The two approaching international AFL matches are receiving some publicity in the countries they're being staged. According to a post on the fan forum Bigfooty, the Dubai match has had a full page advert in a local newspaper. There's also been two similar promo videos produced for the matches, viewable on the Bigpond site (you don't have to be a subscriber). Just visit http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/43150 and scroll down the video looking for the Dubai and South Africa Television Commercials (Dubai's also accessible from here, look for "Click here for a preview of the AFL Action").

The AFL Challenge Carlton versus Fremantle match is listed as February 2nd, 7:30pm start (so presumably under lights) at SuperSport Park, Pretoria, with the Australian Indigenous Youth versus South African Under 19s (actually a mixed age youth side) at 4:00pm. The Collingwood versus Adelaide NAB Cup match is down for 1:45pm February 9th at Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club, Dubai. The venue and surrounds can be seen on the map at the ticket vendor's site.

That's the question that Melbourne Demons AFL star Brad Green asked himself as a 16 year old from Tasmania.

As a talented young soccer player, he was flown to England and offered a lucrative contract as part of a trial with Manchester United in 1996, but decided to return home and instead finish school and play Aussie Rules, a sport he'd never played competitively.

Despite retaining a love for soccer and the Melbourne Victory, Green has never looked back and is widely regarded as one of the most accurate kicks for goal in the AFL.

The story is covered on the Melbourne Demons website.

In this article WFN completes a review of 2007 and previews what we can expect in 2008, along with a wishlist of things we'd like to see.

Happy New Year to all our readers. WFN wishes you a healthy and prosperous 2008.

On the international footy front, what a great 2007 - surely the best the game of Australian Football has ever had. The good news just kept on coming - record levels of attendance within Australia, record investment in footy in South Africa, a rush of Irish talent to the AFL, a host of new clubs across Europe, the giants of China and India stirring, and North America continuing its steady growth - clearly the vast majority of indicators were positive for Aussie Rules. We look back at some of the exciting news from the year just finished and think about what lies ahead.

An article appeared in the Herald Sun called "Sheedy California Dreamin", in which the AFL legend was quizzed on his thoughts about several topics.

Among the comments, the new AFL ambassador expressed his desire to see the game promoted more in the USA, even talking up planning construction of an Aussie Rules stadium in Los Angeles similar to the recently completed stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Sheedy's comments follow his recent promotional tour to the States where he saw the growth of the game there first hand.

While there are three clubs with local metro footy leagues in California, it was the recent exhibition match between the Sydney Swans and Kangaroos which highlighted the need for a dedicated venue. Due to problems securing a venue, the UCLA's Intramural athletic field hosted a makeshift oval and temporary stands which accomodated a crowd of just over 3,000 people but had sold out weeks in advance.

The reduced capacity caused major problems in catering and there was allegedly a spectator safety issue preventing more patrons attending. These problems may have had something to do with the high costs associated with running the event and this year's proposed match between Geelong and Richmond in LA being cancelled. An AFL venue, which Sheedy recognises may take decades in the planning, would be a significant investment in the ongoing growth of the game in the USA.

WFN recently stumbled across an old arcade game with the title Ozi Rules 2010. The unit is still in working order and features several countries competing in Australian Football, at stadia from around the world. We tracked down the developers of the game and asked them about when the system was made, how many were sold and what the response was like. We also learnt that one character was based on a real life enigma of footy, reported to drop punt the ball 70 metres but too shy to have a crack at the big time.

Just a quick note to let people know that the AFL's website has undergone a minor restructure and the web address for their International Leagues section is now: http://www.afl.com.au/Development/International/tabid/10238/Default.aspx. The link in our database has been updated to reflect this change. You can also navigate to the section from the AFL's front page by selecting Development then International. We hope one day the International section will be directly accessible as a prominent link from the front page, but I think all will agree that their coverage of international footy has improved significantly in the past 12 months.

While most of the attention on this year's AFL Rookie Draft was on the swathe of Gaelic football converts from Ireland, there were a couple of players from other interesting backgrounds in the mix.

As reported in Territorians looking to step up, the Northern Territory is considering applying to enter a combined squad into one of the major state leagues, with the Western Australian or South Australian leagues the front runners. The ABC website reports that a business plan is now being drawn up ready to be put to the WAFL and SANFL.

ABC article: NT footy team gets down to business

Rob Nisbet, one of the organisers of the Barassi Youth Tournament 2008, has sent us the following press release. The Barassi Youth Tournament (BYT) calls for more international youth teams! Along with the AFL's senior cup, 2008 will see the fifth international Barassi Youth Tournament take place in Canberra. The BYT is an international schools (16-year-old) non-elite Aussie football competition. The Tournament is organised by a non-profit incorporated association in the ACT. Over the years (1998, 2001, 2003 and 2006) youth teams from the United States, South Africa, Denmark, Samoa, Nauru and New Zealand have competed against invited Australian teams from the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory (Kormilda College) and Western Australia. Yes playing Australian football!