World Footy News

The 2005 AFL season was launched in Brisbane this year, and AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou was full of praise for AFL PNG. The organisation, responsible for an explosion in junior footy numbers in Papua New Guinea, has now formally come under the wing of AFL Queensland. The plaudits from Demetriou are the first for another country that we know from the top AFL official. The following report is from AFL PNG Director Justin Karcher.

The Hamburg Dockers last weekend broke through for their first ever win, travelling to Düsseldorf to give the Lions a 18.7.155 to 3.5.23 thumping in round one of the AFL Germany 2005 season.

The results are in for World Footy News poll on “Who will win the 2005 International Cup?”

Carlton's Irish recuit, Setanta O'hAilpin, is off to a solid start to his second season in Australia. Continuing his footy development with VFL side the Northern Bullants, Setanta has played several pre-season matches and kicked two goals in their opening regular season match.

Continuing the tradition of BARFL clubs taking to the road for pre-season warmups, three British clubs went abroad this weekend. The North London Lions headed for sunny Spain to take on the Madrid Bears, the Reading Roos landed in the deep south of the USA to take on the Atlanta Kookaburras and the West London Wildcats visited Scandinavia, taking on the Stockholm Dynamite - all three giving the locals a lesson in how footy is played.

With the senior International Rules series scheduled for Australia this year, the annual under 17 series was played over the past fortnight in Ireland. The Irish lads won the Peter McDermott Cup with a 2 Tests to 1 result.

In this article we look at the remaining countries that have begun playing Australian Rules football. We've previously reviewed the regions of North America, Europe, Africa, Oceania and Asia. Here we'll see the beginnings of the game in the Middle East and South America.

The Papua New Guinea AFL are one of the two big Aussie Rules organisations outside of Australia (the New Zealand AFL being the other). Although not large in full time staff, it is responsible for thousand of players and officials across the islands of PNG. It is tremendous to be able to announce the launch of their website.

The weekend of March 19 saw Denmark's North Copenhagen Barracudas make their first tentative steps onto the international stage, visiting the Brussels Saints in the Belgian capital.

Australian Rules football countries around the world are in full swing with fundraising activities to get their players to the 2005 International Cup. South Africa recently had a very successful fundraising dinner in Melbourne, with around AU$25,000 raised. The Australian Rules Football League Ireland are also well on the way, as are the Papua New Guinea AFL.

In 2002, countries spent of the order of AU$100,000 each to get their lads to Australia. This has sometimes raised debate as to whether the money could be better spent developing their local leagues. But it is difficult to measure how important a tool the chance to represent your country is in recruiting and keeping players in the sport. The event is also vital in raising awareness in Australia and offers the chance for leagues to build links while they are Down Under. In the end, each country must make a choice.

The All-Sports Television Network, a US company with broadcast affiliates, has been the source of some debate in US football circles. The promise of American Aussie Rules matches being telecast is exciting, but with the anticipation comes the fear of disappointment. A positive recent development has been the upgrade to ASTN's website, with Australian Rules Football now listed as one of their sports.

Aussie Rules continues its steady growth in the United States. The heavily populated state of Florida has budding players spread across it, including Tampa, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Apollo Beach, Orlando, Ocala and Naples. After a formative year in the SEAFL, the players will again come together as the Florida Redbacks to play in the inaugural Eastern AFL season.