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Indonesia

This page is a quick snapshot of the status of Australian Football in Indonesia. For further information, browse our news items or use the search facility. If you wish to contact football officials from the country, please search our site for links to their leagues or clubs, including in our Atlas. If unsuccessful, we can normally assist with putting people in touch.

Approx population (2009):   230 million

National side:   -

Governing body:   AFL Indonesia

Primary contact / link:   Jakarta Bintangs

WFN Census (2004):   2 senior teams, 40 adult players and 100 juniors

WFN World Ranking (2008):   -

History:   Being Australia's heavily populated to the north, one might expect Aussie Rules would have infiltrated Indonesia a long time ago. However until recently the main footprint has been two Australian expat based clubs, the Jakarta Bintangs and the Bali Geckos, with the more recent Borneo Bears in Balikpapan. Around 2003 a junior program was run as the West Java Australian Football League (WeJAFL) with several teams of locals. There was also a program working with juniors at Jakarta's international students school. In 2009 the established clubs launched AFL Indonesia to grow the game further, employing coaches to expose the game to 1000s of children.

Outlook (2010):   With the junior program expanding, the next couple of years are an exciting time for the sport in Indonesia and may well indicate whether the game establishes a solid base there. AFL Indonesia has expressed an interest in attending the 2011 International Cup.

Other points of interest:   Bali is a special place for Australians, originally as a tourist destination, not least of which for end of season trips by football clubs. The 2002 terrorist bombings killed 202 people including 88 Australians. Several of those killed or injured were footballers including from the AFL, state league level, and below. Bali remains a destination for Australians and the Bali Geckos continue to host the successful Bali 9s and Bali 9s Masters.

Last Updated: Monday, June 14 2010 @ 01:19 am ACST| Hits: 4,643