With the Asian Championships fast approaching, a number of the contenders had serious hitouts on the weekend of July 26th.

At the picturesque Cibubur Oval in Jakarta, the visiting Singapore Wombats proved too powerful for the Jakarta Bintangs, running out winners 19.13.127 to 11.12.78. Jakarta are always very hard to beat at home so this was a big win for the Wombats. As hosts of the Asian Championships they deserve to be favourites to lift the trophy. Match report at the Wombats website.

In Pattaya, south of Bangkok, the Thailand Tigers overcame a spirited Hong Kong Dragons side. The Dragons fought back from a five goal half-time deficit before going down by 11 points in a fierce, low-scoring game. The Dragons have often lost away games only to come up trumps in the Asian Championships so not too much should be read into this, but reports are that Thailand could spring some major surprises on September 6th. Match report at the Dragons homepage.

And at the University of Laos the Vietnam Swans overcame the Laos Elephants 80 points to 55. A good win for the Swans with a depleted team but given that this was only the second international game the Laos boys have played, the Swans were expected to win. Match report at the Lao Elephants homepage.

The next big game in Asia is at the Alice Smith Ground in Kuala Lumpur on 26th August when the current Changi Cup holders, the Malaysian Warriors, take on Singapore in both teams' final games prior to the Championships.

Editor's note: WFN welcomes Graeme "GC" Carey from the Malaysian Warriors onboard as our new Asia correspondent. GC is a well-known figure around the Asian club circuit and we look forward to benefitting from his insights into this neck of the footballing woods.

The Beijing Bombers featured in a great video on Foxsports.com.au this week, with interviews of development officer Andrew Sawitsch and local convert Zhang You, who regards the sport as a "Man's Game".

The video focuses on the development of the Bombers, as well as the build-up to the International Cup, which will feature a Chinese Red Demons team with a very healthy contingent from the Beijing Bombers. The Bombers are lauded as the "best team in China", a statement backed up by their recent strong victory over arch-rivals the Shanghai Tigers, with the Hong Kong Dragons and Tianjin Demons also given a mention.

The video can be viewed here.

Laura Dundovic, Australia’s nomination for the Miss Universe Pageant, is in Vietnam in the lead-up for this year's final judging on July 14 at the Diamond Bay Resort, Khanh Hoa Province, in Nha Trang.

June 24 saw her pull on a Vietnam Swans jumper for the "National Dress" section of the pageant, after meeting for a photo session with members of the Swans in Saigon. Unfortunately for Laura, she didn't score any points for the outfit, but according the the Swans' Phil Johns "Miss Australia was amazing. While she didn’t do well with the National Costume dress the other day, her wit, personality and charm is exquisite. She is quite the consummate professional."

The organisers claim that globally, there will be 1 billion viewers from 170 countries watching the final event on July 14th. According to the Miss Universe website, the contest is an opportunity for "beautiful young ladies from more than 80 countries not only to share their culture but also their values, intelligence, talent and beauty."

Last month, the Swans played against the Singapore Wombats in Hanoi. Next month will see them travel to Laos to play the Elephants, then finally a trip to the Asian Championships in Singapore in early September when 12 of Asia's finest Australian football outfits will compete.

The Bali Geckos, an Indonesian football club that has previously fielded ex-AFL players such as Jason McCartney and has enjoyed high-profile support (former Australian Prime Minister Mr. John Howard watched a game), hosted the fourth annual Bali 9s Masters tournament earlier this month. As the tournament name suggests, teams consist of nine players on the field, in the 35-or-over age bracket. Matches were comprised of two twelve-minute halves, with the event held at The Canggu Club. Readers please note that the Bali 9s Masters tournament differs from the regular Bali 9s tournament, which is held yearly in October in remembrance of victims of the Bali Bombings.

Apart from the Geckos, teams present at the 2008 event were the Jakarta Bintangs, Singapore Wombats, Dubai Dingoes (pictured left), Darwin Dingoes (Northern Territory, Australia), Castlemaine Masters (Victoria, Australia), South Coast Buccaneers (NSW, Australia) and the Darwin Waratahs (Northern Territory, Australia). Also present were the recently formed Timor Leste Crocs and Borneo Bears.

Following on from our story on Sunday, Times are changing - clubs fight over South Africa, it now appears possible that the AFL will stage two pre-season matches outside Australia in 2009. These may be NAB Cup or NAB Regional Challenge matches.

Vying for a spot alongside South Africa is the USA and India. A USA match would coincide with the country's G'day USA festival, with Lauderhill the likely venue. Potential Indian venues are in Mumbai (Bombay) and Bengaluru (Bangalore) - the country's most and third-most populous cities respectively. Apparently Bengaluru is firming as the preferred Indian venue due to its more pleasant climate.

Andrew Demetriou, who made the revelations, seemed to be pleased with the results of last year's Dubai match, which brought together Australian business, government and much of the expatriate community.

The 2008 Manila Cup has been run and won, with the Philippine Eagles, Hong Kong Dragons, Malaysian Warriors, China Reds (Beijing/Shanghai) and the Hongila Dogs (extra players from Hong Kong and the Philippines) fighting it out in sweltering conditions.

The 12-a-side competition saw the five teams play each other once, with the Hong Kong team (pictured) undefeated to finish top, on the way knocking over the Malaysian club, giving them their only loss. That left the scene set for the Grand Final, with the Dragons going in favourites, and they duly delivered, winning by 7.4 (46) to 2.1 (13).

The organisers are looking to go again in 2009 whilst avoiding clashing with any other tournaments, and will most likely stage it in the last weekend in May. Clubs from across Asia or anywhere else are welcome.

Full tournament report on the Philippines Australian Football League website.

In exciting news for Aussie Rules in China, it has been announced in an article on the AFL's website that the City of Tianjin is investing $1.5 million to develop a community facility that will include an Australian Football oval. The full story is So sews seeds for football in Tianjin, by Chelsea Roffey.

We've previously been told by people in the know of the fundamental importance of securing the approval of the Chinese government, something other major sports have overlooked and as a result wasted sizeable investments. It has taken key stakeholders time, but it seems footy has successfully negotiated this issue. Read on for more information about football developments in China.

In a similar initiative to the Melbourne football club in 2007, fifty international students were guests of the Carlton football club for their match against Fremantle on 24 May. The Australian National Institute of Business and Technology students, who were mostly from India, sat with Carlton’s cheer squad and experienced first-hand the excitement generated by the Blues final quarter comeback.

Several of the students shared their feelings about the game in an article titled Carlton, Bollywood bond at The Dome on the Carlton football club website.

The Philippine Australian Football League plays host to teams from across Asia on May 31st. The Manila Cup lists the Philippine Eagles, Hong Kong Dragons, China Reds, Malaysian Warriors and the Hongila Dogs. Sponsored by companies such as Leighton, Metals Exploration and ANZ, the tournament will be a major milestone for the PAFL, which first formed in 2004 (see Aussie Rules gets its start in the Philippines).

The Chinese side, the Reds (not Tigers as listed on the poster), are the merged forces of the Shanghai Tigers and Beijing Bombers (probably mostly the expatriate Aussies). The Hongila Dogs will be a combined side of extra players from the larger Philippine Eagles and Hong Kong Dragons squads. PAFL organisers had been hopeful of the Dubai Dingoes making the trip, but it didn't turn out so the Hongila side slots in.

Meanwhile the PAFL's weekly games continue between the Eurekas (originally based on expat Victorians) and the Dingoes (based on "the rest").

Read on to check out the tournament poster for the 12-a-side Manila Cup.