Located in northern Iceland, Akureyri is the fourth largest town in the country and the biggest outside the Reykjavík metro area. It is also a mere 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Arctic Circle, and it just happens to have a very devoted following of Australian Rules fans who are keen to further develop the game in Iceland.

With a history which dates back to initial Viking settlement in the 9th century, Akureyri has grown over the centuries since to be a significant population centre in Iceland with a thriving fishing industry and an ice-free port which makes it an important centre of commerce for the nation.

Geographically, in football terms, it might also become the most northerly centre for Australian Rules football world-wide with the apparent hiatus of the Tromsø team in Norway as well as the same fate for the Krasnoyarsk team in Siberia, Russia.

Magherafelt is almost as close as you can get to the very centre of Northern Ireland. With a population of around 8,000 people, it is also the largest town in the south of County Derry. But Machaire Fiolta (using the Irish name) is also the home of Europe’s, and Ireland’s, newest Australian Rules football team, The NRC Eagles.

According to Kevin McSorley, architect of the fledgling club and Development Officer for the Australian Rules Football League Ireland (ARFLI), “[The] NRC Eagles are the newly formed Australian rules football team for North Regional College based in Magherafelt. We welcome students from all sections of the college and all sporting ability, and will be training in Meadowbank sports complex regularly.”

Match report taken from the Glasgow Sharks website and written by "the Great White.

Saturday saw the S.A.R.F.L season opener between the Glasgow Sharks and the Aberdeen Eagles. The game was played under threatening skies and in very difficult conditions as heavy overnight rain had left standing water on many parts of the field. Although this was the first league game of the season there was still a fair bit on the line for both teams. The sharks were wanting to get the ledger going their way after going down to the eagles in the last game of the year last season and at this year’s Haggis cup. The eagles on the other hand were looking to keep their momentum going and continue the trend of recent times. Both sets of players were not going to let the conditions dampen their enthusiasm and defiantly marched through the rain to take to the field.

Although not well publicised, a Denmark versus Germany international was played on the weekend, on Saturday 18th May in Copenhagen.

As a result of Denmark's 20.21 (141) to 1.1 (7) thumping win over Germany, the Vikings have climbed three spots on our World Rankings. There was much discussion previously as to whether the Danes were too lowly ranked, but as pointed out the best way to remedy that is to defeat the teams close on the ladder.

As a result of this match and the earlier shared series between Great Britain and Ireland, eight nations have seen either a rise or fall in their position on our World Rankings since our last formal update on 24 November 2012.

Great Britain (46.51 rating points) has climbed two spots from 9th to 7th at the expense of USA (45.87) and Tonga (44.73) pushing them down one spot each to 8th and 9th respectively.

Denmark's 134 point win over Germany sees them leapfrog over Canada (37.82), Sweden (37.41) and Germany (35.73) from 14th up to 11th place. Canada and Sweden have been pushed down one spot each to 12th and 13th respectively.

Germany has slipped two spots from 13th to 15th allowing Peace Team (36.46) to climb 0.73 rating points above them at 14th.

The standings of all nations currently on the worldfootynews.com unofficial World Rankings, and the rank change since 24 November 2012, are as follows:

Match report taken from the Glasgow Sharks website and written by "the Great White".

Hello and welcome Sharks; fans. Saturday saw round 2 of the Caledonian AFL with a hotly contested match between the Tigers and the Makos. The Tigers were looking to start their season off in style while the Makos were looking to redeem themselves after going down heavily to the Cards in round 1. The Makos welcomed back utility Alexander Clark and Captain Adam Jack while the Tigers were having to deal with the significant loss of Andy Dubojski. The day was cold but dry under threatening skies. The Tigers won the toss and elected to kick to the city end of Victoria Park leaving the Makos heading to the stadium end. 

The opening round of Norway’s Kenguru Cup for 2013 was played last night in Olso. According to Adam Pearce, president of AFL Norway, "[we had] three good and close Kenguru Cup games tonight. Each team won one game so it’s looking like it might be an exciting league this year."

As mentioned in a previous article on Norwegian footy, the 9-a-side format last year worked well with the Oslo team separated into East and West, and the Ås university team making for a three team competition. This format was again used for this year’s tournament.

Results saw all three teams sharing the spoils, proving that the formula is a success and providing an even spread of talent, and a belief amongst all players that they can achieve success. Significantly, the Olso West team, who came in third place last year, took the honours this year, highlighting the success of their recruiting and retention program. This was foretold by Adam last year when he suggested that, "Oslo West also has the potential to win as well if they can hold the same regular players."

Match report taken from the Glasgow Sharks website and written by "the Great White"

Hello and welcome Sharks fans. Saturday saw the CAFL (Glasgow metro league) season opener with a replay of last year’s grand final between the Cards and the Makos. The Makos fell at the final hurdle last season and so were looking to even the ledger and kick start the new season with a victory. The Cards were also looking to start the season with a bang and maintain their dominance of the league they enjoyed last season.

With both teams missing key players it would be down to each team’s new recruits and second year players to get the job done. The game got underway under sunny skies but feeling very cold. With the turf crunching underfoot the cards were kicking to the stadium end of Victoria Park and the makos heading to the city end.

The provisionally-named AFL Scotland hopes to bring together and coordinate everyone's efforts in furthering the sport in Scotland.

Brought about by its two leagues, AFL Scotland is comprised of the Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) and the Caledonian Australian Football League (CAFL).

The SARFL is the National League format, comprising three 9-a-side teams in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The CAFL is Glasgow's metro 9-a-side league with three teams, Card Sharks, Mako Sharks and Tiger Sharks. The CAFL also has a women's division comprised of the Copper Sharks and Diesel Sharks.

Article courtesy of Glasgow Sharks’ Stacey Hughes.

The Haggis cup saw the Copper Sharks seeking revenge over the Diesel Sharks for a heavy defeat in Glasgow a week earlier. Leeroy Brown was traded for Zoe Rowe for this exhibition match in Edinburgh.

The Copper Sharks dominated early proceedings, outscoring the Diesel Sharks 20-2 in the opening quarter, which Saw Sue Noble score her first goal for the Copper Sharks.

Article courtesy of Glasgow Sharks’ Stacey Hughes and David Smith.

Victoria Park in the West End of Glasgow hosted the first ever Women's club match in Scotland on the 6th April 2013: Copper Sharks V Diesel Sharks.

The Diesel Sharks took the initiative early on in the match getting a couple of points on the board before Helen Cameron scored the opening goal of the match after a superb solo run, bouncing the ball twice before calmly slotting the ball between the posts. The Copper Sharks had no reply to a strong start from the Diesel Sharks who ended the quarter 20 points up.