This week's show recaps footy scores and news from matches played last weekend all around the world, including from the USA, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Austria, Poland, Austria, PNG, Vietnam, Indonesia and China.

In the wake of turbulent pandemic-induced isolation and geopolitical unease the topic of the cultural relationship between Japan and Australia remains an intriguing sub-issue that has arguably only scratched the surface of its potential, despite the now 70 years of formally re-established relations and centuries of informal ties.

While the mostly staid and rigidly defined roles of trade and military might have defined the prominent narrative of how countries act, it is the altogether unsophisticated yet labyrinthine expressions of society (food, art, sport) that really explain how we get along...or don’t. Some of them are a bit more interesting or unusual than others.

We recap last weekends footy results and news from around the world, we also catch up on the scores from the 49th Parallel Cup and the AFL London Grand Finals. Scores this week from USAFL, AFL Canada, AFL Europe, AFL PNG, AFL Asia.

A smidgen or a glimpse of some Good News for Footy? 

Trawling Footy websites to see how teams ,clubs, leagues and nations are coping with or surviving the shut down of sport and footy because of the Covid 19 pandemic and have come across a couple of situations where planning for a reopening of footy is being seriously considered.

AFL Japan are looking to restart with the following matches scheduled for late September - Eastern Hawks v Tokyo Goannas and Senshu Powers v Tokyo Bay Suns.

No actual date is set as yet as an early September start may be on the cards if health authorities lift restrictions in August or earlier. AFL Japan have ruled out an August start as they feel hot weather/temperature may impact too severely thru lack of training.

AFL Vietnam are about to start training in June with sessions in Hanoi on Saturdays, 10am at Phuc Xa Football Field and in Saigon also on Saturdays, 10am at Salo Fields, District 2. AFL Vietnam also indicate that initial planning is underway for several events later in the second half of the year.

When Port Adelaide Powers’ president David Koch loosely indicated last week that the AFL’s China experiment may be over, the theory became the catalyst for some lively debate in recent days.

When interviewed by The Adelaide Advertiser, Koch did not say that the experiment was over. However, he did express doubt over Port Adelaide’s role in future Chinese fixtures.

He told the newspaper, ““I’ve actually got no idea (how that will look)…We will discuss with the AFL, State and Federal governments and our partners who support us in China about the future of it.”

He went on to add, ““Our whole China strategy originally was not predicated on having a game. We’ll have to assess that coming out (of the pandemic) but at the moment, in terms of priorities, it’s not a massive priority for us to make a decision on.

As the AFL grapples with the magnitude of the current Coronavirus pandemic, moves are afoot in Cairns to relocate the proposed China match to the northern Australian city.

The Round 12 clash between Port Adelaide and St Kilda was again scheduled to be the showcase match in Shanghai as the AFL continues to grow the Chinese market. However, the spread of the disease across China and the world has alarm bells ringing in all spheres of life, including football.

Whilst the AFL is yet to make a decision on whether the Shanghai match goes ahead, the league is in negotiations with alternative venues to host the game. Whilst there are likely to be other major AFL venues available across that weekend, notably May 31st which was the scheduled date of the clash, Cairns is seeking the opportunity to act as the new host should Shanghai lose the match.

 

Jennifer Phelan from the www.afl.com.au website reports that the scheduled match in China later this year will still go ahead as planned, despite the outbreak of the Coronavirus – for now. Jennifer’s original story can be found at: https://www.afl.com.au/news/368057/china-game-to-go-ahead-as-planned-but-afl-monitoring-situation 

THE AFL is preparing to proceed with its May match in Shanghai but will seek advice from the Australian government and the World Health Organisation after the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. 

St Kilda is fixtured to face Port Adelaide at Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium, on May 31, with the League expecting the game to go ahead.  

"The AFL will take advice from the Australian government and World Health Organisation regarding any safety precautions related to the coronavirus," a statement said. 

The first match of the AFL Japan GO League’s 2020 season was played at Izumi Sports Village, Osaka on Saturday 18 January.

The Osaka Dingoes hosted the game against R246 Lions in the cold winter night at five degrees.

The home side fielded the strongest team in the last couple years, while the Lions managed to bring eight players from their base of Tokyo.

The Jharkhand Crows have taken out the AFL India 2020 ARFAI National Championship in Murshidabad, West Bengal. The city is to the north of Kolkata near the Bangladesh border. The Crows downed the host team, the West Bengal Tigers in a "fantastic game of footy" by 10 points. The final scores was the Jharkhand Crows 32 down the West Bengal Tigers 22.

The 8th National Championships this year featured the two finalists as well as the Kerala Bombers, Bihar Bulldogs, Odisha Swans, Maharashtra Giants, Tamil Nadu Kangaroos, Telangana Saints and the Andhra Magpies - the team for the 10th Indian state to take up the game.

The following video clip gives a small sample of one of the games played over the two days of the event.

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