The following article was written and sent to us by Associate Professor Stephen Alomes. Stephen is a historian of football and of Australian nationalism at Deakin University in Victoria, and a supporter of the international growth of Australian Football. He was a keen spectator at the 2005 International Cup. His article also appeared in a recent AFL Record in the Last Line column. As time permits Stephen will continue to contribute to WFN and we welcome him on-board.

St. Kilda and Brisbane will join Collingwood this off-season in organising international training camps that they hope will assist their preparations for the 2006 AFL season.

Nominations are now rolling in for the 2006 VFL Barassi International Youth Tournament in Canberra in 2006 and the organisers are putting the word out for any interested groups to register their interest - whether it be an elite squad or just a school team who want to visit Australia, suitable opposition will be found.

The AFL Record is sold at AFL matches each week around Australia, and has an estimated weekly readership approaching 300,000. In the Round 21 edition a few weeks ago, the AFL's head of Game Development, David Matthews, wrote an article titled "The Wheel Turns", in which he discusses recent growth and hopes for new teams at the next International Cup. It appeared with a photo of New Zealand performing their Haka at the International Cup.

In the wake of the marvellously hard fought and stirring victory by the Sydney Swans at the AFL Grand Final, the following story from The Australian on Grand Final day is illuminating. Sean Fagan, a primarily Rugby historian whose main book is about the split between Rugby Union and Rugby League - "The Rugby Rebellion - the divide of league and union", writes how Australian football almost became the dominant code in the Harbour City by 1905.

With the Sydney Swans taking on the West Coast Eagles in the 2005 AFL Grand Final, it's quite possible that the Swans will be the "most supported" team in Australian football history. Naturally they'll have the large New South Wales support base, and other states such as South Australia seem happy to get behind the Sydney team, but the prevailing mood in Victoria is also to back them against the West. This comes from the club's history as formerly South Melbourne, and also the theory that a Sydney win would be "good for the game" in developing the NSW market. So all-in-all there will be unprecedented Aussie support for one of the Grand Final sides over the other. But there will also be a lot of support for the Swans from further afield, with reports that there is big interest in the match from Ireland with Sydney's Irishman Tadhg Kennelly fast becoming a star in both countries.

Looking for an AFL Grand Final Party or somewhere to watch the big game between the West Coast Eagles and the Sydney Swans and you're not in Australia? Here are a few places you can watch the match around the world, from New Zealand to North America.

The AFL funds quite a number of countries to pursue Aussie Rules programs. However the level of that funding is often a source of debate, with most countries naturally wanting more. The Age writer Caroline Wilson wrote an interesting article on August 14th about the future for South Africa and gave a breakdown of the major funding targets.

The 2005 AFL Grand Final is fast approaching, with four teams from four states still in the running - West Coast (WA), Adelaide (SA), Sydney (NSW) and St Kilda (Vic). A great tradition around the world is for Aussies to get together for Grand Final parties at pubs and clubs - anywhere that has a telecast of the game.

If venues or clubs would like to send us a very short piece of information on any such event they're having we'll put up a summary next week.

After their successful tour of South Africa in February 2005, the Convicts are set to do it all again in South America in February 2006. The Convicts Tour will feature two matches in Buenos Aires against the Argentine national team in what will be the first ever match between Australian and South American teams. The tour also includes sightseeing in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, including a visit to Rio de Janeiro.