World Footy News

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 South Eastern (USA) Australian Football League finishes this week, with the title to be decided between Atlanta and North Carolina.

The Japan Samurai have continued on their winning way defeating Box Hill North at Elgar Park on Tuesday night, 17th August.

The United States' North East Australian Football League is coming to the end of its season, with the champions to be decided in Philadelphia.

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.

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.