AFL Japan extends invitation to footy clubs from around the world to contest the Japan Cup.

The Japan Cup has been held every two years since around 2001 and this year will be contested on October 10th 2015.

Originally called the Sugadaira Cup because it was held in Sugadaira, Nagano Prefecture.

To celebrate this weekend’s upcoming Multicultural Round Port Adelaide will wear a Chinese-inspired guernsey against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

The Power will wear a variation of its V-lined black guernsey. The guernsey will feature both the Chinese and Australian national flags on the front underneath the AFL logo and the respective player’s name in Chinese characters on the back above the number.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said the Multicultural Round guernsey was another sign of the club’s commitment to China.

Essendon Football Club in conjunction with Travel and Taste and Antler Luggage is proud to announce the documentary #EmbracingIndia, will air on FOX Footy (In Australia) at 9.30pm Tuesday 28 July.

The documentary follows Dyson Heppell, David Zaharakis, Joe Daniher and Zach Merrett on their ten day journey of self discovery across colourful and chaotic India.

The Vietnam Swans’ ambition to be considered amongst the AFL Asia elite took a big step forward last Saturday 30th May in Manila, winning their first ever Manila International Cup in a clean sweep and moving to the top of the AFL Asia ladder.

Read the full article on afl-asia.com here

Teik Kyat (Fighting Cocks) Take Home Vientiane Cup

All Laos National(s) side play “Seven’s International” match.

On February 28, the Teik Kyat met the Laos Elephants at the Lao Tobacco Sports Field, where they played three games and won three against a mixture of Laos nationals and Australian expats.

In their first matchup, the Myanmar side; only constituted in 2014 and predominantly formed of Australian expats; played a seven-a-side game against the Laos Nationals. (All Laotian Elephants played 12’s match against Thailand Tigers, Australia Day. 2014)

AFL Asia 2015 AGM

AFL Asia has elected a new, larger, committee for 2015.

AFL Asia’s former Vice President & Treasurer, Darren Whitfield was elected to the top job at the 2015 Annual General Meeting which was conducted by club presidents on Skype.(22nd Feb 2015)

Odisha became the latest state to embrace footy as they welcomed ARFAI officials to hold an introductory training session at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) campus in Bhubaneshwar.

The Australian High Commission in India deserve a special note of thanks for sanctioning the Direct Aid Program (DAP) grant for the joint venture between ARFAI and KISS. Under this project, ARFAI officials will train senior students at KISS to be footy coaches, who will in turn help in training at least 1500 children by the end of this calendar year.

Australian Rules football has slowly and surely spread its influence to all corners of the world. Many times it is expats going abroad from Australian to other countries, but many other overseas seeds were planted by service men and women in many locations.

There are famous accounts of impromptu matches suddenly erupting on some of the world’s most famous battle fields. The match being played on ANZAC Day in the French town of Villers-Bretonneaux, on the Somme, celebrates wartime accounts of matches played on the site of the Australian War Memorial.

Often the seeds of our sport, planted in wartime, burst into flower in the future.

Ben Guthrie from www.afl.com reports that Australian and New Zealand troops stationed and serving in Afghanistan will be playing an ANZAC Day footy match. 

Thanks to AFL Asia

The sport of Australian Rules football will be used to commemorate the ANZAC Centenary across Asia this Saturday through AFL Asia’s massive ANZAC ROUND of matches. Seven clubs will be hosting ANZAC matches in conjunction with dawn services in some of the most significant locations in Asia where Australian Defence Forces have previously served.

 “ANZAC matches have become a special part of playing footy in Asia.” AFL Asia President Darren Whitfield said. “Our clubs and players realise the significance of the day, using it to celebrate the relationship we have with the communities we now live in”.

AFL Asia’s ANZAC games will this year be played on Saturday 25th April in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.

As reported on WFN earlier (5th March) the Thailand Tigers took on the Malaysian Warriors in a Footy First in Phuket, Thailand.

This report courtesy of Thailand Tigers Australian Football Club.

After a 4 month lay-off, the Thailand Tigers were finally back in action over the weekend, with a short jaunt to Phuket to play Asian footy heavyweights, the Malaysian Warriors.

This match-up marked the first time Australian football has been played on the island province, and as a result, a healthy group of Aussie expats and curious others were on hand to see the two teams battle it out at the Alan Cooke Cricket Ground in central Phuket.