World Footy News

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.

The amazing story of the 2004 Japanese national team, the Samurai, continues....

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.

World Footy News has some more information on the All-Australian amateur side that is hoping to travel to Ireland.

Australian Rules football has been taught to school children as an alternative sport in Argentina, and proven to be very popular.

Desmond Kaumu, from Papua New Guinea, has won the Under 18s best and fairest in the Cairns (Queensland, Australia) Australian Football League. The following report is based on information from Scott Reid in PNG.

A recent interview with the AFL's Ed Biggs reveals their plans for international Australian football and their thoughts on the IAFC.

Good news for Australian football in Samoa, with plans for a development officer to be appointed.

Australian Rules football has slowly begun to spread around the world, particularly gaining momentum in the last decade. But the development of the game outside of Australia partly depends on the strength of the game within. The sport has a long history in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory in Australia. This weekend sees the first ever AFL premiership season match played there.

The British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL) finals are coming up, and are being promoted in conjunction with the website Active Antipodean. Their press release follows. In addition, this weekend also sees the BARFL Regional and Scottish League Grand Finals. The BARFL website has all the details.

The Western Regionals are being held in San Diego this weekend. This is the second leg of the series, to help determine seedings for the United States AFL 2004 Nationals, to be held in Atlanta in October. With each of the attending five teams playing against every other team once, the Regional should be a fair measure of the relative strengths of the teams. The draw follows.

Australian Rules football has made great gains around the world in recent decades, but Africa has remained largely untouched. South Africa is the exception, and the targeted growth is certainly exciting.