Sri Lanka is one of the newest footy nations on the world footy scene.  There is no known history of the game being played in Sri Lanka on a regular or intermittent basis.  Despite the fact that Sri Lanka is a top level competitor in modern day cricket, those cricket grounds in Sri Lanka have not had the sight of four white posts standing at either end. Now they not only have a footy team, but make their International Cup debut this Sunday.

The Country and Australian Football

The country is officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, historically called Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

 

Cam Holmes takes a look at the Rankings headed into IC17 and how they suggest the matches will pan out in Division 2

International Cup 2017 & World Footy News World Rankings

Division 2 WFN World Ranking Predictions Round 1

Round 1, Match 1: Indonesia Provisional (36.58) v. Sri Lanka Provisional (40.00 Starting Points). Indonesia contested IC14 with 1-4 record, the win being against India, and won the Inaugural All Asia Championships in 2016 with wins over China and Team IndoChina whereas Sri Lanka are making their debut in International footy. Although Sri Lanka is “higher” rated, Indonesia should prevail and will enter the Rankings in 14th place with 39.58 rating points. (no debutante nation has won first match on debut)

Round 1, Match 2: Pakistan Provisional (32.35) v. Germany 15th (37.44) rating gap 5.09, Germany has a 7-13 international record all matches against European nations, whilst Pakistan is 1-4 with the win over India at IC14.

The Ranking Scheme predicts that higher ranked nations will win more often than not, Germany will climb above France but stay at 15th place courtesy of Indonesia entering the ranks. A Pakistan win would push Germany down to 18th place and Pakistan one game away from Full Ranking.

 

 The Country and Australian Football.

Indonesia is a sovereign state in South East Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising some 17,000 islands with a population of over 238 million people, making it the world's fourth most populous country.

Indonesia lies between latitudes 11°S and 6°N, and longitudes 95°E and 141°E. It consists of 17,508 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited. These are scattered either side of the equator. The largest are Java, Sumatra, Borneo (shared with Brunei and Malaysia), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi. Indonesia shares land borders with Malaysia on Borneo, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea, and East Timor on the island of Timor. Indonesia shares maritime borders across narrow straits with Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Palau to the north, and with Australia to the south. The capital, Jakarta, is on Java and is the nation's largest city.

1. Where is home and who is your home club?

Originally, I am from Goettingen, Germany, however I have lived in Australia for four years now. I joined my team, the Sydney Uni Bombers, this season.

2. How many years have you been involved in Australian Rules football?

After my arrival in Perth in March 2013, I joined the SNESA Angels, now Perth Angels Football Club. I played three seasons with my Perth team before moving to NSW, where I joined the Sydney Uni Bombers this year. I have completed a coaching course and have helped out with football coaching for people with impairments in WA for a brief period of time before moving over east.

The French Coqs will take the field in Division 1 of the IC17 this month, their third International Cup campaign in succession. Whilst they have a tough draw in the pool rounds, the French will be very keen to make an impression and make a mark as an up-and-coming footy nation.

International Cup 2017 & World Footy News World Rankings

Two new Nations will become fully ranked on WFN World Rankings in the Round one of IC17.

Indonesia’s Garudas and Great Britain’s Swans both play their eighth qualifying International match in Round 1 at this year’s International Cup.

Indonesia will become the 22nd nation to be fully ranked on WFN World Rankings when they play International Footy newcomer Sri Lanka on day one of the IC and if they win as expected will slot into 14th place behind Croatia.

Great Britain will likewise become the 6th nation to be fully ranked on WFN World Rankings (Women) when they tackle Pakistan “Dragoons” in the very first match of the competition on Sunday 6th August. The Swans have proven to be a revelation since bursting onto the International Footy scene, twice defeating and drawing once with Ireland to win the Inaugural Women’s European Championships in 2016. A Swans win over Pakistan will see them enter the ranks (briefly) in 3rd place behind Canada. Further matches during the day will probably see them end the day in 4th or 5th place.

AFL Fiji’s men side arrived in Melbourne last night ahead of their third International Cup appearance. Hopes are high as within the team with Fiji sending its best side to date, hoping to move up in ranking and provide suitable competition to the powerhouses of international football.

Fiji Tribe have got what they wanted and move up to Division One in 2017 and will face France, New Zealand, South Africa and Great Britain in the pool game stages, fighting to snap a top three position.

India returns to Melbourne for their fourth successive International Cup. Their first visit Down Under resulted in a series of heavy losses, however the team continues to improve with each return.  At IC14 the team did go winless again, but will be expecting to notch up a victory in 2017 where they will be known as the Essendon India team.

The Country and Australian Football

India is the world’s second most populous nation (1.2 billion people) and arguably one of the most diverse.

The unsung heroes of the game. The Umpires. The AFL have been able to organise a great group of umpires from across Australia to umpire at all five international cups so far.  This one will be no exception and with these volunteers the game will on.

Lesser known are the umpires that have travelled from overseas to be part of the International Cup to boost the umpiring pool. But since at least 2005 been the case. Usually volunteering week in week out so that the game can go on around the world, the opportunity to come to the home of Australian football is a great reward for those that can make the trip.

Rick Shaibani interviewed Chris Adams*, an Aussie that has been part of footy in the US for many years about his upcoming stint as an International Cup umpire along with his son CJ who is very much an American. We also detail all the international umpires rostered for the competition.

*Chris is also a former World Footy News writer.

Just to get you in the mood for IC17 that kicks off at Royal Park in just 4 days time. Here's a look back at some highlights of IC14.

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Nauru is a tiny Pacific Island nation that has the distinction of being the only country in the world that has Australian Rules as its national sport (assuming that status is disputed/shared by several sports in Australia). The capital city is Yaren and the population is just 12,000 but the number of Australian football participants is around 300.

The the national team is known as the Nauru Chiefs and they are a team just below the top tier at the International Cup and capable of stepping up with an upset.  We think tactically they may have advanced their game and this may be the impetus for them to rise to a higher finish.

1.       Where is home and who is your home club?

I am from Tembisa [midway between Pretoria and Johannesburg] in South Africa. My home club is Warriors FC in the footyWILD Premier League.

 

2.       How many years have you been involved in Australian Rules football?

I’ve been playing the game since 2008. I got a scholarship in 2011 to spend 6 months playing footy in Tasmania with South Launceston. I’ve played two International Cups and this will be my third International Cup.