World Footy News

Nominations are now rolling in for the 2006 VFL Barassi International Youth Tournament in Canberra in 2006 and the organisers are putting the word out for any interested groups to register their interest - whether it be an elite squad or just a school team who want to visit Australia, suitable opposition will be found.

Aussie Rules is coming to Bermuda, and the Atlanta Kookaburras, Reading Kangaroos (UK) and Bermuda Department of Tourism will use the the USAFL National conference on Friday and the USAFL National Championships on Saturday to launch The Bermuda Australian Rules Football Championships to be held April 2007.

Melbourne Football Club players and officials have commenced post-season volunteer work on the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi, where they are constructing a school as a memorial to former teammate Troy Broadbridge. Troy was tragically killed in the Boxing Day tsunami last December.

The AFL Record is sold at AFL matches each week around Australia, and has an estimated weekly readership approaching 300,000. In the Round 21 edition a few weeks ago, the AFL's head of Game Development, David Matthews, wrote an article titled "The Wheel Turns", in which he discusses recent growth and hopes for new teams at the next International Cup. It appeared with a photo of New Zealand performing their Haka at the International Cup.

Divisional seedings are out (with some controversy) and the smack talk between US clubs is hotting up in the lead-up to the biggest club championship tournament in the world of Aussie Rules, coming up this weekend of October 1-2 in Milwaukee. 3 divisions of 8 teams will compete in the mens' event, with the women's championship for the first time featuring four teams. World Footy News previews the US Nationals, with some tips from the author.

It may not be Aussie rules, but wherever Gaelic footy grows it seems to benefit interest and player numbers in Aussie footy. One just has to look at Tadhg Kennelly and Jim Stynes as champion Aussie rules stars who played only Gaelic football til the end of their schooldays.

In the wake of the marvellously hard fought and stirring victory by the Sydney Swans at the AFL Grand Final, the following story from The Australian on Grand Final day is illuminating. Sean Fagan, a primarily Rugby historian whose main book is about the split between Rugby Union and Rugby League - "The Rugby Rebellion - the divide of league and union", writes how Australian football almost became the dominant code in the Harbour City by 1905.

The special relationship between the Geelong Cats of the AFL and the Farum Cats of the Danish Australian Football League will really show signs of bearing fruit with the visit of Geelong stars Tim Callan and Jimmy Bartel to Denmark and Sweden for the first week of October.

The Canadians were unlucky with a tough draw at the 2005 International Cup, but they fought hard in every match. They also presented very professionally and that includes capturing some video of the event, including the PNG Ole Ole.

Ireland's Green Machine will travel to London to take on the British Bulldogs in the curtain-raiser for this year's AFL game at Brit Oval on the 8th October. The AFL match features AFL grand finalists West Coast Eagles taking their Western Australian rivalry to London against the Fremantle Dockers. In the many years of AFL exhibition games at the Oval this is the first time there will be a curtain-raiser involving local footy.

The Skåne Grand Final between Port Malmö Maulers vs Lund Magpies will be on Saturday September 24th at Limhamnsfältet, Malmö at 14:30. There will be a curtain-raiser before this at 13:00 between the Helsingborg West Raptors and debutante Göteborg Beserkers. The Beserkers were formed in 2003, but are yet to play a match against outside opposition.

The 2005 Mid American Australian Football League season is over with first-time Premiers the Dallas Magpies taking the title after going through the season undefeated. Dallas in their third year in the MAAFL thrived this year with some excellent recruiting drives, a strong administration and certainly some great leadership on the field. Their qualities of play a fine example to the marked increase in skill and fitness of players throughout the league. Runners Up this year were the Chicago Swans, or was it the CAFA? (Chicago Australian Football Assoc.) - more on that later.