The AFL's head of Game Development, David Matthews, has announced an agreement between AFL South Africa and the North-West Cricket Association which will provide Aussie Rules football with access to cricket ovals, sponsorship and a massive player base. Crucially, in an interview with a Melbourne newspaper, Matthews has tied together many of the threads that are strong topics of debate amongst supporters of international footy. He has clearly put forth the case for significantly increasing funding to South Africa, and the response from the AFL community in the coming months will be vital in determining the future direction of our sport.

In part one of our interview with AFL Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan we discussed the AFL's plans for a new International Development Committee featuring influential people from within the AFL's structure, and funding issues for affiliates and potential new countries to the international Australian Football scene. In the second and concluding part of the interview we discuss a possible international Scholarship program, AFL club interest in South Africa, and the third International Cup in 2008.

There have been a lot of questions floating around about what direction the Australian Football League will take regarding international development of Australian Football. In recent years they have been slowly building their commitment, in-line with the benefits that can clearly be seen, such as growing player numbers and a much improved standard at the last International Cup. But there have also been doubts and rumours of changes. worldfootynews.com is pleased to present a detailed interview with Kevin Sheehan, the AFL's Talent Manager, now incorporating the role of International Manager.

One of the AFL's initiatives to encourage more New South Wales youngsters into Aussie Rules is now underway. Whilst as many as a dozen Queenslanders may make their AFL debuts in 2006, testimony to the great strides being made in that state, the greater Sydney area remains relatively unsuccessful at generating draftees. The apprenticeship system now being put in place allows and in fact requires each of the 16 AFL clubs to take on a younger player from NSW, hopefully to increase their development and provide an incentive to other talented juniors that have a choice of many sports. It's hoped this will be extended to international juniors.

Further to our story Subiaco set for world class upgrade as footy facilities become an issue, it has been announced that many of the suburban training grounds of Victorian AFL clubs will be upgraded in the next few years, funded by the AFL, the clubs, the state government and local councils. And the upgrade of Subiaco is far from certain.

With FIFA World Cup action drawing near and the Socceroos having qualified for the first time in 32 years, Australian sports fans are turning their eyes towards Germany in anticipation of the global sporting tournament. However going a few steps further some Australian journalists and soccer officials have proclaimed the demise of the indigenous game in favour of the world game. Dutch coach of the Socceroos, Guus Hiddink, recently said the world game will be number 1 in Australia ahead of "the other games you try and invent" referring of course to Australian Football, Rugby League and Rugby Union. However there is plenty of evidence that Aussie Rules has a great future, which we look at in this article.

A key part of maintaining Australian Football as the premier sport in its homeland is providing first-class facilities for spectators, and ensuring they are not denied the opportunity to attend matches. With soccer now rising as the main threat to the AFL, Australian Football administrators can no longer afford the luxury of looking at their sold out stadiums and assuming all is well. Many other sports are bidding for the family budget's entertainment dollar, and people turned away will increasingly embrace alternative options. Over time the stadia may continue to sell out, but the overall supporter-base and TV audience could slowly be eroded. However footy has not been idle, with most states enjoying major upgrades of facilities, and Western Australia is about to do likewise, leaving only South Australia as the major AFL stronghold with an insufficient ground.

The third Barassi Youth Tournament will be held in Canberra from 30 September to 7 October 2006 with teams likely to come from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, the United States of America playing teams from Darwin, the Kimberley and Australian Capital Territory.

Next month the International Youth Tournament named after AFL Legend Ron Barassi will host a Dinner to celebrate the launch of the 2006 Tournament.

Australian Football League boss Andrew Demetriou is scheduled to fly to Dubai in May in an attempt to secure a pre-season match in the United Arab Emirates for early 2007. Collingwood versus Adelaide was mooted for earlier this year (see AFL eyes several international games in 2005/06) but it fell through. With a large itinerant population it's unlikely Aussie Rules will develop at grass-roots level any time soon in the region, with the current plans more likely to revolve around sponsorship dollars, with major internationals such as the Magpies' sponsor Emirates Airlines based there.

The 2006 AFL season starts in earnest on Thursday night with a blockbuster clash in Perth between last year's runners-up West Coast against premiership favourite St Kilda. Both sides are tipped to give the premiership a shake, with both featuring highly in our reader poll (first and second) and ranked first and fourth with most bookmakers. Also favoured by the bookies are 2005 minor premiers Adelaide (second with the bookies) and Geelong (ranked third). Reigning premiers Sydney have drifted out to fifth. WFN's focus is on the international aspect of Australia's indigenous game, but here we give a quick preview of the season ahead in the sport's premier league, as well as note the AFL players with a distinctly international flavour.