On this week's show we have special guest Bruce Parker join us to discuss the AFL Ontario Grand Final and footy in Ontario post Covid-19. As usual we go through footy scores posted from across the globe including USAFL, AFL Canada, AFL Denmark, AFL Sweden, AFL Croatia, AFL South Africa, AFLNZ, AFL China and AFL PNG.

WORLD FOOTY NEWS WORLD RANKINGS

               Post 4th European Championships October 2019

plus USA v Canada 49th Parallel Cup August 2022

                                 49th Parallel Cup 2022 

International Footy made another post Covid recovery leap with Canada hosting the United States inToronto for the 2022 edition of the 49th Parallel Cup on 13th August. This follows a two year hiatus of the Cup due to the covid pandemic. The EURO CUP 9's tournament in Scotland back on 18th July was the first tentative steps back in International footy so it is great to see  a Full side comeback at last.

Press release from Jeremy Rockliff, Premier of Tasmania

Kicking goals to boost US trade

In another boost for our export sector, Tasmania will become the official partner of the United States Australian Football League (USAFL) for its 2022 season and 25th anniversary.

This is a first for any Australian State or Territory and provides a natural opportunity to reach new consumers and markets in the US, along with significant exposure of Tasmania’s brand, our reputation for quality products, and as a world-class visitor destination.

Despite almost two years of footy lost the USAFL showed Aussie rules is alive and well in the USA.  Even without their Canadian neighbours to the north this year due to border restrictions Day 1 showed that despite shutdown the momentum of the game rolls on. 

The Austin Crows remain in the box seat after Day 1 of the 2021 USAFL Nationals and didnt miss a beat defeating New York in the morning and Los Angeles at the end of the day to top their Pool at 2-0.  In Pool B the Golden Gate Roos took out San Diego and scraped past Denver to be the other undefeated team.   

This sets up the semi-final clashes tomorrow where Austin will play Denver and New York will play Golden Gate and the winners heading on to the crescendo Grand Final match. 

 

The USAFL National Championships tournament is back this weekend in Austin, Texas (October 15-17) at the Onion Creek Soccer Fields.after the 2020 nationals in California had to be cancelled due to Covid.

Almost all footy in 2020 and a good deal of 2021 could not take place across the US. But in recent months footy has resumed in most cities. But the shadow of Covid still hangs over the Nationals. Not all the usual teams have been an able to field a side this year in Austin. Medical facilities in Texas are still being overwhelmed by Covid cases and this has lead to the concern that the possibility of not being able to get medical treatment should players be seriously injured. All attendees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or a negative PCR test.

Add to this the stance of the Texas state  bringing in deploarable new laws surrounding abortions and those involved with the abortions has seen a number of womens teams and others individuals in solidarity boycotting this year's event.

In total there will be 28 mens (4 divisions) and five women's teams competing, but this includes a number of teams combined from cities without the numbers to make a full squad on their own.

Due to a lot of targeted work over a number of years AFL Canada Australian Football is now an official Canadian sport.

After a lengthy application and verification process, AFL Canada has been approved as a Registered Canadian Amateur Athletics Association (RCAAA). This is a milestone in Australian Football in Canada and brings with it many benefits not just prestige.

In the second series of interviews with people and personalities involved in Australian Football across the United States, Rick Shaibani from the Los Angeles Dragons shares his unique journey. Rick is already widely known to World Footy News readers as one of our writing team, but his journey to discover and then tell of our game adds another dimension, different again to those we have already interviewed.

The first question was to find his earliest connections to our game.

“I first discovered the wonderful world of Aussie rules when I lived in Phoenix, Arizona shortly after graduating from university in 2015. I didn't really enjoy my time in Phoenix, but I did meet some cool people, mostly through a local rugby union club that I joined. I had briefly played some union in college thanks to the influence of my dad, who played quite a bit himself growing up. Unfortunately, I never had a ton of time to dedicate to it, plus the side that I joined in Phoenix was already pretty experienced and didn't have a ton of room for newcomers to crack the starting line-up.”