The North East Australian Football League in the US has come to a close, with the finals played in Philadelphia. The New York Magpies closed the season well, ensuring that their top of the table finish was translated into a Grand Final win.

The Atlanta Kooaburras have cemented their club as legends of the South Eastern Australian Football League in the United States, winning an incredible four premierships in a row.

The first ever game of Australian Rules football played in the United States, at least in the "modern era", was between the Cincinnati Dockers and Louisville Cats, in 1996. In less than a decade the sport has spread to all corners of the country, with thousands of players competing. Alas Louisville went into recess a couple of years ago, but plans are underway to re-form this historic club.

Raising the profile in America of Aussie Rules is an important job for US Footy, and getting an interview on Yahoo Sport is a good result.

Australian Rules football continues to grow steadily in the United States. Unlike many top American sports, Aussie Rules does not have a strong college presence. However several colleges have taken on the game, and September sees an exciting new phase for the sport, with the Inaugural Collegiate Invitational. This may well be the springboard needed to accelerate football's growth in universities throughout the US.

The results are in from the second leg of the US Western Regionals, held in San Diego on August 14 and 15.

The South Eastern (USA) Australian Football League finishes this week, with the title to be decided between Atlanta and North Carolina.

The United States' North East Australian Football League is coming to the end of its season, with the champions to be decided in Philadelphia.

We recently reported on the Denver Bulldogs staging a demonstration of Australian Rules football at half time of a big soccer match. We also mentioned an upcoming Vancouver Cougars demo at a Canadian Football League match - by all accounts it was a great success.

The Western Regionals are being held in San Diego this weekend. This is the second leg of the series, to help determine seedings for the United States AFL 2004 Nationals, to be held in Atlanta in October. With each of the attending five teams playing against every other team once, the Regional should be a fair measure of the relative strengths of the teams. The draw follows.