On WFN recently it was reported in this story that there were a couple of former DAFL players with Icelandic connections who were trying to get the game up in Iceland.

The group has since then taken a few steps further, Friðgeir Torfi Ásgeirsson announcing last week that the Reykjavik club was officially founded on August 21st. An Icelandic side is also set to compete at the EU Cup in Zagreb, with 14 players committed to the trip so far.

Friðgeir adds, "We have found indoor facilities for the winter (as outdoor training will be difficult in the Arctic winter) and I have high hopes that the sport is off to a good start here in Iceland."

The Icelanders can be contacted via their Facebook group.

The Vienna Kangaroos and their marsupial mates from Munich will hold the 3rd annual "Battle of the Roos" in the village of Kössen in Tyrol, Austria on Saturday August 29th. Vienna club stalwart Ben Chick says that with the Munich Roos fired up for the AFLG Grand Final the following week, and the Vienna team led by local boy Raoul Himberger, it will be an entertaining match as were the games in previous years.

As Chick explains, "The event is organised annually by Sepp and Jenny Himberger (yes - that's our boy) and has turned out to be a great showcase for Aussie Rules in the fantastic setting of the Tyrolean Alps. The camaraderie between the teams has grown strong over the years and its always a fantastic weekend of entertainment on and off the field."

Australian rules in Austria is continuing to grow, with last year's interest from the city of Graz culminating in the official formation of the second footy club in Austria - The Styrian Downunder Dogs, named for the province of Styria where Graz is located. The Doggies, comprised 100% of Austrian nationals, have been training over the summer and will make up almost half of the Austrian national squad for the EU Cup in Croatia.

Back in the capital, the Vienna Kangaroos are recruiting strongly after suffering a winter exodus of some established ex-pat and local players. As Chick says, "The natural attrition rate seems to have been higher than previous years, but the local new blood have taken to the game with great gusto and are continuing to improve week by week."

A series of matches between the Graz and Vienna teams will take place in September as a lead up to the EU Cup. The Austrians will thereby join their Croatian and Czech neighbours in building a local competition this year, after the Central European tri-series was suspended for 2008.

The Sydney Swans' sole remaining Irish recruit has ended speculation regarding his future by signing a new contract to see him remain at the Swans. This is despite recently claiming that he was going to return to Ireland had he not made his senior debut by this seasons end. A series of injuries have hampered his development this year and thus his appearances have been restricted to the Swans reserve side.

Writing in the Irish Echo, Murphy has said that he is delighted at his decision to remain in Australia. “I know I’ve said before that if I hadn’t made a senior appearance by the end of the season that I would just wrap things up and go home; but I’ve changed my mind and I’m now fully committed to a future at the Sydney Swans, whether I’ve made that breakthrough by season’s end or not. Basically, I’ve been offered a new contract, and I’ve decided to take it.”

The Huddersfield Rams have scored an epic come-from-behind win to deny Birmingham in the ARUK Central Grand Final.

Played in front of a great crowd, 150 strong at the Huddersfield Rugby Union Club Lockwood Park Huddersfield, the Bears took full advantage of their opportunities to enjoy a three goal lead at 3 quarter time.

All the momentum was with the Bears and a huge upset looked on the cards, however an injury to Bears captain Matt Mitchell caused the game to be delayed by 20 minutes while the ambulance service took him to hospital after a dislocated knee.

The Rams came out for the last quarter a different team and slammed on goal after goal to emerge victors by 21 points in an unforgettable Grand Final - final scores Huddersfield Rams 13.27 (105) d. Birmingham Bears 12.12 (84)

Rams founder Karl Haigh described the match as "the best day of our lives", and says the club has big plans for the future, with a junior team in operation and a 5-year-plan in place that envisages a club tour to Australia.

The AFL London 2009 Grand Final will see traditional rivals Wandsworth Demons play the West London Wildcats in all 3 grades of the AFL London Grand Final.

Powerhouse club West London lay claim to being the biggest Australian rules club outside Australia and have dominated the premiership tally of the league over the past few years - their senior Wildcats side winning the last 5 London premierships on the trot.

After much discussion and speculation over the past twelve months, the Danish AFL and AFL Sweden have announced that they are preparing to host Europe's first full-scale, all-local International Championship series in the Øresund Region of Denmark and Scania.

AFL Sweden president Jörg Pareigis stated in correspondence to European league committees during the past week that the tournament will be played under IC eligibility rules, meaning all local players, with each team playing four full-length 16-a-side matches over the week from July 31st to August 8th next year.

Assuming that eight European nations are able to mount a squad on the required scale, the teams are to be separated into two divisions of four sides, one division playing its matches in the Copenhagen area, the other over the bridge in Sweden.

The Scottish Australian Rules Football League this year has bounced back in a big way after a few tough seasons, 2009 being the first time in four years for the home and away series to be completed without any matches being forfeited.

The year began with the consolidation of the Glasgow and Edinburgh sides to one team in each city, joined by newcomers the Aberdeen Dingoes from the east coast. The three clubs now having a total of 65 active players, with plans for further clubs in Stirling, Dundee and Perth.

SARFL board member Douglas Hunter had a chat with World Footy News about the league's progress, future expansion plans and junior development.

The Scottish Australian Rules Football League will this weekend hold national team trials in the city of Stirling, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The session is intended both to help efforts to create a team based around the town's university, and also to choose the Scottish Puffins squad for this year's EU Cup in Croatia.

Local newspaper the Stirling Observer reported in Aussie rules at the University that; "AFTER a build up of six years in Scotland, Australian Rules Football is finally coming to Stirling.

In 2003 Scotland's first Aussie Rules football teams were launched simultaneously in Glasgow and Edinburgh and the sport quickly gained popularity in the cities.

For a period of time each city had two competing teams and these have since been consolidated to form the Edinburgh Bloods and the Glasgow Sharks. In 2009 Aberdeen launched the Aberdeen Dingoes.

On Saturday, August 22 at 2pm, the Scottish national team will be training at Stirling University and will also be selecting new players for the Scotland team on the day. All interested players are invited along to get involved in the sport, learn more, or join the team currently being formed in Stirling."

For more information visit the Scottish ARFL website.

The Norway Polar Bears, or "Isbjørnene" in Norwegian, will take the field for the first time ever on October 3rd, traveling to the city of Karlstad in Western Sweden for a full 18-a-side Test match against the Swedish Elks.

The Polar Bears are aiming for at least 50% Norwegian players in the team, as well as to include representatives from all three Norwegian clubs - Oslo, Ås and Tromsø.

The Elks for their part are selecting Team Sweden under IC rules, with AFL Sweden president Jörg Pareigis tipping the side to be very similar in composition to the Elks squad that visited Melbourne last year.

Not the usual World Footy News - but until we get the World Footy Classifieds together, we have the following offer from Munich Roos coach David Mudge:

Does anyone have a spare set of footy jumpers they are willing to swap for a set of North Melbourne Kangaroos (blue & white) jumpers?

I am coach of the Munich Kangaroos and this season we invested in some shiny new jumpers. Therefore we have our old jumpers lying around doing nothing. If only they were a different colour, I could use them for internal practice games and trainings. Therefore I thought if one of you is in the same situation of having two sets of jumpers, we could swap a set and both clubs end up with a set of training jumpers, or a set of jumpers for starting a new team.

Let me know if you know of anyone who could be interested. If it works out, we could do the swap at the EU Cup in Samobor.

Any takers, leave a message on this story and we will pass it on to Dave Mudge and the Roos.