A rather odd article appeared in the Herald Sun today.  It quotes AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce function in Melbourne.  The headline read "The AFL admits it will not become an international sport".  That's pretty blunt and depressing for supporters of the growth of our great game.  But is that really what he said?

Yes and no.

 

The international broadcast schedule for the AFL Round 7 can be seen below. All times are correct at the time of publishing and WFN takes no responsibility for changes to the schedule.

The failure to launch as scheduled by Sommet Sports has been a lowlight of the AFL's recent efforts to promote the code via free to air TV in NZ. We are hopeful that the launch may come soon - the latest comment on Sommet Sports Facebook page is that "we are still waiting for a third party to come back to us and therefore we do not have any further update regarding our up coming launch. We will update you as soon as we have further information."

 

The 2013 AFL season moves on to Round 4 this week.   The international broadcast schedule can be seen below. All times are correct at the time of publishing and WFN takes no responsibility for changes to the schedule.

There are some reports on forums that Sommet Sports that was scheduled to deliver Free to Air coverage of the AFL in NZ was due to launch today but have not.  We would appreciate any confirmation of this. 

Following their 9.5 (59) to 1.1 (7) victory over Ireland's Warriors on 6th April in Guildford, the Great Britain Bulldogs have climbed two spots to 7th on our unofficial World Rankings. The US and Tonga each slipped a position as a result. Ireland maintained their position as number two behind Australia, but their margin over PNG is now perilously narrow.

The Bulldogs head across to Dublin for the second and final match of the series against Ireland, scheduled for 20th April.

See below for interim rankings update.

The 2013 AFL season moves on to Round 3 this week.   The international broadcast schedule can be seen below. All times are correct at the time of publishing and WFN takes no responsibility for changes to the schedule.

The 2013 AFL season moves on to Round 2 this week.   The international broadcast schedule can be seen below. All times are correct at the time of publishing and WFN takes no responsibility for changes to the schedule.

The 2013 AFL season gets underway for the 14 other teams this week. The first match this week is on Thursday night Australian time between the Richmond and Carlton.  No matches are played in Australia on Good Friday.   The schedule can be seen below.

The AFL has announced the 2013 NAB Under 16 Championships draw. This year's tournament will again include a WA Northwest team as well as a Flying Boomerangs indigenous team who will play against the World and South Pacific teams.

The South Pacific and WorldXVIII teams will be back for their fourth tournament which will be held in western Sydney from July 6 to July 13.  

The Australian Football League will unite with the Australian Federal Police for the sixth annual Unity Cup to be held in Melbourne on March 24.

Representing the diversity of our game, Australia Post AFL multicultural ambassadors David Rodan (Fijian) and Majak Daw (Sudanese) will hold a leadership session during the multicultural carnival which will take place at JJ Holland Park in Kensington.

The 2013 AFL season gets underway this week with Round 1 split over two weeks. The first match is on Friday night Australian time between the Adelaide Football Club and the Essendon Football Club. The schedule can be seen below.