from the tournament.

Japan Samurai player Michito Sakaki has been recruited by the Wodonga Raiders from the Ovens and Murray Football League, around three hours north of Melbourne and generally regarded to be the strongest footy league outside Australia's capital cities. Sakaki has signed a contract with the Raiders that nets him a few hundred dollars a week, plus free accomodation, car and petrol. He is also teaching Japanese at a local high school and has helped create one of the biggest pre-footy-season buzzes the area has seen in recent times.

WFN recently spoke with the founders of a new footy club in Manchester, joining the BARFL for 2006. Since then, a draft BARFL Regional league draw has been circulated, featuring no less than 9 clubs - these being the four teams who competed last year, three new clubs from regional England, and Glasgow and Edinburgh from Scotland. WFN takes a sneak preview of the regional league, and talks to players from another of the new clubs - the Thanet Bombardiers.

2005 saw clubs such as Bakersfield and Las Vegas make their debut on the US footy scene. A number of others around the country are in the embryonic stage, with the major determinant to their likely success being raw numbers of players. Once they have enough numbers it is hoped that the existing clubs can do their best to foster their new comrades and welcome them into the fold. World Footy News profiles some of these efforts here.

In a major announcement for footy viewers in the US today, independent public broadcaster MHz NETWORKS has announced it will broadcast the Australian Football League (AFL) "Match of the Week," and an hour-long highlights show, on its new national program service MHz WORLDVIEW for the full AFL season. Matches will air on Saturday nights at 8PM EST with replay Sundays at noon EST.

Western Australian Football League club the West Perth Falcons have sought out the Milwaukee Bombers to form a partnership that will allow them to promote themselves at an international level in the US. Importantly, the deal will see scholarship positions created allowing two Milwaukee players to undertake pre-season training with the club (who play in the professional state league feeding into the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers) and then stay on to play local football for the season.

Last weekend the 2004 and 2005 All Star Ladies Gaelic football teams of Ireland travelled to Singapore, where hosted by the Singapore Lions Gaelic football club they played an exhibition game and ran schools coaching clinics. They also met with officials of the AFL/Women’s AFL and agreed to an inaugural International Rules Series between Australia and Ireland to occur soon after the men’s series there this October. Two Tests will be played - one at Parnell Park (the GAA’s second ground in Dublin after Croke Park) on October 31st and the other to be in either Cork or Galway on 4th November. Both will be under lights and televised at least within Ireland.

The AFL created some international good will last Tuesday just before the opening of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The AFL has jumped on the bandwagon of the Cypriot team. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou is of Greek-Cypriot background with his father migrating from the village of Kili to Melbourne in 1951. It was here that he met his wife who had migrated separately from Cyprus. Demetriou played 103 games for North Melbourne and 3 games for Hawthorn in the VFL.

The Chicago Australian Football Association are this Saturday March 18th to be filmed in action by Australian television’s Channel 7, with the Illinois club chosen to show their wares for upcoming segments to be shown on the network in Australia on three separate occasions. As well as footage of the players in action, club players and officials are expected to feature in a number of interviews.

The USAFL today announced that the 2006 All Star Game will be held in Sarasota, Florida on July 1st. The Florida Redbacks Australian Rules Football Club will be hosting the event, in what is hoped to be a boost to the promising football scene in Florida. Last year’s tournament was held in Dallas Texas, and in previous years it has been held in Atlanta Georgia and Long Beach California.