It is three thousand odd kilometres between Punjab in north India to Kerala far down south. It’s another 2000 kilometres between Gujarat far west and West Bengal on the eastern borders. Massive distance the figures suggest and the present Secretary General of the Australian Rules Football Association of India, Sudip Chakraborty, has travelled the length and breadth of the nation repeatedly for the past 12 months just for footy. Starting from the national championships in Kerala in 2012 and set to culminate in another championship in Goa this November, this twelve months has been one hell of a ride for this footy vagabond.  

A cricket fanatic and open to new ventures, Sudip jumped on the footy bandwagon in 2008 and before long he had become an integral part of the sporting activities in the country. By the end of 2011, Sudip had already represented his country in two International Cups, and as the days rolled on, what started as an exploration, turned into a vision and a stubborn will to make his dream come true.

 

With the kind assistance and generosity of Jonathan Cooper and the Osaka Dingoes Australian Football club, the following article is an interview with one of the icons of Australian Rules football in Japan. The answers to the interview questions have been produced in both English and Japanese out of respect for the loyal national readership in Japan and so that the current University players can read his message and follow in his footsteps.

With the development of the game of Australian football in Asia high on the agenda of the current AFL administration, we thought we would interview and share with you the thoughts of the Dingoes' Takaaki Seto, a man who has been involved in Japanese football for twelve years now and who was influential in establishing the university football system in Japan.

'Seto' as he is more commonly referred to, is currently a back pocket at the Osaka Dingoes and has represented Japan at the 2002, 2008 and 2011 International Cups. He won the Peter Wilson medal for league best and fairest in 2007, and won the Osaka Dingoes' best and fairest award in 2012.

 

On Saturday, October 5th, Japan's largest footy tournament was held at Seimei-no-mori Resort in Chiba.

Despite the unfortunate rainy weather, the tournament was carried out as initially planned receiving the attendance of 3 local Japanese teams (Eastern Hawks, Komazawa Magpies, Senshu Powers), 1 Expat team (Tokyo Goannas), 1 mixed team (Tokyo Bay Suns), and a visiting team from Box Hill North.

The games were played with 9 players each on the ground, structure of 10 minute halves for preliminary rounds and semi-finals, and 15 minute halves for the Grand Final.

Eastern Hawks finished on top after a seesaw game against the Tokyo Bay Suns in the Grand Final.

This report courtesy of Hiroyuki Toyama from the AFL Japan.

The South China Morning Post has reported on Port Adelaide Football Club legend Russell Ebert in Hong Kong to set up ties with the Hong Kong Dragons. Ebert has signed a reciprocal deal on behalf of Port Adelaide with the Dragons which will be beneficial to their Auskick programme, which currently boasts 300 kids. Click here to read the original article.

Well how good is it? Good enough for a quick kick and handball around the region with your mates. Or more simply put "Its mega awesome".  The 21 member clubs of AFL Asia show us how good.

The AFL Japan Cup 2013 is set to be held on October 5, Saturday at "Seimei No Mori Resort" in Chiba, Japan.

The event will be contested by 6 teams including international visitors the Box Hill North Football Club. The other 5 teams include an all local Japanese team, an all expatriate team, and a Japanese-Australian combined team.

The one day tournament will have 9-a-side games, structured in 2 divisions, 2 semi-finals, and a grand final. Leading Goal Kicker, Player of the Tournament, Best on Ground of Grand Final, and other awards are to be presented.

The 14th annual Asian Championships have taken place in Thailand, with the Hong Kong Dragons taking out the coveted title for the second consecutive year. The Dragons went through undefeated and beat the Philippines Eagles in the final 4.5 (29) to 2.3 (15) at Royal Polo and Equestrian Grounds outside of Pattaya.

This is the Dragons’ fifth title since the tournament began in 2000. The team is now tied with the Singapore Wombats for the record of most Championships.

The first Asian Championships to be held under the AFL Asia banner proved to be a success with a record 13 teams from across the continent competing for the prize, up from nine teams the previous year.

Other than the Dragons, Eagles and the hosting Thailand Tigers, the competing teams were the Singapore Wombats, Macau Lightning, China Reds, Jakarta Bintangs, Bali Geckos, Cambodia Eagles, Laos Elephants, Malaysian Warriors, Vietnam Swans and Japan Goannas.

This year’s tournament shows how the game continues to grow in the region, not only with the record number of participating clubs, but with the strength from within these clubs too. The Philippines Eagles finished at the bottom of the Championship table last year with no wins, but improved to go through almost undefeated this year only to fall at the last hurdle.

The tournament has become the pinnacle of Australian Rules football in Asia. With new structural organisation, an ever increasing number of teams and the depth within those teams, it will continue to grow as the pinnacle of Asian footy.

Further to Shane Hendrickson's article on the Asian summit earlier this week - we have received the following press release.

MEDIA RELEASE FROM AFL ASIA - AFL ASIA FORMED BY ASIAN FOOTY

Representatives of 14 Australian Rules football clubs from around Asia have met in Bangkok for the inaugural Asian Presidents’ Summit to discuss a game plan for the future of the sport in the region. Presidents of 13 clubs, plus representation from a Pakistan programme still in its infancy, were present, with a further four clubs having their say without being able to attend.

The most agreed upon issue was the future of coordination and structure of footy in Asia. The result was the creation of an Asian Council for Australian football, to deal with issues such junior development and sponsorship, with Phil Johns, president of the Vietnam Swans, receiving the presidency for the new body as well.

Chen Shao Liang may ring some memory bells with our readers. He was the Chinese athlete identified at the AFL's Combine in China last year and he subsequently took part in the main Combine in Melbourne.

This week he flew into Australia and on the weekend suited up for the Southern Dragons in the VAFA. The Dragons are a club that is mainly based around Melbourne's Asian immigrant community, in particular having a good number of Vietnamese players.