The Australian Football League, organisers of the 2005 Australian Football International Cup, have revealed plans to dramatically increase promotion for the tournament compared with the inaugural Cup in 2002.

For international or interstate visitors to Melbourne, World Footy News has created a guide to getting to the matches for those unfamiliar to the local transit setup. We hope this guide helps your stay in Melbourne!

After much speculation as to whether the British Bulldogs would be heading to Melbourne for the 2nd International Cup, it is with great pleasure we can announce that the AFL this morning confirmed the Brits will make it. It's believed three countries were struggling, most likely to ensure the necessary finances were in place, but 11 nations will now attend, with only Denmark withdrawing as previously announced.

The Spanish national team, the Bulls, have announced their official Jumper design for the coming International Cup and released the video clip for their fundraiser themesong 'Toros de España', available for download from the Madrid Bears homepage.

In bad news for the International Cup, one of the leading countries in Denmark has withdrawn from the tournament with just one month notice. The decision leaves the biggest event in international footy with unbalanced pools and potentially a draw in disarray.

The British Australian Rules Football League has named its 35 man squad for the 2005 International Cup. This follows the Brit Cup tournament, in which clubs play off fielding only their British players (hopefully more on that later). At time of writing it was also expected that The Footy Show, the top AFL variety/sports program in Australia, would film footage of a British Bulldogs training session and air it tonight (June 23rd).

The 2005 Australian Football International Cup is getting close, and there are increasing numbers of small pieces in the Australian media regarding the tournament. Amongst the stories locals may have seen was a short article in the AFL Record.

In what is good news for countries that had thought squad sizes for the 2005 Australian Football International Cup would be 35, the AFL has announced squads up to 35 will indeed be allowed. This follows disappointment for those that had named more than the 30 player limit the AFL set in April.

The USAFL have announced that AFL club Essendon will host their national squad during the International Cup. Canada have previously reached agreement with the Sydney Swans and New Zealand with the Melbourne Demons.

The 30-man Falcons squad to play Maffra Football Club and represent New Zealand at the International Cup in August has been announced following a selection camp in Auckland.