As mentioned in Tigers Expanding AFL Territory Across India, AFL India is preparing for the first ever inter-city football tournament in India, to be held in Kozhikode this December.

AFL India held an official media launch for the tournament in Gurgaon last week, where they announced OGM (Oil and Gas Mining) as a major sponsor, and the company's ambassador, former Australian Test cricket captain Steve Waugh, as the tournament's patron.

AFL clubs Richmond, Essendon and GWS and Big Bash club the Melbourne Stars all sent in signed jumpers as auction items, which have assisted AFL India raise money for the tournament.

Read on for the Official Press Release.

Thanks to AFL India president Sudip Chakraborty (pictured) for contributing this article.

It has been over a year since India won its first international match of footy against Timor Leste during AFL International Cup 2011 on 24th August. A historic day in Indian sports history. A day that came after almost four years since India started playing the game officially.

After a fairly good show in the later stages of IC08, the players had gone back to a complete standstill for over a year, with the previous body in charge disappearing due to lack of interest and enthusiasm. That was when two of the players from the IC08 squad took up the challenge and got the AFL to dissolve the previous body and helped them set up a new board to get things going again.

Dingoes and Goannas to contest Japan AFL 2012 Grand Final

The Japan AFL Top League 2012 Grand Final is to be played this weekend at the YCAC Ground Yokohama Saturday 27th October.

The season decider will be played out between perennial powerhouse Tokyo Goannas and reigning premiers Osaka Dingoes. 

The Tokyo Goannas club was founded in 1991 to provide expats and other foreigners a chance to play Australian Rules Football and showcase the game in Japan. The club is community based and today still offers expats and other foreign workers in Japan a chance to play football. The club boasts an American, a Canadian, a Scot, a Pom and a Sydney Rugby convert as well as its share of expat Aussies amongst its players. The club has for many years been the powerhouse of footy in Japan with the club winning four out of five Japan Top League Premierships.

The tenth annual Bali Nines has taken place on 6 October 2012, being hosted by the Bali Geckos, a mostly expat playing group based in Seminyak. The original tournament was played in 2003, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Bali Bombings, in which 202 people died, including 88 Australians.

The tournament consisted of seven teams, vying for the coveted title, with teams from around Indonesia, from Australia and around Asia.
 

Chen Shao Liang was described by Kevin Sheehan as a "medium defender type with brilliant leg power. His vertical jump is in the rare category. A standing jump of 86cm and a running jump of 99cm at the China Combine in July were reflective of his background in volleyball and basketball. An exciting athlete that has excelled at school in short distance track events and displays a real desire to learn the game and improve. Is the first player to be selected from the AFL China Academy program in Guangzhou, Southern China

 

You can see him for yourself in the video news story below from Austalian TV Network Channel 9.

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The Komazawa Magpies Australian Football team in Japan has links to Buddhism, as all the team’s players are either students studying at, or are graduates from Komazawa University in Tokyo, Japan. 

Komazawa University is one of the oldest universities in Japan, established in 1592 as a seminary and a centre of learning for young monks of the Soto sect, one of the two main Zen Buddhist traditions in Japan.

World footy followers will recall East Timor/Timor Leste contesting the 2011 International Cup, the new nation’s first foray into International Footy, and the fledging AFL nation not managing to record a win, although we should be reminded that two of their losses were by only one goal. Some could say ‘not a very auspicious start to World Footy’, though we can now report of a real success story with an East Timorese connection.

The Western Bulldogs youngster, Lin Jong, who made his AFL debut in round 20 against Richmond is the first AFL player of East Timorese and Taiwanese descent to do so. He is very likely to also be the first to receive a congratulatory letter from a Prime Minister, officially being recognized by the Prime Minister of Timor Leste, Xanana Gusmao.

Although born in Australia, Timor Leste is the homeland of Jong’s father, his mother being Taiwanese. His parents met in Taiwan and came to Australia 26 years ago to start a family and he is very appreciative of the interest in his background, it is also remarkable that Lin only began playing football 4 years ago.