The origin of Australian Rules football is often speculated on, but there are few definitive answers. It does seem likely that it had many influences in its formative years.
Australia's AFL Grand Final weekend (25th-26th September) is shaping up as a big weekend for football in New Zealand, with Christchurch set to host the National Provincial Championship (NPC) and an international junior tournament at a number of venues in the Canterbury region.
From having only one side in the whole country (the Helsingborg Saints) to having local leagues in Stockholm and Skåne, an outpost in Göteborg and hosting international competition, the past two years have been a time of spectacular growth for the Australian game in Sweden.
The Japan Samurai, an all-Japanese side, have proven their recent wins in Asia were no fluke with a sound thrashing of a Howlong Football Club selection on Australian soil last Sunday, 15th August.
Australian football finals series are underway the world over, with the Northern summer beginning to wane as the Ausralian winter thaws. Last weekend witnessed the successful conclusion of two British leagues' seasons - the Scottish and British Regional Premierships.
We recently reported on the Denver Bulldogs staging a demonstration of Australian Rules football at half time of a big soccer match. We also mentioned an upcoming Vancouver Cougars demo at a Canadian Football League match - by all accounts it was a great success.