With millions of Australian dollars on offer in the ‘Aussie Rules’ game, a steady trickle of Samoan youngsters look set to flood the AFL over the next five years. Mitty Edwards, mother of North Melbourne Kangaroos forward Aaron Edwards is the driving force in Samoa. Last week, two teenagers Herman Tanuvasa from Moataa and Aviata Siuta of Fasitoo are in Melbourne playing in the AFL World Selectiomore

The inaugural Under 16s Oceania Cup commences this week. Six countries are competing, with previous International Cup winners Papua New Guinea and New Zealand expected to lead the way. IC08 surprise packets Nauru would also be expected to do well.

Neighbours Samoa and Tonga should be solid performers but have less well developed junior programs than the biggest gun, PNG. Hosts Fiji are startinmore

Saturday, December 12 2009 @ 05:37 PM ESTContributed by: Brett World footy news
In the absence of Papua New Guinea (withdrew due to immigration and flight problems), New Zealand and the Kingdom of Tonga have emerged as the leaders after day one of the two day youth Oceania Cup in Suva, Fiji.

Day 1

NZ 5-3 (33) defeated Samoa 4-3 (27)
Tonga 2-9 (21) defeated Fiji 1-4 (10)
Nauru 4-1 (25) demore

Sunday, December 13 2009 @ 09:00 PM EST

Contributed by: Brett- World footy news
After the first ever youth Oceania Cup Jason McCartney and scouts from four AFL clubs assisted to select an initial Oceania training squad.

"The standard, ability and attitude of the players was a highlight. No doubt they have great athletic capabilities and a real appetite and appreciation, even respect for thmore

The daeth of Aiolupotea 'Hennie' Tonuu the legend and owner of JT's (Hennies) bar in Apia Samoa has shocked everyone especially ex-pat and visiting australians to the shores of Samoa. His tough hand shake and unmistakable gravely and deep voice will always set him aside in my mind, his with, humour and easy going nature will make him missed by all. AFL Samoa mourns the loss of a great man.more

I read an Observer report some weeks ago stating that Samoans are 56 times more likely to become professional football players in the NFL (National Football League) than the average American.

Samoan names such as Polomalu, Tatupu, Faumuina, Tuiasosopo, and dozens of others are famous football stars in the USA.
Based on those statistics, it is reasonable to expect that many Samoan villages coulmore

Further to recent news on the Western Bulldogs' recruiting efforts in Fiji, there's confirmation that they indeed are still looking for more talent in the small Pacific country. A brief report in the Fiji Times said:

Australian rules football officials were at the tfl National Stadium yesterday to scout for budding talents. Officials from the AFL club the Bulldogs were spotted at the marshallimore

Tim Grose, the brother of former Port Adelaide player Gavin Grose, will next week travel to Tonga where he will spend twelve months as an AFL Volunteer, working with AFL Tonga to develop the country's football program. Grose recently completed a week in Canberra and two days at AFL Queensland in preparation for the the role.

AFL Oceania Development Manager Andrew Cadzow said, "the progressivemore

The Gold Coast's Papua New Guinean recruit, Amua Pirika (pictured), has made his presence felt at the 2009 NAB Under 18 Championships, which concluded in Melbourne today. Due to the creation of the Gold Coast Football Club, to enter the AFL in 2011, Queensland's Under 18 side has effectively been the Gold Coast TAC Cup Under 18 side. Coach Guy McKenna has rotated many players through the team, usimore

An under-23 AFL Oceania side has been put together, with players gathered from New Zealand, Nauru, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga supplementing the bulk of the squad from Papua New Guinea. The team will tackle a North Queensland U23 side, an area noted for its strong growth in indigenous talent. The game will be played at Cazaly Stadium, Cairns.

The match is a joint initiative with the Federal Governmemore

The Pacific Islands won a tightly contested match over the North Queensland All Stars in Cairns on Wednesday night to take out the inaugural Pacific Islands Forum AFL Challenge Cup.

The match was enjoyed by many delegates from the Forum including the Prime Ministers of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tossed the coin to get the match underway (pictumore

The following is Essendon's media release on Meli's signing.

Essendon has signed exciting Papua New Guinea prospect David Meli. The 178cm, 76kg small forward is the second International player ever signed by the Bombers (after Irishman Michael Quinn at the end of 2008) and the first player signed by the club under the AFL's International rookie system.more

worldfootynews.com have recently had the privilege of catching up with Andrew Cadzow, general manager of AFL Oceania.

For those wondering what is happening in the Zone that comes under his influence, we took a look at his diary for the next six months, including a match between an AFL Queensland club and the PNG Mosquitoes, an under 16s Pacific Cup, the official launch of AFL Fiji, and numeroumore

After having footy’s inclusion bandied around as part of the Pacific Games for the best part of a decade, a competition for the Oceania region is now truly a reality. However, it won’t be an inclusion as an extra sport at this stage in the Pacific Games but will be as a stand-alone Under 16 tournament in the new footy region of Fiji.

The tournament is set for the 12th and 13th December with inmore

The Regional Junior Football Championships were held last month in the Highlands of PNG. The Highlands are one of the four current “talent” regions in PNG. These are Highlands, Islands, Northern and Southern.

As part of the AFLPNG National Talented Player pathway, local championships are held in each region before the Nationals which will be held in Lae during September. The Nationals in Lae wmore

Port Adelaide AFL professional, Suva-born David Rodan, and his fiancée, Carla Di Pasquale recently travelled to Suva, Fiji, to promote the code and talk through the aims and objectives of the game they hope will bring the youth of Fiji into Aussie Rules football.

Rodan and Pasquale plan, with the assistance of Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs football clubs, to run clinics at schools aromore

Hawthorn Football Club, home of Kiwi premiership player Trent Croad, in conjunction with AFL New Zealand have established a competition within Secondary Schools in New Zealand, titled the Hawks Cup. Having recently commenced, it is having a massive impact on the development of AFL within New Zealand.

The development of this competition is highly likely to lead to the sanctioning of the sport bmore

The Western Bulldogs have today arrived in Fiji, in readiness for Friday's launch of the AFL Fiji, also to be attended by Port Adelaide's Fijian-born star David Rodan.

The Bulldogs are undertaking a further round of trials of local talent, hoping to recruit a third Fijian rookie to the club.

The new AFL Fiji organisation has already undertaken some scouting and school development clinics,more

Carlton today signed the 17 year old PNG speedster Peter Labi who is currently 189cm tall and weighs 84kg. Labi was a member of the PNG Mosquitoes that claimed the International Cup at the MCG in 2008 and in 2009 has been playing with AFLQ side Mt Gravatt after three years of football in PNG.

This season he has played 13 games for Mt Gravatt including three finals and playing on the losing sidmore

The AFL Fiji was officially launched last Friday, with AFL Oceania Development Manager Andrew Cadzow telling the local press that he predicted the Fijians had the potential to be a top ten finisher in the 2011 International Cup.

In an interview in the Fiji Times, Cadzow said "In the last International Cup, 16 countries participated and come 2011 tournament 24 countries are set to take part. Thmore

Hawthorn FC's New Zealand venture scored the back page of Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper this morning, with a lengthy article detailing the Hawks Cup and the related "HanzUp!" schools program.

As World Footy News reported earlier, the Hawks in conjunction with the NZAFL are founding a national schools tournament, with the Hawks investing in excess of A$50,000.

The full article is availabmore

Although we've previewed some of this already, Wednesday 11th November will be remembered in AFL New Zealand circles as hugely momentous and not just for the commemoration of the end of the First World War.

AFL New Zealand and the Hawthorn Football Club officially launched the HANZ Up programme for player development within the country. ‘HANZ (an acronym of Hawthorn and New Zealand) Up’ is a pmore

In case you missed it in our previous article, Hawthorn has announced it's first International Rookie. He is Kurt Heatherley who is a fourteen year old New Zealander with a basketball background.
The announcement today on the Hawthorn website goes on to say "Kurt Heatherley, from Tauranga - 220km SE of Auckland, will become the first of these young players to join the Hawks. A highly regarded youmore

The stunning array of good news stories for international footy continue, with a report from Fiji confirming that a squad of 36 players are in training for the Oceania Cup to be hosted there in December. It's a major step for the country as until just months ago there was no active program other than the Western Bulldogs' scouting mission.

Local Dylan Wolfgramm is a player and development offimore

In June we reported that the AFL would be staging a Multicultural Academy during grand final week, to encourage greater involvement and talent identification across Victoria's large multicultural community - see AFL to hold Multicultural Academy Camp.

Last weekend another step was taken towards that intake, with trials for 120 players. The following is a media release from the AFL leading intomore

Contributed by: Stephen Alomes

Will international footy change the way the game is played in Australia, from the MCG to Subiaco, from Football Park to the Gabba and on large and small grounds around the country?

This article explores the possibilities.

The views and ideas presented in this article are not necessarily those of AFL or AFL Samoa.more

December 2009
Under 16s AFL Oceania Cup
When: Saturday, 12/12/09 - Sunday, 13/12/09 All Day
Event Type: Tournament
Where: Fiji
Description: AFL supported tournament to showcase junior talent from the Oceania region

12th and 13th December

Possible teams include PNG, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, NZ, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatumore

The AFL today announced it would introduce a World XVIII team of international-born players to compete in the 2010 NAB AFL Under 16s Championships, with the aim of further developing the talent pool for the game and the medium-term aim of producing AFL-standard players.more

Watch out Samoa rugby....another game is attracting the nation's young athletes....Australian rules football. Once a game just played in Australia, Aussie rules is fast becoming an international sport, offering Pacific players new opportunitiesmore

Andrew Cadzow the Australia Football League Development Manager for the Oceania region is in town planning the revival of Australia Football or Aussie-Rules.
“We want to take Samoa AFL to the next level, so that’s what we are doing now and the AFL is committed to being involved with Samoa,” he said.
“This trip is to organise 2009-2010, we had a committee meeting last-night, I’ve got a meeting with the High Commissioner (Australia) and the Facility Management group.


“I will also be meeting with a few of the senior players plus a committee to basically organise what we are doing for 2009.”
Getting gears for the game will be priority for Cadzow and his people.
“Planning for our season launch will be one point of focus, some coaching courses how we are going to resource the country in sense of getting gears.”more

Australian football appears to be on an encouraging trajectory in Oceania (the region around Australia, New Zealand and PNG and including the island countries such as Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and many others). The formation of AFL Oceania appears set to continue the exciting growth of recent years.

Possibly the biggest threat to the game's future in this region is climate change. Many of the small countries in the area are low-lying and particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and increases in severe storms. Salt damage to soils will precede the inundation. Already we are starting to see the first repercussions of these effects, such as in Climate change refugees to be resettled in PNG.

Of course these people have a lot more to worry about than sport, but as a football website, it is interesting to ponder what the effects climate change will have on Aussie Rules. We've seen drought delay football seasons in Australia, and in the years ahead we may even see whole emerging football nations threatened. It seems unlikely that the public and political will exists to prevent some of the serious medium to long terms effects - most of the world's countries continue to increase their per capita energy usage, and most countries are still fundamentally committed to population growth as a cornerstone of their economic system. Population tends to be the proverbial "elephant in the room" that doesn't get mentioned.more

Footy in the South Pacific is spreading, with eight countries to date now having either an organised league or informal games played. This year saw footy surface in Vanuatu for the first time, as well as renewed interest in rebooting footy in Fiji. Footy in the Solomons saw a revival led by Australian peacekeepers late last year.

Together with the four Pacific nations at the IC, plus Tonga who couldn't make the full draw, this gives eight nations with some footy presence in the region. All of them are now being investigated as part of the creation of AFL Oceania. The ninth link in Pacific footy could now come from a country traditionally somewhat separate from the Australian sphere of influence, the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.

Laurent Caravel, a Parisian who was previously involved with Australian football in France, is in the New Caledonian capital Noumea and wants to see footy formalised in the island nation.more

The battle for Australian hearts and minds, in football terms, continues unabated. And it seems the field of battle is spreading to include neighbouring nations.

The Rugby League World Cup is currently being staged in Australia. As would be the case with a true Australian football World Cup, the Aussies are dominating. However the gap to the next rung of sides is not as great as in Aussie Rules, and the defence-oriented game helps keep the scoreboard relatively respectable. Nevertheless it has been interesting to hear quite a lot of criticism of the tournament, with some media lambasting the level of promotion and/or the quality. But Australian football can only look forward to a time when our International Cup reaches the same level as the RL World Cup, which itself sits a poor third to the Rugby Union WC and soccer's WC.

Disturbingly for Aussie Rules fans, there is talk that Rugby League is now rapidly growing in Oceania (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa etc), and moves are afoot to locate an NRL (Australian National Rugby League) club in Port Moresby, PNG. Meanwhile negotiations are under-way for the AFL to vacate its major venues for up to 2 months if Australia is successful in its bid for the 2018 soccer World Cup finals.

The AFL is focussed on the Gold Coast and Western Sydney, with increasing interest in South Africa and Oceania. The NRL hierarchy itself appears to be battling just to hold its ground, but there are influential people that are pushing for moves into Perth and Adelaide, and others pushing for Darwin and Oceania. Meanwhile soccer appears capable of pushing simultaneously on all fronts, using its international connectionsmore

The New Zealand AFL website is reporting that several footballers from around Oceania have been invited to the AFL and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) annual week long talent camp held in Canberra for some of the most promising (usually Australian) young footballers.

Not to be confused with the AFL-AIS draft camp that puts on show the best young players that are of draftable age, this camp targets exciting prospects around 16 years of age. As explained in the NZAFL article:

The camp is a very important part of the AFL’s highly successful NAB Rising Star Program which leads directly to the AFL Draft for players over 18yo. 30 players are selected at the Under 16 National Championships to participate in the AIS Camp. From there they are expected to progress through the AFL’s player pathway, the TAC Cup and into the AFL Draft.

A confirmed starter is New Zealand's Liam Ackland, who has already represented his country at the International Cup, despite being just 16 at the time (he's pictured in action against Japan). Ackland is in only his second season of Aussie Rules, playing for Mt Roskill in the Auckland AFL. The forward has kicked bags of 6 and 5 goals in his last two outings.

The report says several Papua New Guinean and Fijian players have also been invited. WFN has confirmed that there is one PNG rep, Tiernan Carby, and possibly two Fijians. We hope to find out more details soon.more

THERE were smiles on the faces of Ma'afu Kiokata (22) and Paumolevuka Tu'i (18) when they were visited by Australians Michael O'Shannassy and Andrew Cadzow at Vaiola Hospital yesterday November 18.

The two young men have been lying paralysed at Vaiola since August 22 when they were hit by a vehicle while they were out training to represent Tonga in an Australian Football League, Aussie Rules competition in Australia.

The accident left Ma'afu paralysed from the neck down and Pau from the waist down.more

THERE were smiles on the faces of Ma'afu Kiokata (22) and Paumolevuka Tu'i (18) when they were visited by Australians Michael O'Shannassy and Andrew Cadzow at Vaiola Hospital yesterday November 18.

The two young men have been lying paralysed at Vaiola since August 22 when they were hit by a vehicle while they were out training to represent Tonga in an Australian Football League, Aussie Rules competition in Australia.

The accident left Ma'afu paralysed from the neck down and Pau from the waist down.more

Andrew Cadzow has wasted no time in the new position of AFL Oceania Development Manager. His appointment started in late April 2008 after sustained success by himself and others with Papua New Guinea. In July he undertook a study tour of the region, meeting with people such as the Australian High Commission, local football committees, media outlets, Olympic committees and AVI (Volunteers abroad), and producing a report on the current situation and opportunities.

At the 2008 International Cup the region performed very well, with PNG finishing 1st, New Zealand 2nd, Nauru 5th, Samoa 10th, and Tonga appearing for the first time, playing in the adjunct Multicultural Challenge.

During the tournament officials from the Oceania nations took part in an Oceania meeting, in addition to the International Forum. Cadzow has released the Oceania Plan 2009 - 2011. It discusses a three to five year vision and continues on the theme of increasing participation, identifying and providing pathways for potential AFL talent, determining funding streams, and events and promotion. Further details followmore

Successful Projects : 2008-2009
Apia – Samoa

AFL Samoa
Lefaga Sport Centre
Aleipata Sport Centre
Safata Sport Centre
Judo Association of Samoamore

The imminent drafting of Fijian-born Nick Naitanui could be the key to getting players from a wider variety of cultures playing AFL, according to the league's first devout Muslim, Essendon midfielder Bachar Houli.

Houli, who joined Essendon as the 42nd selection at the 2006 national draft and has played 14 games, yesterday participated in an Auskick clinic in Mirrabooka as part of a three-day visit to Perth for the WAFC's Multicultural Football Program.

Naitanui is expected to be selected in the top three of next month's national draft, and will join Port Adelaide duo David Rodan and Alipate Carlile as Fijian players in the AFL.

"That'll give people the confidence that the game is open to anyone," Houli said. "Anyone who has the hunger to play AFL football can make it. It's a great opportunity to open doors.

"Hopefully in four or five years time we've got kids from lots of different backgrounds playing in the AFL and bringing all of those cultures together."

There have been limited examples of players joining the AFL after being born outside Australia.

From the Fiji timesmore

Watch out Samoa rugby....another game is attracting the nation's young athletes....Australian rules football. Once a game just played in Australia, Aussie rules is fast becoming an international sport, offering Pacific players new opportunitiesmore

FORMER Endeavour Hills Rugby Union Club junior Digby Ioane is celebrating nationwide accolades in the code after making his debut for Australia against Wales in Brisbane on Saturday night.

Ioane, 21, spent his formative years at the local club developing his skills and trademark speed, and he showcased both to a huge audience on the weekend.

“I was so excited getting to play with all the boys, like Steve Larkham and Stirling Mortlock, because I was watching them as a little kid,” he said.

“I was a bit lost in the first half, but I had a chat with John (Connolly, the Australian head coach) at half-time and I was told just to forget about everything and do what I normally do.

“Everything just poured off from then on.”

The 179cm winger of Samoan heritage even crossed for a second-half try in Australia’s 31-0 victory over the Welsh.

“I was just so nervous when I got the ball,” Ioane said.

“I could feel that guy right on me and I could hear his footsteps getting closer, but I just kept going.

“I sprinted for my life – I was just laughing when it happened.”more

Check out this link to, download a 20 minute radio report with the AFL football team. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/intheloop.htmmore

They AFL needs to step up its funding and develop the game more within the Pacific region.

Australia is not a big player in the world and does not have a global footprint, but in the Oceania region the smaller nations take notice of Australia and we do have a regional footprint.more

All 16 International Cup teams, including Team Asia, Team Africa and Tonga who are competing in the Multicultural Challenge matches attended the Telstra Dome last night to parade at half time in front of over 49,000 spectators.

They were treated to a great spectacle with Lance "Buddy" Franklin scoring his 100th goal in the first term and then thousands of adoring fans rushing onto the ground to share in the experience.more

2008 is a special year for two Australian icons. Australian Football celebrates its 150th anniversary as does the National Bank of Australasia, a founder of today's National Australia Bank (NAB). NAB is celebrating the occasion with a road tour, "commemorating the people, places and events that have shaped our heritage and history. From 1858 to 2008 and beyond, this is the story of NAB and 150 years in our community."

Over the next two days the NAB 150 Tour will celebrate Australia's own game of football and its spread around The World.

Today the NAB 150 Tour joins the Samoan Kangaroos (supported by members from other International Cup squads) at St. Margaret's School (Berwick, Victoria) for a "Football-themed Day". Michael Roberts, Game Development Manager of AFL Samoa, has worked tirelessly to make the day special for students; with International Cup activities, special guests and Mascot Manor running footy clinics.

On Wednesday, the NAB 150 Tour will join in AFL International Cup celebrations at Royal Park North in Parkville. Once again local school children will have the opportunity to take part in AFL clinics and visit the NAB 150 Tour Truck.

From the NAB 150 Tour Website:The Australian Football Experience is an opportunity for football fans of all ages to learn about Australian Football history and participate in football activities. Come down and join AFL legends, Kevin Sheedy, Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico, Nathan Buckley, Chris Grant, Luke Darcy and Neil Daniher, who will all be present to meet and greet their fans and take part in the day’s activities.more

Playing in the middle time slot for Round 1, Samoa took on India in what was the first official game for the team from the subcontinent. The Samoans, newly dubbed the Kangaroos, smashed the Tigers as expected. But there was still plenty of interest, to see whether the Samoans had improved since solid 2002 and 2005 campaigns, and whether the Indians would cope with the big islanders.

As it turned out, the Indians were brave and showed glimpses of talent, but the pressure of decent opposition never gave them much of a chance.






The Samoans were all over the Indians right from the start. Although the Tigers were competitive, they couldn't string together possessions to make much forward progress. The Roos piled on 4.6 (30) in the opening stanza, with their opponents never really threatening the goals. A highlight was a wonderful weaving run by Sefo Lafoga from the Fasitoo-uta Lions club back in Samoa. Although he looked a little unsteady with his bouncing technique, he was doing it at pace and it kept coming back to him and finished it off with a goal that will surely rank as one of the best for the tournament - let's hope those AFL cameras were rolling on the match, but I suspect they were pointed at the adjacent game.more

Playing in the middle time slot for Round 1, Samoa took on India in what was the first official game for the team from the subcontinent. The Samoans, newly dubbed the Kangaroos, smashed the Tigers as expected. But there was still plenty of interest, to see whether the Samoans had improved since solid 2002 and 2005 campaigns, and whether the Indians would cope with the big islanders.

As it turned out, the Indians were brave and showed glimpses of talent, but the pressure of decent opposition never gave them much of a chance.






The Samoans were all over the Indians right from the start. Although the Tigers were competitive, they couldn't string together possessions to make much forward progress. The Roos piled on 4.6 (30) in the opening stanza, with their opponents never really threatening the goals. A highlight was a wonderful weaving run by Sefo Lafoga from the Fasitoo-uta Lions club back in Samoa. Although he looked a little unsteady with his bouncing technique, he was doing it at pace and it kept coming back to him and finished it off with a goal that will surely rank as one of the best for the tournament - let's hope those AFL cameras were rolling on the match, but I suspect they were pointed at the adjacent game.more

In the first major surprise of the AFL International Cup, the Samurai from Japan defeated the might of Samoa. Truthfully it was always a possibility that Japan could upset the AFL's seeding in this match, but to do so relatively comfortably, by 4 goals, was somewhat unexpected. It must rank as their best international win, and they certainly celebrated like it was.

Unfortunately for Samoa the loss is likely to condemn them to positions 9 to 12 come the end of the competition, unless they can pull off the biggest upset in International Cup history and roll the Kiwis in their next match, in Warrnambool. Japan will be looking to mix it with some of the top sides, assuming they get the business done against India, a match which should be far less physical than today's.more

3pm, Mack Oval, Warrnambool, country Victoria. That was the unlikely setting for a brutal encounter between the islanders from Pacific Samoa and the Elks from European Sweden. And yet there was something very old style Australian football about this match.

The skills on display varied from exciting to rudimentary, but one thing was guaranteed all day - a very physical contest. The Samoans ran head first into every clash with frightening vigour, but perhaps surprisingly, the Swedes showed true courage under fire and gave almost as good as they got.

But alas after a slow start they couldn't never quite peg back the margin and will have to console themselves with the knowledge that they "stood up" in a fiercely contested match worthy of a bigger crowd.



Unfortunately being a day game there was probably less than 30 spectators on hand to witness the heroics. The big crowd would not be seen until the later games down at Reid Oval when people flooded in after school and work.more

With the Grand Final completed we can now reveal the final finishing positions for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. Match reports for the final round games will follow over the next couple of days.

1. Papua New Guinea
2. New Zealand
3. South Africa
4. Ireland
5. Nauru
6. Canada
7. USA
8. Japan
9. Great Britain
10. Samoa
11. Denmark
12. Sweden
13. Peace Team
14. Finland
15. China
16. India




Here are some brief thoughts on the final rankings.more

Great Britain triumphed against Samoa in one of the three early classification matches at Royal Park last Friday. The day saw each country compete to decide their final finishing positions at the 2008 International Cup; in this case ninth and tenth spots.

Ironically three years earlier at the previous tournament Samoa beat Great Britain to clinch fifth spot. Whilst both countries have suffered a slide down the ladder, if anyone needed convincing that the standard of play has improved, this British side was arguably better than their previous two, and they played a Samoan team minus current World Team representative Fia Too-too (who returned to Samoa suddenly for family reasons) and many of their Australian-based players from previous International Cups.more

The match to decide third and fourth place was always going to be interesting. Ireland were the inaugural International Cup winners. In their heyday they looked unbeatable with a steady league, players with experience in a similar sport (Gaelic football) and arguably more familiarity with Australian football than their rivals. Their opponents, South Africa had finished last in 2002, fielding a team very new to football, and consequently suffered losses of 162, 27, 77 and 128 points.more

The AFL have put together some of the highlights from the games they had filmed during the International Cup. For those that can access the Bigpond website you'll find the package here:

http://bigpondvideo.com/AFLTV/77012

Some international viewers seem to have problems accessing that site. Certainly I find Internet Explorer works better than say Firefox (which is otherwise my preferred browser).more

In this author's opinion the IC08 worked so well as a tournament because of the serious commitment of resources to it by AFL Development and because of the efficiency and dedication of a number of people, including volunteer umpires and trainers.


We contacted Garry Bilson, AFL Medical Coordinator, as a prelude to writing an article on this aspect of the International Cup.

Gary is a Melbourne remedial masseur and trainer with the Brisbane Lions, head trainer at Gisborne FC, a former president of the AFL Trainers Association with VFL/AFL involvements going back to 1978. His international football experience includes touring Ireland as Head Trainer for Australia in the International Rules Series 2000, while he has been the co-ordinator of medical services for all three of the International Cups.

Garry provided us with this account via an email which we think it is worth publishing "as is". It confirms the general experience of high quality support services at the IC and Garry’s assessment of the "outstanding support provided by the AFL in overseeing this very important area of medical assistance".more

The biggest single event during the 2008 Australian Football International Cup was arguably the "Dinner with the World" function at the Palladium at Crown in Melbourne on Thursday 5th September. Around 1300 guests attended this glittering evening, with the 16 competing nations and the Multicultural Challenge teams, as well as AFL guests and sponsors.

There were a few speeches, the announcement of the World Team, and several cultural performances along the lines of those given by the teams in Warrnambool, as well as one by an Aboriginal group.

Looking out across the sea of people gave a sense of just how far international footy has come in the last few years. The event itself would have cost at least AUD$100,000. Perhaps the most significant speech was that of Australian Federal Trade Minister Simon Crean. Late in 2007 there was a change of government and the new one appears to be quite interested in working with the AFL in using Australian Football as a tool for increasing trade with other nations. This can only be a good thing for the development of our sport, and something we should hear more about in future.

Although light on detail, you can hear more of Crean's speech in our Youtube video of the night.more

The AFL Grand Final is fast approaching, with the event celebrated by footy clubs, expat Australians and other assorted sports fans across the globe. This year's GF will kick off on Saturday September 27th at the MCG in Melbourne, with TV coverage starting around 12pm AEST.

For many international footy clubs, the Grand Final party is the year's major fundraiser, for others it's been the key meeting where footy fans in a far-off city have realised they weren't alone and started a new team.

At WFN we also get a steady flow of requests from people who want to know where to see the game overseas. We've put on a very short list of ones we've heard about so far, if you aren't on the list yet, leave a comment on this story and we'll add you in!more

Great article, well worth getting on the wfn site and looking at the associated comments to the item.
Samoa certainly found a lot of our tackles started below the shoulders but rose up, biomechanically difficult unless the tackled player is losing verticle height through either dropping the head, dipping the waist or folding the legs.
As an aussie rules man who also coaches rugby i left it up to umpires to decide on legitimate tackles rather than try to teach the style which is currently taught in footy and creates dangers to players necks and often fails with the teaching of the 'arm lift' in tackles, ill let my players continue the tackle fron elbow to shoulder rather than the 'hips' style which is popular over the last 4 years.

An issue that began to become obvious over the course of the 2008 International Cup was a growing frustration amongst some nations over the umpiring. Firstly we should note that the umpires were generally Australian umpires from Victoria who had volunteered their time for the tournament, doing their part for international footy, and it was greatly appreciated by those involved. What we're going to discuss here was a relatively minor issue and was primarily an issue of different interpretationsmore

The AFL's General Manager of National and International Development, David Matthews, has written a piece for the Melbourne newspaper the Sunday Age, urging (and thus effectively justifying) support for international Australian football. He notes that "People tend not to remember opportunities missed as much as opportunities that failed", which is an acceptance that by promoting international footy there is a risk of criticism if it fails - but that the football community should try anyway.

It's a continuing theme from Matthews, who has put forward a strong case on several occasions, and has over-seen the AFL's practical efforts. Although the support so far rolled out by the AFL remains somewhat uneven, there's no doubt the last three or four years have seen a tremendous increase in their commitment to international football. Although the article has nothing new to our regular readers, it's great to see the message in such a major Australian paper.more

GLENGALA Primary School students donned their favourite footy colours last Monday to welcome the Samoan National Football Team.

North Melbourne Football Club chief executive Eugene Arocca presented football guernseys to the club’s namesake, the Samoan Kangaroos.

Little faces gazed in rapt attention as the team performed the ‘haka’, a traditional Maori dance made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks.

The Samoan team will do battle with countries including USA, England and South Africa, for the International Cup, an Australian Rules game.

Club manager Michael Roberts said the team had a strong relationship with Glengala Primary, and hoped to establish a cultural exchange program to strengthen that link.

Mr Roberts said that although the team had finished in the bottom half during the last Cup, he had high hopes for this year.

The International Cup will run until 12 September, at Royal Park and some regional centresmore

MILANI Seaunatic fell in love with Australian rules the moment she first saw it. In fact, she can't work out why the whole world doesn't play a game she describes as a mix of "athletics, volleyball, basketball and the two rugbies".

So passionate has her love affair become, Milani is in Melbourne as coach of the Samoan Kangaroos in the 2008 International Cup.

Yes, coach. Just like tactical guru Rodney Eade of the Western Bulldogs or Collingwood's angry mentor Mick Malthouse.

Not that trainee diving instructor Milani has based her style on either. She's her own woman in a world where men historically hold sway.

In fact, she may be the only female coach of a senior male Australian rules side in the world. Milani did admit, though, if she leans to the style of anyone, it's Malthouse.

"I spent 10 years in Australia in West Sydney and that's where I fell in love with the game because you can do things like knock on, or pretty much anything that you can't do in rugby", Milani said.more

As part of the 2008 AFL International Cup competition festivities, Samoa's national team, the Samoan Kangaroos, paid a lively lunch-time visit to team sponsor, SEW-Eurodrive. After being treated to a traditional Aussie BBQ, the Samoan Kangaroos took to the stage to perform the country's traditional war dance, the Siva Tau, as enthralled spectators and media looked on.

"If the team's flair on the football field is anything like that on the dance floor, then they will be hard to beat this year," said SEW-Eurodrive Managing Director, Robert Merola. "We're proud to support the Samoan Kangaroos. It's fantastic to see the team embrace our national game of Aussie Rules and perform at such a high level."

The event allowed attendees to get up close and personal with some of the game's up and coming international talents, while an impromptu kick-to-kick session provided an opportunity for the team to showcase their ever-developing football skills.

Sixteen teams from around the globe will contest the 2008 AFL International Cup in a year that sees Australia celebrate the 150th birthday of its Indigenous game. The Samoan Kangaroos, will compete in its third International Cup this year, and is aiming to improve on its fifth placing achieved in 2005.more

The Samoan Kangaroos are one of nine teams that will contest their third International Cup in 2008, although at the past two cups they were known as the Bulldogs. Adopting the Kangaroo was deemed to fit nicely with North Melbourne supporting them at the tournament, and going forward as something distinctly marketable as Australian within Samoa. Previously the Samoans have finished seventh (2002) and fifth (2005). With no senior competition currently in place the Samoans enter the IC08 as somewhat of a wildcard. At the 2005 tournament for example, they initially easily accounted for the eighth-finishing British side (70 point victory) and yet nearly dropped a match against the ninth-place Canada (4 point victory).more

The islands of Samoa are located in the South Pacific Ocean, midway between New Zealand and Hawaii, and are known for their beautiful waterfalls, volcanic mountains, rainforests and pristine beaches.

Samoa’s 217,000 people live a communal lifestyle where respect for family is paramount. Most Samoans live off agriculture and fishing.

Their thickset build has seen Samoans excel at contact sports like rugby union, rugby league and even Sumo wrestling. But apart from being big, Samoans are also very athletic, enjoying Kilikiti (Samoan cricket), and in the east islands, known as American Samoa, a number of athletes have gone on to play in the NFL in the United States.

Famous for: Big blokes, traditional dance the Siva, siapo tree bark paintings, “lava lava” sarongs, traditional tattoos.

Australian football history

Believe it or not, footy got its start in Samoa ten years ago off the back of an international rugby match, when two schools played an exhibition game in front of 5000 spectators. Throw in some media interest, a live broadcast and the essential ingredient for any start-up sporting comp – brewery sponsorship – and the Samoa Australian Rules Football Association was in business. Operating as AFL Samoa, the league now has eight competing clubsmore

An emotional email sent by Kevin Nafte, an Israeli member of the Peace Team that will take part in the 2008 International Cup can be read below. It helps an audience outside of the Israel/Palestine region understand the huge challenges faced in getting the Peace Team to Melbourne. But after reading the email, it's easy to see that it was well worth the effort.more

The AFL’s recently appointed Oceania Development manager Andrew Cadzow last month undertook a “whirlwind” tour or Samoa, American Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand (meeting only), to help him better understand the region’s football needs.

WFN spoke to Cadzow about his time in Samoa. The island nation has shown football potential in the past, which even attracted a Richmond delegate, Craig Cameron to investigate the possibility of awarding a scholarship to a local player, through the AFL's International Rookie program. On the downside, the country has only managed irregular senior football matches and has at times struggled to break down negative perceptions that the game lacks “physicality” (compared with the more established Rugby).more

The announcement this week of the appointment of a full time CEO to the Samoan English cricket association (SECA) is fantastic news for the growing sport in Samoa.
The newly appointed CEO is current Australian volunteer Tina Macumber who in her twelve months with the association has been a brilliant asset and organizer for the sport.
Tina’s enthusiasm, skills and knowledge of the game has assisted in the tremendous and rapid growth of the game in Samoa.
Tina’s energy, personality, creativity and style should enable her to bring the game to unseen heights in this country and possibly see the great nation of Samoa one day playing test cricket against the worlds best.
By -Mickey Robertsmore

AFL Samoa last week welcomed Clement Palagaru from the newly formed abc program 'pacific pulse' to the country.
Clement an abc veteran and voice of radio australias 'in the loop'took time out to interview Game development manager Michael Roberts and National coach Milani Feaunati at a national team training session.
The new program will be in a magazine style format (like a btn or totally wild) and will examine many stories and exchanges happening around the pacific.
It was a pleasure meeting and talking with Clement who will be doing a follow up of the team in melbourne at this months International cup.
The program is likely to screen in October.more

Samoas fundraising campaign to reach the International cup is continuing.
On monday around forty loyal supporters and friends of AFL Samoa gathered at the Zodiac bar and community centre for a fundraising trivia night. It was great to see international medical students, locals and australian volunteers in attendance.
Although only a small amount of money was reaised it is yet another initiative to get the team comfortably over the line for the cup.
Thankyou to all in attendance and especially Zodiac and Aqua samoa.more

Over the last school holidays AFL Samoa and the Samoan English cricket association ran a school holiday program for primary aged children.

Not often has such an initiative taken place in Samoa and the partnership between the two sports has developed greatly in recent times.
Children took part in cricket , australian football, multi -sport games and skill development activities and fundamental games.

See photos attachedmore

As we saw a few weeks back, the new samoa kangaroo logo was released to much fanfare and comments.
Todd Muller of TMD designs has done a superb job with this logo and has improved the design of the tattoo to more closely resemble traditional samoan Tauilima (tattoo). The tattoo is loosely based on that of superstar (nobody knows who he plays for anymore or which code)Money Bill Williams (maybe a spelling error).
Hope you like it.more

KEVIN Rudd says more money will be spent on sport regardless of tough economic times because sport is so closely tied to Australia's identity.

On the eve of the Olympics, and amid fears Australia's medal tally may be down on previous efforts, the Prime Minister yesterday moved to reassure the Australian Olympic Committee that his Government would keep spending up on elite athletes.

"Part of Australia's global standing lies in the fact that we have such an enormously competitive nation on the international field of sporting endeavour, and the Olympics and other elite sports as well," Mr Rudd told Channel 9.

"It's part of who we are as a country."more

The GC17 group, aiming to be granted the 17th AFL license, have begun signing young players under the AFL concessions to allow them to build a second Queensland team. So far three 17 year olds have been signed up - two from the Gold Coast and one from Cairns in the state's far north (it's encouraging to see talent coming from up there - we once likened the start up of Aussie Rules in Cairns to that of international efforts).

More details of GC17's recruiting follows...more

Australian football is turning 150 and Australia Post is celebrating by issuing a single 50 cent commemorative stamp that features the earliest known engraving of a game of Australian football.

The engraving, entitled “Winter in Australia: Football in the Richmond Paddock” by Robert Bruce, depicts a game at Richmond Paddock, the parklands that today sit adjacent to the MCG. This image was first reproduced in the Illustrated Melbourne Post on 27 July 1866.more

The outside chance of Tasmania being granted an AFL licence looks likelier with the bid announcing a $4 million, three-year sponsorship deal.

The announcement comes as the Gold Coast (GC17) and Western Sydney syndicates have yet to announce a major sponsor for their bids and while at least two Melbourne based AFL clubs, the Western Bulldogs and Richmond Tigers are still without a sponsor for 2009.more

The AFL's 150 website continues to chart the history of the game. A recent table lists the premiership winners in the stronger leagues, starting from right back in 1877 when South Adelaide won the inaugural SAFA (now the SANFL) title and Carlton the inaugural VFA (now the VFL) title. Other leagues shown include the AFL (and its forerunner the VFL, starting with Essendon in 1897 as it split from the then VFA), and various winners in Tasmania starting with "Cricketers" in 1880, Rovers in WA in 1885 (followed by a Fremantle side in 1886). New South Wales entries begin with East Sydney in 1903, Queensland lists "Norths, Souths, Wests" in 1904, the Northern Territory has Wanderers in 1917, and finally Acton in 1924 is the first winning club listed for the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra).

The full list is here.more

New Zealand's media are continuing to profile talented members of the Falcons' squad. Those in developing football markets would be only too aware of how this helps to promote a minority sport to current and future sponsors as well as attract potential players and generate increased awareness.

Scott Morgan of NZ's Sunday paper, The Sunday Star Times, had this to say about quality Mt Roskill and NZ Falcons' on-baller Lewis Hurst...more

The Sydney Swans have beaten out other AFL clubs such as Carlton and Brisbane to sign Irish talent Kyle Coney as an International Rookie. It also will remove Coney from Ricky Nixon’s scouting pool list which has several other AFL clubs on board. The Sydney move was foreshadowed as early as December 2007, and Coney has continued to impress with good form in Gaelic minor football this year. He will join fellow Irishmen Tadgh Kennelly and Brendan Murphy at the Swans later in the year, possibly in October after Tyrone’s minor team’s bid for the All Ireland title is over.

Coney is the first that we know of to be signed this year, and the big question really is how many other new Gaelic footballers will be nominated on AFL lists by the year’s end?more

The New Zealand Falcons will return to defend their title. This is a country that has been competitive with the very best from Darwin’s Arafura Festival through to their stand-out performance to date in winning the tournament in 2005. They appear certain to make it through to the semi-final round, and it will take a complete performance to knock them out of Cup contention.more

Cameron was asked about his hopes for Samoan players.
“What I am hoping to find is people who are enthusiastic about AFL and therefore there will be some chance for it to be developed within Samoa and also to find some guys that have the athleticism who could go and play Australian Rules,” he said.
Asked as to the potential of Samoan players Cameron said he could only judge from rugby games he has seen on TV, but that his trip here is a fact finding mission in that respect.“I think we will find a lot of power athletes here, so, strong guys. AFL and Rugby players have different body shapes, sevens and traditional rugby seem to have different body shapes as well so the guys that play sevens have the shape that is closer to what Australian Rules are, and they may be what we are looking for,” Cameron said.
So with those skill sets in mind, Cameron and Roberts headed out to see an AFL practise session at Leulumoega amongst existing AFL players in Samoa.
By Cherelle Jacksonmore

The Samoan Kangaroos are one of nine teams that will contest their third International Cup in 2008, although at the past two cups they were known as the Bulldogs. Adopting the Kangaroo was deemed to fit nicely with North Melbourne supporting them at the tournament, and going forward as something distinctly marketable as Australian within Samoa. Previously the Samoans have finished seventh (2002) and fifth (2005). With no senior competition currently in place the Samoans enter the IC08 as somewhat of a wildcard. At the 2005 tournament for example, they initially easily accounted for the eighth-finishing British side (70 point victory) and yet nearly dropped a match against the ninth-place Canada (4 point victory).more

Australian Football is played by over 30,000 participants in over 30 countries around the world. This August, over 16 countries will converge in Melbourne and Warrnambool for the third International Cup.



Never before has the Cup hosted this many countries, and the event takes on greater significance this year as Australia celebrates the 150th birthday of its Indigenous game.

The International Cup brings together participants who have not grown up with our game in Australia, but who have come to love its skill and share its passion.more

The recent debate on the relationship between the international and the national in Australian Football has several scenarios which might encourage fear in Australia.

This 100 Year Plan (below) which I wrote first in the late 1990s and has appeared on various sites and is now slightly revised: (1) shows those fears are groundless and more importantly (2) shows how far internationalisation has come – most of the first 8 points have already been achieved (see also the World Footy News Timeline).

Here I present the revised version.
By S.Alomesmore

The AFL has released this great new poster to promote the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. Open up this story to see a larger view.

They have also updated their official website section: ic08.com.aumore

The Papua New Guinea Mosquitoes, with the great support of PNG Telikom in particular, are back at their third International Cup hoping to revisit their great days at the Arafura Festivals in Darwin. There they were undefeated by the other international teams, many including some fine Australian expatriate players, but as yet they remain the bridesmaids of the International Cup going down to Ireland in 2002 and New Zealand in 2005.

They have been one of their nation’s most successful Junior and Senior National teams over many years. Wearing the Black, Red and Gold in matches, both on PNG soil and in Australia, they have always been hard to beat for more than 40 years. In recent times their juniors have dominated the Queensland Country Junior Championships and in 2007 won the QLD Girls Under 16 State Titles in Cairns. With many more players now gaining invaluable experience in Australia via scholarships, it will take a mighty performance to squash these Mozzies.

Coaching the Mosquitoes in Melbourne, revising his role from 2002, is Andrew Cadzow. In-between he was PNG Chairman of Selectors in 2005. Cadzow is now intricately involved right across the Oceania Region, recently becoming the AFL’s Development Manager (after many year's service around Brisbane), but has found time to continue with the Mosquitoes. With over 20 years of fulltime AFL development including stints throughout Queensland and overseas, and coaching at senior and junior domestic and state level, his experience will be crucial. He says this tournament will be his last as coach and he is determined to go out on a winning note.more

New Zealand held their final training camp over the weekend of July 4th-7th under adverse weather conditions, which is nothing new in the Land of the Long White Cloud! A strong defence of their title is expected and they have named an even squad with players from across their four football regions.

Speaking with 2005 Cup winning coach and now NZ Media Liaison Officer Jim Lucy, he said “Personally I feel it is a good squad, very fit, with a good game plan and an even spread of experience and youth. Our average age (is) 24 which is the same as last campaign but probably has a few less ‘oldies’ and a lot more experienced players. Having 5 guys based in Australia honing their skills is a real bonus”.more

Over the years readers of worldfootynews.com will have been left in doubt that this author is particularly keen to see the game of Australian football seen in its full perspective, not as the dominant sport in one state of one country, but a game that within a handful of years of being codified had spread around a nation. And now, given the chance to go beyond those shores, it is being steadily embraced in many countries by sporting men and women who love the freedom to run, jump, tackle and kick, all in the one game.

That eagerness to see the game's broad history truly recognised and respected has at times led to criticism of the AFL as being overly Melbourne-centric and what can appear (sometimes quite unintentionally) as an attitude that the history of Australian football is the history of Melbourne football. That's ironic because it's the same line that has been used in the past to denigrate the game by the "non-believers" in Aussie Rules - people who aren't fans of the sport (pick yourself up, yes, they do exist). There has been myth that the game is just something Victorians do or have recently transplanted, dismissing the role it played in many states, ranging from a solid following through to being the dominant game way back in colonial times.

So it was pleasing to see the AFL's 150 celebrations website picking up a story from the Brisbane Lions' site regarding the history of the game in Queensland. Contrary to what some may have believed, the sport has long been played in the Sunshine state.

The full article is 150 Years of Australian Footy - Queensland's contribution.

Keen to demonstrate its early roots, we've listed the timeline section below. By Brett Northeymore

Read a little info about samoas approach to the world cup and how they got to their position in the world rankings of australian football.

Also some further information regarding the name change to the Kangaroos with more interesting legends,myths,facts about how this came about (certainly developing a life of its own)more

STRONG and solidly built, men of Samoan background are renowned for success on the rugby union and league fields. But South Pacific Islanders who have taken up the Australian game are discovering they have a natural flair for the code.

And despite rugged appearances, members of the national Samoan Australian football side aren’t afraid of taking orders from a woman.

Milani Feaunati has been reappointed national coach following a respectable campaign at the 2005 International Cup to finish fifth behind New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the United States and Ireland.

The eight-team Samoan Australian Football League, marking its tenth birthday alongside the AFL’s 150th anniversary this year, provides a strong pool from which players will be selected for the national side.

Chelsea Roffeymore

The Swedish Elks will make their International Cup debut this year, after an eventful past few years saw them explode from one club in Helsingborg to regular footy being played in over a dozen cities across the country.

The Elks won last year's EU Cup and have a fierce rivalry with Scandinavian neighbours Denmark and Finland. Now they want to take on the world's best and prove they are the real deal.

Coaching the Elks in Melbourne and Warrnambool will be Cameron Crooks, a native Melburnian who played club footy for Tullamarine and played elite junior footy alongside a number of current AFL champions.more

The 2008 Australian Football International Cup draw puts 16 teams into 4 pools of 4. We look at how the seedings unfolded and a few of the issues surrounding what is, however, a pretty fair system.

It's a standard tournament format and makes for a good system, but does have two major drawbacks. It pits some of the world's least developed football nations against the very best (outside of Australia). And assuming the form hasn't changed markedly since 2005, it's unlikely that the first three rounds will see any blockbuster matches between the top teams - in fact there will be some awfully large losses dished out.

Based on expected form, it looks like a fairly clear run for the big four from 2005, i.e. New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the United States and Ireland. The toughest semi-final position to win may well be in Pool C, where the Stars and Stripes of the US Revolution will have to contend with the rising stars from South Africa. If they have improved the Africans may challenge the Americans, but if not the Danes may even give the South African Lions a run for their money. Other likely pivotal matches include Round 2's Samoa versus Japan, and Nauru versus Great Britain.more

The Australian Football League has released the much anticipated draw for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. The AFL had felt a two division format was most likely (effectively separated between elite and developing nations), with anywhere between 12 and 18 teams on the cards. But with the final number of teams coming in at 16, and most of them wishing to play in the main draw, a late decision was made to merge them into one division. This gives the tournament a very fair structure, with 4 pools of 4 teams, each side playing the others within their pool once, with the top team in each going through to the main semi-finals (and similarly lower finishing teams playing off against each other).

The previously alluded to Multicultural section outside the main draw has also been released, with "Team Africa" representing Melbourne's recent African immigrants and playing three matches, against each of South Africa (as a practice game for them), Tonga (unable to commit to the full draw) and "Team Asia"

Also see all the nations official jumper.more

According to a recent article on the AFL website, Vanuatu has joined a growing list of Australian football-playing nations.

Football arrived in the country "when a Gold Coast couple living there introduced Rec Footy." Whilst a senior league is yet to develop, eight teams participated in Rec Footy over the summer. These matches were initially played by expatriates at an international school but before long had attracted "broader interest". AFL Queensland Auskick Manager, Fiona McLarty has since visited the island to help establish a NAB Auskick program, with eighty children signing up after participating in introductory clinics.

Participation in the sport by Vanuatuans adds weight to calls for football's inclusion in future South Pacific Games.more

In 2008 as marking 150 years of Australian Football a range of events will occur to help celebrate the sport that involves some 630,000 players nationally and an additional 40,000 players across 32 countries world-wide. One of these major events is the Kick Around Australia Day on Thursday August 7.

In samoa, schools are invited to take part in this special day and a select group will play a game on the lawn of the Robert Louis Stevenson museum in Samoa and other landmarks in the country.more

Australian football has long neglected its own neighbours. A lot of work is now being done to change that. Could footy be bound for the South Pacific Games?


Australian Rules football has spread dramatically into Australia's neighbouring countries. Whilst Papua New Guinea and Nauru have long histories with the sport, Samoa and Tonga are much more recent converts. An important development in footy's growth in the region would be if it became a part of the South Pacific Games, the premier sporting carnival for the region. They are held every four years, attract a lot of attention and enjoy government funding. Aussie Rules would benefit greatly from involvement, but requires two key things. Firstly, there must be six countries actively playing football in the region. The following is a list of countries that attend the games:

American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Marianas, PNG, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Fortuna.more

Nauru is well known amongst Australian football fans as the one other country, besides Australia, to fully embrace the Aussie code of football. An attendee at the Arafura Games in 1995 and one of eleven nations at the inaugural International Cup in 2002, the tiny island nation was absent in 2005, a late withdrawal, and has suffered a ban on the game at home. Footy fans will be happy to see the team return in 2008 as the Our Airline Nauru Chiefs and plans to re-launch the sport. With 17 players currently guest participants in the VCFL (most of them pictured below in their club jumpers), could they be a dark-horse when the Cup gets under-way next month? We talk to coach Wes Illig on the nation's expectations.more

The final list of nations competing for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup has been finalised. Here they are:

New Zealand,Papua New Guinea,United States,Ireland,Samoa,Britain,
Canada,South Africa,Japan,Nauru,Denmark,Sweden (debut),Finland(debut)
China (debut),India (debut),Israel/Palestine Peace Team (debut)more

Australia consistently ranks in the top four medal winning nations in the Olympics, something proudly celebrated by most Aussies. But has the time come for Australia to willingly accept a slide down the Olympic ladder? I think the answer should be yes. And it's intimately related to the health of Australians and the untapped potential of Australian Football.



Australia has a proud sporting tradition, generally being very successful at whatever sport it turns its attention to. Cricket, Rugby Union, Rugby League, netball, hockey and swimming are a few of the sports that the country has played in numbers and had great international success. In more recent years soccer and cycling have become more popular and Australia has duly risen up those ranks as well.

In Olympic competition the Green and Gold has also "punched above its weight". For a nation of just 21 million people, to consistently finish in the top ten gold medal wining nations is remarkable. At the last two Summer Olympics only countries with populations 10 to 100 times greater are ahead (the USA, China and Russia).

But why is this the case? Are Aussies genetically superior? As a nation that generally steers clear of racism, we wouldn't claim that advantage. Though perhaps as a country of immigrants, we bring together a diverse array of ethnic backgrounds so if any one gene pool is better at a particular sport, Australia will probably have it covered, perhaps with the exception of African immigration that is only now starting to accelerate.
by;brett world footy newsmore

NICHOLAS Naitanui. Mention the name and the football community licks its lips – and with good reason.

He's a superb athlete. One with every chance of cutting it at the highest level.

But according to those who know best, Naitanui isn't an instant star – he's a player who will flourish in time.

Such has been the anticipation about Naitanui that even before last year's NAB AFL Draft, he was anointed by many pundits as the cream of the 2008 pool.

So is the hype premature? Yes and no.more

In 2008 the Australian community will have the opportunity to celebrate Australian Football 150 years. The Australian Game of Football has changed enormously since its rudimentary beginnings in 1858 when the first recorded games were played by students and teachers of Melbourne’s public schools, predominantly Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar.

This is a great initiative and all teachers should be a part of this program with their students to celebrate the 150th birthday of the the greatest game in the world and our own indiginous sport,more

WHILE the Irish have a proven knack for Australian football stemming from their Gaelic roots, other nations to embrace the game have been largely overlooked as breeding grounds for AFL players.

But as international appreciation for the code grows and junior programs provide a sustainable pathway to senior competitions, future AFL lists are likely to see an increase in foreign-born players.more

IT’S NO secret New Zealanders and Australians love to hate each other.

But the two nations have more in common than just the ANZAC spirit. At the time of Australia’s federation, New Zealand was set to become an Australian state. In fact, in 1901, New Zealand had 115 teams playing Australian football.
In the 1970s the sport underwent a revival, but today, the average New Zealander knows as much about the game as the All Blacks know how to win a Rugby World Cup.

Australian football is seen as a minor sport, played by rugby and soccer athletes during the summer to maintain fitness. But young men in this category are discovering Australian football can offer much more than a way to keep in shape - and more than rugby or soccer – it offers them the chance to play for their country.
By Chelsea Roffey
12:04 PM Thu 19 June, 2008more

As preparations continue for the third AFL International Cup it is pleasing to note that V-Line and the Victorian Country Football League have joined forces to provide transport for the competing nations as they head down to Warrnambool for two rounds of the tournament.

The VCFL's marketing and communications manager Graeme Allen told worldfootynews.com that the package is worth around AUD$25,000 which will certainly ease the load on teams. "V/Line will provide one train which will have most of the teams on it and the remainder will be on a normal scheduled service to Warrnambool". A working group has been in place since October making sure the town will turn it on for the visitors. It includes representatives of council, football leagues, umpires and schoolsmore

FORMER West Coast captain Ben Cousins will decide this weekend whether he wants to return to competitive football this year, his management says.

Cousins has until Monday to register to play in a state league, which could pave the way for an AFL return next season.

He was deregistered by the AFL for 12 months, preventing him from playing in the competition, following revelations last year about his drug addiction.more

WFN spoke with NZAFL CEO and the Falcon’s Coach Rob Vanstam to see how things were progressing towards International Cup 2008

The New Zealanders have had three training camps so far, with 2 of them based in regional centres before everyone gathered in Auckland earlier this month. The squad has been whittled down from the near 60 who were initially named at the National Provincial Championships late in 2007. There are now 34 players aiming for the 29 available spots in the traveling squad to Melbourne.

Sunday, June 22 2008 @ 04:51 PM EST
Contributed by: Rod
Views: 210more

great article on true development ,but at elite level..have a squizz

Each year, a player comes into the AFL system, mostly with little recognition, and all of a sudden they can become publicly acclaimed and heavily scrutinised.

We have to remember that these are 18, 19 and 20-year-old kids.

There are extra demands put on a player in their second and third years and they probably don’t get quite the same attention from the club’s coaches, welfare managers and the media, but people are expecting more from them.

Maybe the individual player made a huge impression in one year and actually needs a settling in period the next year, but at the same time, opposition coaches are paying more attention to him and putting more effort into negating his influence.


By Mark Williams
7:30 AM Wed 11 June, 2008more

A great article by Ken Piesse about Barry standfield and the Fish Creek football club. I have watched the club play many times and it has a rich background producing AFL and VFL legends.
We may yet see me (michael Roberts) in a fishy jumper before i retire. lets hope the club can recruit some more youth and numbers and get back to their former premiership glory. If your even down that way i recommend grabbing a pie and watching the footy in the outer at fish creek. (hot tip- future draftable kids from down that way will be Ryan and Matt Mcgannon..go boys)more

AFL Samoa congratulates Nigel Carmody on a fantastic 150 games of VFL footy, great stuff mate and good luck for the rest of the season.
Hopefully the national samoan team will be able to watch the magpies train during the International cup tour and see the likes of Carmody and Danny Nicholls go through their paces (eastside)..

COLLINGWOOD failed to celebrate Nigel Carmody's 150th senior VFL game with a win yesterday, going down to third-placed Sandringham by 30 points in an error-riddled affair at Trevor Barker Oval.
Carmody, who captained rival Casey Scorpions last season, has been one of the Pies' most consistent and was in the thick of the action with 26 possessions.
The Zebras also could lose elevated Melbourne rookie Shane Valenti, who was reported for wrestling Danny Nicholls in the first quarter.
Nicholls was also reported for wrestling Valenti.

Chris Mitchell | June 09, 2008 12:00ammore

Amelia Harris and Tom Zed | June 09, 2008 12:00am
AN EMBARRASSED Vic Country coach Robert Hyde blasted his side's selfish draft-focused attitude after Saturday's five-point loss to under-18 championship minnow NSW/ACT.
The Vics led the home side by 27 points at halftime, but lost 11.6 (72) to 10.7(67) - its second loss by less than a kick.

"When we got done by the last kick of the day by Vic Metro I praised them because I thought the team ethos was really good," he said.

"They were playing for themselves (on Saturday).

"They were playing draftable footy, 'I'm playing to showcase my talents so someone might think I can play'.

"I said after the game it was quite embarrassing. They just didn't play as a unit."more

Jon Ralph | June 11, 2008 12:00am

TV BROADCASTERS say the AFL could install fixed cameras to rid grounds of blind spots for as little as $250,000 a season.
Essendon midfielder Andrew Welsh is the latest in a long list of players to escape penalty for a suspected offence because the incident was not captured by cameras.

The match review panel was this week forced to rely on the evidence of Sam Mitchell, who was floored by Welsh behind play but later told them no offence was committed.

It is understood Hawthorn felt Mitchell was punched in the midriff by Welsh, but he recovered and was not sufficiently angry to complain.

While there are as many as 16 TV cameras at every game, broadcasters say there are massive blind spots behind play owing to the focus on stoppages and the action forward of the ball.more

Another great article from Jason Akermanis giving an insight into the dailly and weekly routines and expectations on the 'modern'Australian (AFL level) football player. If you thought it was all glitz and glamour then take a peak at this story to set you straight .more

Saturday, June 07 2008 @ 08:45 AM EST
Contributed by: Brett world footy news.

The AFL has confirmed that talented Queensland teenagers will be given the chance to opt out of the next national draft, to instead sign up for the new Gold Coast franchise. The initial development squad will play in the Victorian elite Under 18 TAC Cup in 2009 and the VFL in 2010, before entering the AFL in 2011.



The AFL's General Manager of National and International Development, David Matthews, said "It is our view that the fast-tracking of the young talent who will join the Gold Coast list is best served by playing in the TAC Cup competition in 2009, with a mix of matches in Victoria and home games on the Gold Coast".more

The International Cup is now little more than two months away. For the island nation of Samoa, home to around 180,000 people, sending a squad to the tournament is no small feat. The minimum wage is as little as a dollar an hour and costs to send a team are between fifty and eighty thousand dollars. Teams able to secure accommodation or airfares sponsorship find funding easier but still face costs of at least thirty thousand dollars. Yet at the same time, the tournament offers Australian football priceless exposure and a great opportunity for growth in many of these countries. For the past two years, AFL Samoa and the organisation's National Game Development Manager, Michael Roberts have been busy securing partnerships for their team, to help make Samoa's International Cup goal a reality.more

While there is general consensus among the chiefs at the AFL that South Africans will be recruited to the AFL in the next 3-5 years the question is how? Although there has been plenty of development action and visits from Australia, the biggest issue facing the growth of the code in the African country could be a clearly defined pathway.



Papua New Guinea and New Zealand are benefitting from the proximity to Australia, in recent years they have forged much more clearly defined pathways than other Pacific nations and in many ways are leaving the rest of the world behind.more

AFL Samoa is proud to announce the start of its 2008 International cup campaign.
The National training academy has been training for several sessions and is now inviting interested members of the public to come and learn the game and try-out for the National Samoan team ‘The Kangaroos’ .

The chance to represent your country may only come along once in a lifetime, National Development manager Michael Roberts explained “we are interested in those with athletic ability or experience in basketball, volleyball, rugby and other sports, Samoa is blessed and we hope many will give it a try, there is a misconception that you must be tall to play Aussie Rules but this is a myth”.

Many club and schoolboys players are officially invited to attend the AFL talent academy for the National try-out program.

Australian based players are taking part in a rigorous training program and it is expected that the Samoan based players will be working very hard in the coming weeks and months to perfect their skills, fitness and for some, their game understanding.

AFL Samoa is Proud to announce its schoolboy invitees. These athletes were selected during the AFL Samoa , 2007 National schoolboys championships and identified as potential scholarship, elite or national representatives.

These schoolboys come from both rural and metropolitan zones of the schoolboys and have the opportunity to be named in the national mens team or to be invited to train with the AFL talent academy.

As part of this academy, young athletes up to 23 years of age can try for Scholarships and future recruitment opportunities in Australia if they show extreme talent and skills.
There are over 350 international scholarships available and many recruiters keeping their eyes on Samoan talent.

These young invitees will be the first to attend such an academy which has the advantage of starting up at the same time as the National team comes together.

It will be interesting to see who the team management and coach decide to take to Melbourne this August for the two week International cup carnival.more

The last year has proven very positive for AFL Samoa on many levels and with a fresh and constantly updated web page the hits just keep on coming. With some local stories but a majority of content from australian news media but especially 'World footy news'.
Over three and a half thousand page requests in May has broken all previous monthly requests. With a facebook group and website active many people have been tuning in or joining as members. It gives friends of samoa and interested parties the chance to keep in touch and be a part of AFL Samoa. Thankyou to everyone who has taken a peak at the website and we hope you come back often. with some huge announcements to be made in the coming weeks there will be plenty of local based stories..more

A LEADING doctor has urged caution for players and clubs considering fast-fixing knee reconstructions using artificial ligaments, despite the apparent success for Sydney defender Nick Malceski.

Malceski recently completed a remarkable return just three months after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a pre-season practice match in February.

The Swans sent Malceski to a French surgeon who used synthetic fibres to re-build the knee, while Fremantle defender Luke Webster had a similar procedure last month.

But despite a recovery which takes a fraction of the usual year-long rehabilitation period for traditional reconstructions, Dr John Orchard said the procedure was "quite risky" and would be loath to recommend it to his patients until more was known.

Orchard, the co-author of the AFL's annual injury report, said it was too early to make a call on whether Malceski's return – and using synthetic ligaments to reconstruct knees – was a success.more

The U16 Binatangs returned home to PNG recently after a long and exciting AFL tour in Queensland. AFL Queensland have nominated three Binatangs as part of the Queensland State Squad. These three boys, Garry Kele (who also received the Coach’s award as Most Promising Player), David Meli and Naime Gordon have not returned to PNG with the rest of the team but will remain in Brisbane to be part of the Queensland State U16’s Squad and will return to PNG in September.



Wednesday, May 28 2008 @ 11:22 AM EST
Contributed by: Rodmore

NICHOLAS Naitanui is eager to prove that all the fuss about him being the best young talent in the land is not just hype. Naitanui's opportunity will come at the under 18 national championships, which start in Melbourne next Sunday, and for the teenage sensation of Fijian descent the showcase matches cannot come soon enough.

"Ever since I started playing footy I wanted to make the AFL," Naitanui, 17, said this week.

"I played basketball and rugby early on but I always had a real passion for AFL. And just watching the boys on TV, seeing them out there, I had that dream to play."

The likely No.1 selection in this year's national draft, Naitanui didn't start playing Australian rules football until he was 10, but his athleticism and raw skills have proved a real hit with AFL recruiters.
Jay Clarkmore

THE AFL faces a race against time to have new interchange technology in place for all eight matches this weekend. Within 48 hours, every ground will need to be wired to allow the new system, which uses Champion Data software, to work smoothly.

The fact the AFL has a game at Aurora Stadium, which hosts only four games a year, adds to the logistical challenge.

A Champion Data operator with a laptop will keep track of every change from a box in the stands.

The AFL interchange stewards will read the data from another laptop on the boundary, connected to Champion Data equipment in the box.

The stewards need a quick course in using the software.

The infamous "post-it" notes, used to record every player coming and going from the bench, have been consigned to history.

mark stevensmore

If you get past this point, you may be deemed marketable, maybe even become the subject of personal offers from sponsors. Which would be a short, and small, bonus for your talent.

It can be very difficult to earn extra money as a footballer, with the salary cap prohibiting many such transactions.

It’s understandable, too, given the stories that have gone around footy over the years.

I remember there was a yarn, which I know was never proven, that one club’s major sponsor was paying a player’s wife a tidy six-figure sum for two or three days a week.

There was also the one, again unproven, about a player’s partner also earning six figures answering phones at the club’s headquarters.

Clubs using outside means to prop up the wages of their stars used to go on everywhere
Jason Akermanismore

this is an attached PDF but it is a classic article from the archives of the New York times.
With such forsight it is amazing that the yanks have not embraced the 'great game' much earlier especially with such a story in such a paper in such a time.. Any footy fan will not be able to resist having a peak at this article.more

Australian rules football (also known as football, "footy" or "Aussie Rules" in areas where it is the predominant winter sport) is a game played between two teams of 18 players, generally played on cricket ovals during the winter months.
Football competitions run approximately from March to August, with finals being held in September. Pre-season competitions sometimes begin as early as late February. The summer months mostly belong to cricket, usually played on the same groundsmore

Spread across a manicured football field in groups of 10 or so, the children dart back and forth like the parts of a complex machine. In one group, they mark balls thrown in the air by Aussie Rules players from the St. Kilda Football Club. In another, they awkwardly practice handballing to the veteran players. They smack into tackling bags, play bullrush, and try to evade the tackles of lurking Saints. And they learn how to scoop balls off the turf and kick short into the muscled arms of two-time Brownlow medalist Robert Harvey.
This frenetic scene took place late last year not in Melbourne or Adelaide but in Potchefstroom, on the high veldt near Johannesburg. Most of the kids were from nearby black townships, bussed in for a couple of hours' practice with players most had never heard of. For the kids, the meet was a chance to try a new sport. For the St. Kilda players, it was a key part of summer training. And for Australian Rules football, it was part of a push into a most unlikely market: Africa. "We think it's the best game in the world," says Saints coach Grant Thomas. "And with the natural skills and enthusiasm of the kids over here, I hope it spreads."more

Yuta Kobayashi, one of the AFL's International Development Coordinators, was recently in India where he assisted AFL India with their plans to send a team to this year's International Cup. The AFL and AFL India are taking several steps to get an Indian side to the tournament, including recruiting a high profile Australian cricketer's support.



India's football program is currently limited to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta - India's fourth largest city, situated in the country's east). AFL India has a pool of around 70 players in training and the organisation has its eyes set on talent from other sports. The Indian team won't be the most experienced side at the International Cup, having only recently been exposed to the game, but the side will still be comprised of competent athletes.

Monday, May 26 2008 @ 07:07 AM EST
Contributed by: Ashmore

THE AFL is looking at softening the father-son rule just one year after introducing the controversial bidding system as one of a series of conciliatory gestures to the 16 clubs that will be forced to sacrifice draft picks and uncontracted players to the competition's two new teams.

The league has taken on board a proposal from North Melbourne to reduce the father-son games requirement from 100 back to 50 although football operations boss Adrian Anderson conceded the AFL might even look at a lower number of games required for eligibilitymore

Please read below a great article by Caroline Wilson.
Insightful and motivating as well as inspiring to all of those in football who have a passion for the game and did not play at league level..Adrian Anderson is the new age of footy.

YOU'RE not in this job to be popular," the new AFL chief executive, Andrew Demetriou, told his new football boss Adrian Anderson in February 2004.

His father's advice in the worst of times, he says, was simple: "Keep your eye on the ball and get on with it."more

THE WORLD knew how Brian Lara felt about cricket when he named his first-born daughter Sydney, after the city where he hit his first Test century.

Those who meet the kids of the Tiwi Islands and parts of the Northern Territory hold no doubt about the sport of choice for the residents there. Young Mark Harvey, from the north west of the Territory, and his neighbour, Wayne Carey, are living proof that passions lie squarely with Australian football
What they witness is a unique style of football, one exhibiting a local flair that players have adapted since the 1940s, when Catholic missionaries introduced them to the game.

"The Tiwi Islanders play a very fast-paced, skilful sort of game. They're generally smaller players so they run fast and the skills are very, very good," Farley says.

The fast, free-flowing style of play saw only three stoppages in four quarters of football in the recent grand final between the Imalu Tigers and Tapalinga Superstars.

The Tiwi brand of football is evident in other ways, too. Unmatched in their enthusiasm, players were so keen to continue the match after half time that they took their positions five minutes early and waited for the umpires to return to the field.

Footy thriving in Tiwi Islands-Chelsea Roffey
for more..click on the more button
See more stories from Chelsea on Afl.com bigpondmore

Papua New Guinea have named a star studded squad for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup - the de facto World Cup of Aussie Rules. Two times runners-up, the Mosquitoes will go into the tournament either first or second favourite with reigning champs New Zealand.

The Papuans have listed the 2008 Telikom Mosquitoes Squad of 30 players and 4 emergencies. Pleasingly the team includes their star players that are being hosted in Queensland, including rising Queensland under 18s star John James, PNG's first Queensland under 16 representative (in 2006), Stanis Susuve, and some of their best players from their 2005 campaign such as Alistair Sioni who at one stage spent time with the Brisbane Lions. This year's squad has a more even age spectrum than 2005, and the Mozzies have even found room for a few of the stalwarts from past tilts, including Rex Leka (pictured below) at 33 and Overa Gibson at 35more

PNG have announced their preperation squad for Augusts International cup in Melbourne.
The list reads like a whose who of PNG development over the last few years and the pathways through AFL Queensland have proven to have built up a strong list of under 25 talent.
With past Development through PNG strongly driven by Andrew Cadzo the Newly appointed Oceania Regional Manager for football ,other nations in the region may find similar depth of playing numbers growing over the next few years.
Andrew has worked with these programs and there are certain Polynesian/pacific islander traits and culture that must be understood before getting the best out of these athletes.
This team at the international cup should go through the tournament undefeated champions by a country mile if this list plays in the cup.

I for one will be watching every PNG game and i would say that there will be a large number of these players drafted or scholarship listed by years end. Its a credit to the systen and to those who have worked strongly toward the development of the sport in PNG.

comments by michael robertsmore

The Peres Peace Team, a concept that will see Israeli and Palestinian Muslims, Christians and Jews take the field together and play Australian football at this years International Cup, has received another boost.

Carlton Football Club President, Richard Pratt has announced that the Pratt Foundation, established in 1978 by Richard and his wife Jeanne "to enrich the lives of our community", will support the team, alongside the Carlton Football Club for the duration of their stay in Melbourne. The Pratt Foundation is already a significant donor to the Peres Center For Peace.

Pratt alongside Australia’s Governor-General Michael Jeffery and his wife Marlena were recent guests at an Israeli State Dinner. They not only used the dinner to make the announcement, but also presented Israel’s President and Peres Peace Centre founder Shimon Peres with a Carlton Football Club jumper with the words “Peres Peace Team” printed below the CFC insignia.

Read on at the Carlton Football Club website.more

The Western Bulldogs' Scott Clayton has confirmed his club is actively exploring new talent in Fiji, prompted by the enormous potential seen in the likely number one draft pick, Fijian Australian Nicholas Naitanui, as discussed in Naitanui - a big Fijian draft prospect to watch.

It seems one of the keys to opening the AFL club wallets has been the recent rule change to allow clubs to stockpile international talent for just AUD$1000, as explained in International recruitment about to explode? Recruiters previously would have been hesitant to commit to any area if they couldn't exclusively lock in the best talent, or if the costs were too high. It seems the changes now have several clubs looking around Oceania and trying to keep a low profile so that they can sign up the best prospects first.

Other than a few off the record comments from a couple of our sources, it's difficult to know exactly how many AFL clubs are on the hunt, but hopefully we'll start to see some signings within the next six to twelve months.

In the meantime, see the Daily Telegraph story Bulldogs hope for Fiji paradise where Mark Stevens reports on Clayton's efforts to spot Fijian talent, funded by club supporter and businessman Shaun Bassett. The article states that "Most of Clayton's scouting has been centred on secondary school rugby sevens" and that "He is intent on finding tall, mobile players in the mould of 196cm Naitanui".more

The Australian Football League are hoping to shortly finalise a schedule for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. A full 18 team program is still possible, with the AFL waiting on just three nations to confirm attendance. The countries with question marks are China, India and Spain. AFL International Coordinator Josh Vanderloo explained to worldfootynews.com the likely list of nationsmore

Tuesday, May 20 2008 @ 07:19 AM EST
Contributed by: Sean

Last month Tasmania's premier, Paul Lennon, announced Australia’s island state will make an official bid for an AFL licence, adding some intrigue to the AFL's expansion strategy and making headlines.


Tasmania is currently the only Australian state without an AFL team and some feel that the competition cannot be considered truly national without one.
While the AFL accelerates its focus on developing markets dominated by other sports in Western Sydney and the Gold Coast, there are some strong arguments for a Tasmanian side. The state government already contributes $15.4 million to Hawthorn as part of its 5 year agreement and some Tasmanians feel that this money would be better invested in their own team.more

While the 2008 Australian Football season is well underway it is a great time for the average sports fan or AFL layman to watch a few games and ask a few questions that will help to explain what is happening on the field in this relatively new spectator sport in Samoa..For all of you Rugby diehards and league fans its not that hard to understand, if you give it a little time and understand the basics.
Before you rush in head first (just a rugby gag to start things off) I want to give you a feel of the conditions of play at the start of the game , quarter or after a scored goal.
The end you score in, is known as ‘your own goals’ unlike in rugby or soccer where you defend your own goals (gridiron and rugby are built around war like tactics).
Now just to make it a bit more interesting and to help newcomers grasp the game you must all remember these rules or ‘freedoms’ below.

You can pass in any direction , there is no ‘off-side’ of any sort and there is no knock on…Yes it is true you can rake the ball.

(see the whole story click on 'more')
By -Michael Roberts, Newsline Sunday sports columnmore

AFL Samoa is working tirelessly to attract junior clubs, schools and senior clubs to make Samoa their chioce of destination for mid year and post season trips.
Samoa offers a peacefull island paradise with the opportunty to experiance great cultural exchange and to promote the game of Australian football.
With its close proximity to australia and affordable flights and accomodation Samoa is surelly as a competitive destination to Queensland , Bali or Thailand .
AFL Samoa can assist groups in sourcing in-country prices and has a fantastic 'School exchange' program designed to meet the educational factors and cultural exchanges for a quality addition to any curricullum. Information can be sought on this initiative by contacting aflsamoa@samoa.ws
Visiting groups can assist with auskick clinics in village areas or teams can challenge any one of our national or club teams in a friendly. Why not make Samoa your clubs annual footy trip..??more

The AFL Division 2 Championships have just concluded in Melbourne with PNG’s John James representing the Queenslanders, the first player developed internationally to represent an Aussie state at this level. The tournament comprised the best players from NSW/ACT, Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Though Queensland failed to gain a win John James was still able to be recognised as among Queensland’s better players.



Prior to the Championships James had been in great form for the Zillmere Eagles on Anzac Day in the AFL Queensland Velocity Sports Cup (Queensland's top league). The pacy player kicked one goal and was named his team's second best player in their 56 point win over Morningside at O'Callaghan Park. He has also been named as a weekly NAB Rising Star in the AFLQ's top league.

Friday, May 16 2008 @ 11:10 AM EST
Contributed by: Rodmore

In signs that the mainstream media are beginning to see the potential for the Australian game internationally, Melbourne's the Age recently published two articles highlighting the potential for Pacific athletes to become AFL talent, but also the shortage of funding to make that happen.
The articles include Tough love, Samoa dives into football and Pacific nations bemoan AFL neglect.

Tuesday, May 13 2008 @ 01:01 AM EST
Contributed by: Brett
Views: 166more

The AFL’s ability to remain Australia’s numero uno football code has been the issue of much debate recently. Each of Australia’s four major football leagues, AFL (Australian football), A-League (soccer), NRL (Rugby League) and Super 14 (Rugby Union) have outlined their expansion plans for the near future.
The AFL can't continue to prop-up clubs, especially when the money could be better spent developing new clubs in areas able to more comfortably support them. Yet at the same time you can't 'expect' Melbourne fans to want their clubs to relocate to the Gold Coast, or Sydney or Tasmania and possibly compromise their history in the process. So how can we satisy both?



Monday, May 12 2008 @ 01:20 PM EST
Contributed by: Ash
Views: 490more

New Zealand born Trent Croad may wear the Big V on the field with the best of the AFL, but his fern leaf tattoo signals his Kiwi heritage.
The 28 year old 190cm, 100kg Kiwi will play in perhaps the most important Australian Rules representative match in his career. While he wore the Big V in 1999 and appeared in Australia's International Rules side three times, this game is Australian Rules and the opposition for the 2005 All-Australian will be the best yet.more

ALEX Jesaulenko last night was awarded Legend status in the Australian football Hall of Fame, becoming the first man born outside Australia to join football's most esteemed pantheon.

Born in Austria to a Ukrainian father and Russian mother, Jesaulenko went on to become a wizard on the football field. The Carlton champion left an indelible mark on the game after taking a soaring mark in the 1970 grand final that inspired commentary that lives on today. The commentator, Mike Williamson, was at last night's ceremony and Jesaulenko told the crowd: "He still says if he hadn't said those words, I would have been an unknown little wog."

by sam lanemore

Looking back at some of our footage from the 2005 Australian Football International Cup semi-finals, it's a reminder that it may still be tight at the top of international footy come the third Cup in August this year. We'll be looking to stir up the debate later in the year, but already there's plenty of opinion that Papua New Guinea should be the stand-out. With so many players now at a high standard in the AFL Queensland leagues, it seems quite possible that PNG will be far too good for everyone elsemore

KEVIN Sheedy is my type of man. As well as being an ornament to the game, he has this weird ability to sometimes make the simple difficult, and the difficult simple.

In the off-season as he contemplated-- for the first time in 28 years - a life without being in charge of Essendon, he made one of my favourite subjects simple.

He started talking about our game and its growth.

Where are we going? I know the Gold Coast and western Sydney have been identified as the regions for the 17th and 18th licences, but what’s the real AFL masterplan? I can see plan A for the next five to 10 years.

But I am talking about plan B, for 10 to 15 years.more

A 35 player squad for the Irish Warriors (affectionately known as the Green Machine) has been named ahead of the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. Head Coach Roger Clarke has named 15 players that represented Ireland at the 2005 Cup.more

Papua New Guinea continues to set the pace in terms of utilising Australian Football pathways and continues to produce impressive young talent.
Gary Kele, David Meli and Naime Gordons will represent Queensland at Under 16 level in the state championships.

The young stars will be billeted by members of the Caboolture Football Club in South East Queensland, where they will train with and play for the Caboolture under 16s.

The news received coverage in Papua New Guinea's major papers, The National and Post Couriermore

WHEN Andrew Demetriou issued a challenge at this year's season launch to embrace expansion, he referred to Kevin Sheedy's bold vision. "Can you hear what the game is saying - don't fence me in," was Sheedy's intoxicating message.
He says he has a handful of ideas for future blockbuster games, and will not die wondering about the idea of international expansion.

"I clearly believe we have to get into California and no one will stop me thinking that," Sheedy said.
Jon Ralph | May 09, 2008 12:00ammore

SAM Carpenter is only 21, but his footy resume is already impressive.

He's played TAC Cup for Dandenong Stingrays, VFL for Frankston and for two clubs in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean league.

It's all the more remarkable knowing he lost the lower half of his left arm in a meat mincer at his parents' butcher shop as a child.

Sub note from Michael Roberts AFL Samoa- i have a had a little bit to do with Sam through junior development and elite squads and have never thought his physical 'differance' was any kind of 'disability'.
I had the experiance in being in a development meeting to discuss 'cutting' players from a high level development program and was pleased to say that there was no discrimination or bias toward Sam, there were questions put on whether he could make the squads in question and progress up the pathway, but i was agreed the best squad should be picked. Awesome young talent.more

AFL Samoa is proud to announce that its host club for 2008 International Cup is the North melbourne Kangaroos.
This partnership will benefit Samoa in many was but will help enhance the profile of the club and Samoa and capitalise on the involvement of Samoan born Aaron Edwards.
AFL Samoa will announce its colours and jumper design in coming weeks but is very proud this relationship has begun.more

THE Western Bulldogs are in the midst of a Fijian treasure hunt to uncover the next Nicholas Naitanui.
Inspired by the athletic feats of this year's likely No. 1 draft pick, the Dogs have spent the past six months secretly planning a recruiting assault on Fiji.

Dogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton first visited Fiji in January and has returned to the capital Suva twice in the past three weeks.

"Project Fiji" is being funded by supporter and businessman Shaun Bassett.

Clayton has already built a strong network throughout Fiji, including members of Naitanui's extended family.

The Dogs will continue regular visits to Fiji, eyeing the opportunity to sign several athletes suited to the transition to Aussie rules.

Clayton had been determined to keep the Fijian push under wraps for fear of giving up a competitive advantage.

But after the Herald Sun learnt of his links to Naitanui's family, Clayton yesterday confirmed the club was deadly serious about the Fiji experiment.more

Australian Football 150 Years ambassador Kevin Sheedy said the weekend was not just for players, but for all the people who support community clubs.

"This includes your officials and volunteers, or the mum who has made the post-match sandwiches for the past 20 years, grandpa who still brings out the oranges at quarter and three-quarter time, or the children who watch Dad or Mum play each week,” said Sheedy.

Wherever you end up on Community Football Weekend, be sure to thank the people that keep your club running.
By chelsea Roffeymore

From the 'age' -Rod Curtis
New leagues have obviously given little thought to naming their teams.

WHAT'S in a name? When it comes to the Indian Premier League, it seems, not a great deal.

There are eight teams, which is hardly a Melbourne Cup field, and yet, next Saturday, the Chennai Super Kings will host the Kings XI Punjab. Take a "Go Kings!" banner and you can bat for both teams. The following Saturday, the Rajasthan Royals host the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Another win for the monarchists.

Then there's the Mumbai Indians. Which is a bit like saying the Melbourne Australians. For the future of India, one can only hope it wasn't a Mumbai-wide primary school naming competition that came up with it.

God only knows how Kolkata came up with the "Knight Riders". But if it's got anything to do with a talking car named KITT that drove itself because its owner was never under .05, then that's very sad indeed.more

Nauru recently confirmed their attendance at the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. As we've previously reported, the island nation has had no active league recently due to on and off-field violence. Hopefully the move towards entering a side in the Cup will be the beginning of a new era for the game in Nauru.

Here's a link to an excellent report that appeared on the English version of the Al Jazeera network, including a chat to coach Vaiuli Amoe and sports minister Mathew Batsiua.

Interestingly it notes that all players selected must have a clean history and as such most are under 21. Certainly they seem to move fairly smoothly in training.more

CONTINUING afl.com.au's series of junior football recollections from the stars of today are Charlie Gardiner from St Kilda, Darren Glass from West Coast Eagles, and the Demon's Jace Bode.more

Though much of the recent media focus has been on Fijian Nicholas Naitanui, who is widely tipped to go number one in the 2008 draft, there is another player of Pacific Islands descent, Khan Haretuku, whose parents are New Zealanders, who has been rookie listed with St Kilda.Khan made his way through to an AFL list as a NSW scholarship holder and has been playing footy for about four seasons after a background in both codes of rugby. He was at the University of NSW before moving to the Saints. Glebe President Dave Britton said “Khan’s signing was a tribute to his potential as a footballer and his selection by the Saints shows that talented AFL players in Sydney are getting a real opportunity to play at the highest level.”more

MEMORIES of junior footy are being featured on afl.com.au as part of the AFL's 150 years celebrations.

Today, we are joined by Collingwood star Dale Thomas, Jason Blake of St Kilda, and young-gun James Frawley from the Demons.more

IT'S OFFICIAL. In the countdown to the Hall of Fame Tribute Match, the Premier of Victoria has set a challenge for the rest of the country.

John Brumby has extended his support for his state, in colour and voice, as Victoria prepares for its clash with the Dream Team.

"I really encourage people to get out there and get behind the 'Big V', support the Victorians, and send a message to the rest of Australia about who rules," he said on Wednesday.

Sporting a Victorian strip and flanked by Collingwood pair Dale Thomas and Travis Cloke – members of the 40-man squad – the Premier appealed to all football fans to get behind the state side that will take on the Dream Team next Saturday night at the MCG.

"This is the biggest game of the decade, and I like to think of it as Victoria versus the rest of the world," Mr Brumby said.

"Here it was, 150 years ago, that the game originated here in Melbourne. It was developed here in Victoria and Victorians are going to be proudly wearing the 'Big V' on May 10."more

On Saturday May 3rd, Karlstad is set to host the largest gathering of Australian Football participants ever in Sweden. As many as 10 clubs from all over the country will descend on Värmland to compete in the inaugural Swedish Lightning Tournament, the "VB Cup".

The 2008 VB Cup will be a one-day 9-a-side tournament between club sides from across Sweden, with an outside chance the Oslo Trolls from Norway may make their long-awaited debut.

The tournament will also be an important step in getting the best local talent in the country together for the Swedish Elks' International Cup preparations, with numbers in Sweden now around 300 regular players - two-thirds of which are locals.



"It’s exciting to represent your country in a sport," says Gothenburg’s Joel Språng who has played Aussie Rules since 2002, "I never thought I’d get to do that." Språng is just one of over 300 Swedish players who currently play Australian Football in Swedenmore

The newly-reformed AFL Britain is soon to kick off the 2008 season, with draws for the London, Southern and Northern regions released and Scotland already playing.

The ARUK-run Southern league features the new Chippenham Redbacks side, although Thanet and Swindon are gone from last year. The Northern league has held steady with four clubs back in the race for the title. The Central league, this year to feature clubs including the existing Manchester Mozzies and Nottingham Scorpions alongside some new teams, will release its feature in the near future.

The pre-season ANZAC Cup will be held in London this Saturday, with the British Bulldogs to compete as part of their preparation for this year's International Cup. As the ANZAC Cup has no eligibility rules, the all-local Bulldogs will likely be up against some seasoned Australian opposition on the day.

The British Bulldogs showed some major improvement last year, giving the Irish a thumping in Dublin to claim bragging rights as the strongest national team in Europe. With a number of training camps already held, and a series of practice matches coming up, the Bulldogs may be a major threat to the top sides in Melbourne and Warrnambool come August.

In other exciting news from England, the under 16s league in London is looking likely to go ahead, featuring teams from schools running junior footy programs.

For more information on the upcoming season, visit the AFL Britain's new website at www.AFLGreatBritain.com.more

What happens when the President of the Carlton Football Club rubs shoulders with the President of Israel? A dark Navy Blue guernsey changes hands of course.
Richard's Pratt Foundation is a major donor to the Peres Peace Centre and the Peres Peace Team. The Carlton Football Club will also lend its support to the team - which comprises young Israelis and Palestinians, both Jewish, Moslem and Christians - when it competes for the AFL's International Cup in August.

The third AFL International Cup is to be staged in Melbourne and Warrnambool. The AFL-sanctioned event will feature prominently during the 150 year celebrations of Australian Football, with all participants citizens of their respective countries.more

JAPAN Samurais coach Richard Laidler has already produced some fine football talent in the form of son Jeremy, who was rookie-drafted to Geelong in 2007.

But unlike the young Laidler, who grew up knowing the wide, open spaces of the sunburnt country, members of the Samurais to contest the International Cup in August find it difficult finding something as basic as a grass field for training.

Once they are successful in reserving a ground, makeshift goal posts consisting of thick water pipes, painted white, are inserted into the ground.

The conditions are beyond the imagination of most Australians, for whom football is a natural part of life. But for the determined members of the Japanese Australian football side, they are minor hurdles to face.more

DIVORCED dads say a push to have footy legend Tony Liberatore's Brownlow Medal sold as part of a marriage split is a "kick in the guts".

And the former Bulldog rover believes he should not be forced to sell his 1990 Brownlow Medal as part of a marriage split because it was won a year before he wed.

"That Brownlow was won by me in 1990 - I was married in 1991," he told the Herald Sun.

The prestigious medal - and two other football best and fairest medals - are at the centre of a tug of war following the ugly breakdown between "Libba" and his wife of 17 years.

Liberatore, 42, is the only player to win the Brownlow Medal, Gardiner Medal (1986, 1988) and Morrish Medal (1984) as the league best-and-fairest in seniors, reserves and under-19s.more

Well it is now round 5 of the AFL Premiership season and my team the mighty Collingwood Magpies are struggling for a win.

There have been some magnificent games shown in Samoa through the Australia network but is disappointing that no other television providers are showing any replays or live games this year.
We are fortunate to get up to 5 games per week.
Perhaps they will become enlightened and be pro-active like our friend Ben at Polynesian Radio who has a weekly AFL update and lead in to the round which is both informative and relevant with a weekly update from Rohan Connelly from Australia and score and injury information for the fan or overseas guest.

Over the season so far it has been great to be contacted by visitors to Samoa keen to catch a game of Australian football while they are here on business or holidays.
With many expats living, working and volunteering in Samoa there is a regular group always keen to watch a match.more

THE AFL plans to have met with at least eight clubs by Friday, and to eventually consult with all 16, as it canvasses recruiting proposals for the new Gold Coast and Western Sydney franchises.

While the main objective is to ensure the new teams are competitive, the league says minimising the impact on existing clubs of setting up two new lists runs a close second.

"The clubs have to absolutely be involved in the process in formulating the final model," AFL game development manager Dave Matthews told afl.com.au.more

MOST people in Denmark have never heard of Australian football, but their national team, the Vikings, have a secret weapon that has helped them master the sport.

The Danes have perfected the precision handpass that is a feature of their indigenous game, European handball, translating their smooth skills into the free-flowing code from Down Under.
Author: Chelsea Roffeymore

THE Gold Coast was yesterday handed a football team but it must play in Brisbane or the AFL will face a $40 million legal battle with the Queensland Government.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou was informed yesterday that the Government would not budge on the 2015 clause, which means the Gold Coast Football Club will spend its first five years in the national competition playing its home games at the Gabba.

The league's only hope of securing a release would be to fork out $40 million to clear existing Gabba debts and contracts.

If it were to do that, it would then face an outlay of a further $100 to $150 million to re-develop Carrara Stadium or build a new venue, leaving it up to $200 million out of pocket before the side was even established.more

ADELAIDE tyro Patrick Dangerfield is presenting a near irresistible case for an AFL debut, despite living in Victoria while he completes Year 12.
Dangerfield, 18, was named as an emergency for the Crows for their clash with Fremantle in Adelaide last Saturday. Not required, he was released to play for the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup on Sunday.

Dangerfield, despite having a severely interrupted preparation, starred for the Falcons. He warmed up with 14 possessions as an onballer in the opening term against Calder. He then went to full-forward, booting 8.4 in the Falcons' 64-point win.

Not a bad return considering the speedy teenager had spent Friday and Saturday in Adelaide, fulfilling his duties as an Adelaide emergencymore

TRADING mayhem will engulf the AFL in 2010 after proposed recruiting strategies for the Gold Coast and West Sydney franchises were revealed yesterday.
A 12-page AFL document, titled How Will The List Be Assembled for the Gold Coast and West Sydney Teams, outlines recruiting and drafting concessions for the next three years, starting with this year's national draft.

The cornerstone of the document is the unprecedented access to selections in the 2010 national draft.

The Gold Coast team would be given up to eight of the first 24 selections and the first two selections in the pre-season draft.

They would also have priority access to five Queensland and Northern Territory playersmore

worldfootynews.com recently ran a story on some of the problems, particularly financial, facing countries attending the 2008 Australian Football International Cup later this year. The AFL’s General Manager, National and International Development, David Matthews (pictured at the 2005 IC), contacted us to explain the AFL’s position on some of the issues and to highlight their recent investment in international footymore

As many countries have experianced in the last week Samoa also faced the situation of having both local and NZ news services cover the Barry Hall ,Brent Staker striking incident .
As the National Development person here it was difficult to try and discourage local opinions that the game is 'very tough' compared with Rugby. Instead of there being a great mark or goal shown we have to face this situation of only making worthy news when incidents like this take place.
Lets hope the afl sends 3 or four highlights of each round to every news and sports service around the globe so that they might just see some of the great parts of our game more regularly..more

The world’s smallest island nation, Nauru will field a full team at this year’s International Cup. Australian football is the most popular sport on the South Pacific island, and Nauruans are renowned for their passion for the game. Like many Aboriginal communities in Australia, it is not uncommon for children in Nauru to be named after well-known footballers. According to Mathew Batsiua, the country’s Minister for Sport and one of the people behind the effort to get Nauru to the International Cup, “There’s at least one Jesaulenko bearing that Christian name here and you’ll even find a local Akermanis in our community”. The Chiefs' were one of eleven sides at the inaugural International Cup in 2002, finishing eighth. They were a late withdrawal from the 2005 tournament, and doubt had been cast over their involvement this year.

Batsiua revealed that as of May, players will spend time in Melbourne with VCFL clubs “to help them achieve top match fitness ahead of the August event”. Our Airline, the new trading name from Air Nauru, has agreed to provide air travel for 22 players and three officials, and the AFL has allowed Nauru's team kit to feature Our Airline’s logo. In further positive news for Nauruan football, the AFL is apparently considering conducting coaching and umpiring clinics, and reestablishing a revamped national football competition on the island.more

Each coaching situation is different in regard to the development level and aspirations of the players, the skill of the coach, the team rules, style of play, etc. Therefore, no one set of drills or activities will suit all situations. Coaches have to make judgements as to the most appropriate drills and practice activities for their specific environment. Experienced coaches will make their own observations of the game and their coaching situations and develop their own drills and practices best suited to developing their players and teams.

Chech out this book if you want to improve your coachingmore

Whilst the sun is shining very fiercely on international Australian Football development in South Africa and to a lesser extent PNG as the future for finding international rookies, the New Zealand AFL seem to be ticking a lot of boxes in international footy development.more

Umpires at the elite level are very busy people. Most have full-time jobs or study full-time outside of their football lives.

So what exactly does a typical week entail for those at the top? AFL field umpire Brett Rosebury talks us through his week in the lead up to round four.
Author: Brett Rosebury 11:33 AM Tue 15 April, 2008more

Former County Kerry star and Sydney Swans premiership player Tadhg Kennelly has been named in the Dream Team in the one-off All-Star match against Victoria at the MCG in Melbourne on May 10 as part of the game's 150th celebrations.
Kennelly was the only non-Australian player to be named, and joins players from the Australian states and territories which make up the Dream Team:

See full squads press 'more' below.

Tuesday, April 15 2008 @ 01:32 PM EST Contributed by: Seanmore

THE AFL yesterday endorsed Sydney star Barry Hall's seven-match ban and dismissed calls for a send-off rule.
But while AFL rules committee member Kevin Bartlett and West Australian legend Ron Alexander have demanded the AFL introduce a rule that sees players red-carded, Demetriou disagrees.


Jon Ralph
April 17, 2008 12:00ammore

THE AFL appears certain to snub Tasmania from its major expansion by reiterating its priorities lie in the north, despite the island state's call for its licence submission to be judged on its merits.

Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon formally launched his state's bid for its own side today, meeting with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and asking to be granted either the 17th or 18th team licence within the next four years.more

Rnd 5: St.Kilda v Essendon-Friday 18 Apr at 02:00am(late thurs night)
Rnd 5: Geelong v Sydney-Friday 18 Apr at 17:30
Rnd 5: Collingwood v Kangaroos-Saturday 19 Apr at 01:30am (fri night)
Rnd 5: Melbourne v Carlton-Saturday 19 Apr at 16:30more

http://www.polycafe.com/bigmango/viewtopic.php?t=1806more

Savai'i is one of Polynesia's biggest islands and remains virtually untouched. It is wild and beautiful. A good way to explore it is by car.
Rainforest covers the rugged volcanic peaks, vast valleys lead to coastlines ringed with white sandy beaches, cascading waterfalls drop into rivers and there is glorious tropical vegetation.
.more

TWO of Essendon’s international exchange players have taken the skills acquired during their 2007 pre-season in Melbourne to the schools and universities of Japan.

Several super clinics and training camps were held in the heart of Tokyo throughout February as Hiroaki Seino and Michito Sakaki shared the knowledge they gained from two months with the Bombers.more

If you get the chance to watch a young man called Tom Scully play football please do, as i think he will go top 5 in the draft in the future..Hot bloody tip is to put some cash on the boy and hope he goes to your club...'eastside'more

AN IMPRESSIVE 35-point win over West Perth at Subiaco Oval on Saturday completed a successful, challenging and rewarding tour of South Africa and Western Australia by the AIS-AFL Academy squad’s 11th intake.

Author: AFL talent manager Kevin 'Shifter' Sheehan
5:38 PM Tue 08 April, 2008more

Author: Chelsea Roffey
2:11 PM Wed 09 April, 2008
ALL THE kids at school had posters of Wayne Gretzky on the walls of their bedrooms.

The red and white team they loved was Canada’s world-beating ice-hockey side.

But Scott Fleming grew up idolising the mercurial footballing talents of Michael O’Loughlin, wanting to be ‘big and bad’ like Barry Hall, and cheering for the Sydney Swans.

For a Canadian, living in Vancouver, being a fan of Australian football is a difficult existence.

But 18-year-old Fleming is unafraid of a challenge.

A scholarship offered by the Broadbeach Football Club and AFL Canada has brought Fleming to Australia for 12 months where he can live and breathe the game he came to love from the other side of the globe.

A talented junior soccer player, Fleming transferred to Australian football after 12 years of the round ball. He discovered footy through a school friend’s father, who started up a junior competition in Canada.more

The amateur status of the game internationally obviously leads to the uncertainty so close to the event. Leagues are asking themselves if they have the playing numbers, the money, the time, and whether it is the best use of resources. Many nations hang in there with hope, rather than make an early definitive call. Germany is the classic example of a nation that could reasonably have aimed to be there but made the early decision to continue to focus domestically.

By Brett -world footy newsmore

There is no longer any doubt that 18 year old Fijian sensation Nicholas Naitanui, unlucky to miss last years AFL draft by just two days, will make the grade to be selected into the AFL. The only question remaining is just how high will he be taken.
The talented and agile 198cm dreadlocked junior is blazing a trail for Swan Districts in the semi-professional WAFL competition against seasoned players.more

Thursday, April 10 2008 @ 04:27 PM EST
Contributed by: Sean
Ian "Dicko" Dickson is known to most Australians as a judge from "Australian Idol", with his background in recording industry. He has also made several appearances on reality television shows including "My Restaurant Rules" and "Celebrity Survivor" as the host.
Dickson, from Birmingham in England, spent much of his 45 years watching soccer and playing it socially. Now, believe or not, he's set to play Australian Football in Victoria.more

Amelia Harris | April 05, 2008 12:00am
RUSSELLS Creek has a big new recruit - and he's 38.
Bobby Cunningham, from Brooklyn, New York, is on the verge of making his debut for the Kangaroos in the Warrnambool and District Football League.

The 193cm, 108kg American came to Australia in 1997 to play basketball for the Warrnambool Seahawks.

Cunningham first experienced AFL that year when he saw North Melbourne train.

"They were only training, but it was like wow," he said. "I was like, this is something I can get into."more

In the past year or so the Tongan Australian Football Association's Michael Russell has been steadily taking over the reigns for footy in Tonga from TAFA's founder, Mark Korsten. TAFA had Russell in Tonga as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD), and although a new AYAD, Dylan Harper, has recently arrived to continue the work, Russell has remained involved and is overseeing the small nation's push to attend their first Australian Football International Cup. But the Pacific country still needs some extra support to get them over the line.more

As the AFL celebrates 150 years since some of the first games of what was to become Australian football, it is time to ask where to now? I am not going to answer that question because I don’t know the answer. Actually, I don’t know the question. When we look to the future of Australian football, whose interests are we talking about, whose future are we talking about?

Friday, April 04 2008 @ 04:31 AM EST
Contributed by: Chris Adamsmore

At 178 centimetres, it's unlikely Jarred Moore will ever get the nod to play the lanky man's role in the ruck. But should Swans coach Paul Roos ever need a player to throw anywhere on the park, Moore will raise his hand for the job.

For the time being, Moore won't have to worry about finding an extra 30cm. Roos is happy with where he has the 22-year-old playing, in the forward line, filling the small-forward role Adam Schneider did before he was traded to St Kilda last yearmore

Martin Flanagan | March 8, 2008
I GOT a taxi from Bondi to Blacktown. I'd left a pleasant lawn above the pounding waves of Bondi Beach where I'd been talking to the Swans' Lewis Roberts-Thomson and gone to see the street in Sydney's outer west where the AFL says footy will live one day.

Blacktown is not old Australia. It's new Australia, possibly the next Australia. It's the melting pot, early in the melting process. The Greek taxi driver surprised me.

He liked footy, preferred it to soccer, knew of Daicos and Koutoufides.

He thought the game could take off in Sydney's outer west. "There's lots of kids out here," he said.more

John James made his senior debut for the Zillmere Eagles in the AFL Queensland last weekend, after recently completing a great tournament in the AFL Queensland U18 State Championships. Not only did his team have a win, but he kicked 2 goals and was named in the best players. Not bad for a 17 year old from Papua New Guinea.

James is touted as being the number one draft pick for 2008/9 and will really get pacific and oceania kids interested in making AFL a career or educational pathway..

still cant believe he isnt playing for a vfl club in melbourne or playing TAC cup..
some good debate is raging as to whether he will play for PNG at the International cup and why no AFL club has listed him on the o/seas rookie list to secure him and then promote him off the rookie list..mmm he would look great in a collingwood jumper..more

NZAFL seem to be ticking a lot of boxes in international footy development whilst the sun is shining very fiercely on South Africa and to a lesser extent PNG and the USA as the future for finding international rookies.

With AFL Clubs each allowed to stockpile up to 24 international rookies over a 3 year period to monitor and support as prospective players, and with Ireland unable to have their players named on this list, the players must be sourced from other markets. With the League stretching to 18 Clubs within a four year period we are looking at the possibility of 432 players being on a list who have been developed offshore. As Paul Kelly, the musician, said “From Little Things Big Things Grow”
Wednesday, April 02 2008 @ 09:34 AM EST
Contributed by: Rodmore

We reported in What support for IC teams? that as per previous tournaments, airfares would be the single biggest issue for the competing nations at the International Cup, which face total event costs of more than AUD$100,000 for each country. The AFL has sourced an arrangement with Qantas and provided contacts for fifteen nations, with Nauru, Samoa and Tonga unfortunately not covered as the airline doesn't fly to those islands. We've now spoken with several countries about whether the offer has made a substantial difference to their costs, and sadly the answer so far is no, though Tonga is hopeful of making their own deal.

Thursday, April 03 2008 @ 06:48 AM EST
Contributed by: Brettmore

WATCHING Nick Malceski at Swans training yesterday, you wouldn't believe he had had a knee reconstruction just 41 days ago. Even Sydney coach Paul Roos said he was "staggered".

The defender left onlookers amazed last night at the SCG as he ramped up his training in a bid to return to football next month after revolutionary surgery.

Nikki Tugwell | April 04, 2008 12:00ammore

THIS is the cutting-edge data the Kangaroos hope will bring Hawthorn hot shot Lance Franklin to his knees tomorrow.
The Roos will enter tomorrow's finals rematch armed with detailed "heat maps" that show "Buddy" Franklin's precise leading patterns.

Unveiled publicly for the first time today, they reveal the Hawks star is one of the most predictable forwards in the game when leading for the ball.

The data, which is taken from Franklin's possessions from kicks into the forward 50 last year, shows he is a one-trick pony when the ball is in the air.

Without fail Franklin leads diagonally and almost exclusively deep to the right pocket, where he takes the ball 40m out from goal.more

The Wellington Hurricanes, one of rugby unionmore

Friday, March 21 2008 @ 06:45 PM EST
Contributed by: Rod

In exciting news for Australian Football across Oceania, the AFL has head-hunted AFLPNG CEO Andrew “Cadz” Cadzow for the role of International Football Development Manager for the Oceania Region. Cadzow has been the Regional Development Officer for Northern Queensland after helping to establish the region 11 years ago. According to the AFL Queensland website “He will leave behind a legacy of quality programs and practices that have served the Brisbane North region incredibly well over the years, resulting in significant participation growth.”

Andrew has been intricately involved with PNG footy for a long time, coaching the team at the 2002 International Cup, was closely involved again in 2005, and is the current CEO of AFLPNG. It is hoped that within his new role he will still be able to support PNG footy as the very recent departure of Peter Cates, AFLPNGâ€^TMs Operations Manager, as a result of ill-health would leave a devastating organisational void.

Read more about Cadzow in Cadzow made a difference.
GO TO WORLD FOOTY NEWSmore

worldfootynews.com can now reveal further details of the AFL's new Regional Development Manager position for Oceania. For many years there has been a growing push from international Leagues to get more support from the AFL, not just based on wishful thinking or big plans, but backed by promising results on the ground. There has been steady progress in convincing key AFL stakeholders, and this has no doubt been as much an issue within the AFL hierarchy itself as it has between the Leagues and the AFL. Although there have been setbacks along the way, and will no doubt continue to be, the direction is clearly positive. As we've reported previously, progress has accelerated since 2005 and the appointment of a full time staffer as Oceania representative could be a step towards having more regional managers across the world - we certainly hope so. More details follow- CLICK MORE FOR REST OF THE STORYmore

The Australian Football League's Commission has signed off on a major change to AFL club recruitment rules which could be the catalyst to sparking a wave of international recruitment in what may be a watershed moment for the spread of our sport. It also indicates that the AFL is genuinely considering international talent as a means of expanding the player base as new teams enter from the Gold Coast and West Sydney.more

An article published on the AFL website yesterday suggests that when Essendon drafted practising Muslim Bachar Houli last year, they may have a secured more than an up-and-coming midfielder. Houli's ability to make the grade in Australian football's premier league has resulted in an upsurge in “interest in Australian Rules (and the Essendon football club) among Muslims in Victoria" according to Islamic Council of Victoria spokesperson, Waleed Aly. Houli is seen as a role model for young Muslims, having provided them with "the opportunity to see themselves succeeding". This is coupled with interest from an increasing number of Muslims that are born in Australia, who regard football as "their local game".
GO TO WORLD FOOTY NEWS FOR MORE STORIES ON THIS SUBJECTmore

MARCH 17-23 is Cultural Diversity Week, celebrating cultural, linguistic and religious diversity and community harmony.

When nine AFL players with Indigenous or international backgrounds took part in a photo shoot to mark the occasion, afl.com.au caught up with several of them to discuss how football has reflected cultural diversity in their lives.

Author: Chelsea Roffey
1:57 PM Fri 21 March, 2008more

THE AFL has announced a team from India as the latest entrant for in the Australian Football International Cup which is being held in Warrnambool and Melbourne in August, 2008 as part of the 150th year celebrations.

The Indian side joins the likes of USA, South Africa, Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, PNG, New Zealand, Japan, China, Ireland, Spain, Nauru, Samoa, Finland, and the Peace Team from Israel and Palestine.

It will be the first time that India has taken part in the International Cup.

AFL talent and international manager Kevin Sheehan said their inclusion was further testimony to the game's growth.

"Our game of Australian Football is spreading to other countries and the fact that India is taking part this year is a further endorsement of the growing popularity of the game," Sheehan said.more

WHEN Prime Minister Alfred Deakin referred to the "Australasian game of football" in a 1908 speech at the Melbourne Carnival, he could not have imagined that an event involving six Australian states and New Zealand would grow into a global game encompassing leagues in more than 20 countries.

Australian Football had crossed the Tasman but nearly 100 years would pass before its popularity would lead to the establishment of 13 governing bodies throughout Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania.more

take a look at all these great sports quotes, im sure you will find a few you have never heard.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures. ~Earl Warrenmore

This week `kicking goals' takes a look at the myths and urban legends we all know and foster and anticipate the growth of this phenomenon as Samoans now have more sporting choices and opportunities than ever before.

Kicking Goals. Sunday -Newsline sports
BY Michael Robertsmore

As we've mentioned previously, the Australian Football League is developing its news page for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. They've now registered a new domain that will redirect to that page. Hopefully users will find it a convenient shortcut. The page also has photos and video from the 2005 event, and we're told that "the site will be updated with lots of stories about the history of the Cup as well as up-to-date news on all the competing countries".
Let's hope that as the Cup draws nearer (just six months to go) the AFL can find space for the Cup logo on the front page, directing general readers to the tournament.

(ic08.com.au)- afl.com.aumore

Obviously the costs for teams will once again be large, getting 30 to 40 players and officials to Australia. In 2002 and 2005, total costs of around AUD$100,000 per country were typical. It is usual at amateur carnivals for the players to mostly fund themselves, through fundraisers back home and out of their own pocket. But with the AFL hosting the tournament, we have the unusual situation of a professional body and amateur participants. This leads to an expectation in some quarters that the AFL should finance the majority of the event. Whilst the AFL is taking on all running costs, the players and leagues are expected to fund most of their own travel and "on the ground costs". However it can be argued that the AFL should seek to offset as many costs as possible, particularly given it will want the event to be the best possible showcase for international footy.more

The board of the Barassi International Youth Tournament, with the endorsement of the AFL has announced its intention to postpone the 2008 BYT which was to be played in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory this October.In the meantime, it seems that the BIAYT seeks to remain the primary youth tournament and is slated to go ahead in October 2009, however the board is initiating discussions with stakeholders concerning the future of the tournament.more

Sheedy, who first enticed an American footballer, Dwayne Armstrong

, to the AFL in the 1990s, said the International Cup to be played in Victoria in August would continue to grow.
TWO of football's greatest visionaries, Kevin Sheedy and Ron Barassi, have urged the AFL to expand the game internationally as a matter of priority.
Barassi said it would be "gutless and small-minded" of the league not to spread its wings further.

Sheedy, an AFL ambassador for its 150 years celebration, speculated whether the league, at the end of the current media deal, sell off the Round 1 matches around the globe.


"And to think the No. 1 draft choice this year, either No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3, could be a six-foot-six (198cm) boy from Fiji. Now that's exciting."more

It has always been doubtful that all of the 18 countries previously listed by the AFL as possible attendees would ultimately make it to Australia. The AFL staff have confirmed that 14 countries have returned official team entry forms, with Spain, India, Nauru and Tonga yet to do so and thus in serious doubt.more

Wednesday, February 13 2008 @ 08:02 AM EST
Contributed by: Brett--http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20080208130207621-
Views: 165
The recent stream of international Australian Football news stories in the Australian and international media continued over the last week. We've pointed you at a lot of them and here is a small sample of some more, ranging from footy in Dubai to South Africa, from China to Ireland, New Zealand and even Australiamore

The ambitious plan to bring a combined Israeli-Palestinian team to the 2008 Australian Football International Cup in Victoria appears to be well under way. The concept is based on a similar team that has toured the world playing soccer, but has the added complexity that for the players, Aussie Rules is a completely foreign game.

Athletes with strong soccer and basketball backgrounds have been targeted, and 75 are now in training, from which 35 to 40 will be selected to represent Israel-Palestine. The side will compete in the second division of the Cup. Beyond the challenges of a foreign game, historical conflict and the need to have the rules translated into Hebrew and Arabic, the players have also faced a lockdown on the West Bank when US President George Bush visited the area, and a massive snowstorm that prevented training in Jerusalem.

You can read more about the newest team to hit world footy in Making the impossible possible, by Chelsea Roffey, on the AFL website. In good news for footy, Roffey, from Media Giants, will be working with the AFL to expand coverage of international Australian Football leading up to, and through, the International Cup. As per 2005, worldfootynews.com will also be providing material to the AFL, and plans are under way between the three groups to pool resources to make the third Cup the best covered yet.more

CANADA VS SAMOA 2005 INTERNATIONAL CUP GAME - IVE SEEN THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF GAMES AND THIS IS STILL A HIGHLIGHT GAME FOR ME.

Samoa vs Canada video of best int game ever
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/samoa-vs-canada-part-2-2005-australian-football-intl-cup/1114163931more

Top article about female and equal participation in sports programs and the high level of emphasis being put into young woman playing australian football in the pacific.


Women's footy in Samoa and Tonga

Monday, January 21 2008 @ 03:13 PM EST
Contributed by: Ash
Views: 425more

http://www.worldfootynews.com/search.php?mode=search&type=stories&topic=IC2008more

One of the most comprehensive articles on all things regarding australian football around the world in 2007.

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

Just as the last AFL season was another great success, around the world there was outstanding progress in many of the amateur Australian Football leagues, ranging from the well known South African venture and Kevin Sheedy's trip to North America, through to promising junior developments in Samoa,China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, the UK and many other countriesmore

iNTERVIEW ON iNTERNATIONAL dEVELOPMENT IN sAMOA AND iNTERNATIONAL cUP

At the end of the day the AFL own this event and the concept,if they want to look good they will do it right , i agree with Brett that more games should be played at night so that people will come and watch", "many nations would play the games live on tv if the feed was made available".
Things that make events like this professional and elite are the things that only the 'powers that be' can produce.
i have faith that the AFL will treat these teams like competing International countries and run an event that shows that" Samoan Nation Game Development Manager Michael Roberts explained to NZ Radio.more

In An article from world footy news the question is asked if the fields will be of adequate standards for 100% spectator and player experiance. Some people wish to call the Cup a quasi (world cup) but the reality is that is is the world cup for australian football.

This article delves into these areas and about what to expect at the cup.
Article World footy news ...
Royal Park North.

Tuesday, January 29 2008 @ 08:21 AM EST
Contributed by: Brett
Views: 288more

You tube promo video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E&eurl=http://www.aussierulesinternational.com/profiles/aaron_edwards/gallerymore

The AFL announced that Warrnambool will join Melbourne as the host of the 2008 International Cup. The announcement was made by Kevin Sheedy (Ambassador for the sport's 150 year celebrations and ex-Essendon coach) and David Matthews (AFL Game Development) at Reid Oval, one of three venues that will be used for Warrnambool's matches (Walter and Mack ovals are the others). The decision to play some matches at a regional location is no doubt the result of a very successful trial at the 2005 tournament, where fellow Victorian country-town Wangaratta hosted one round of matches. Warrnambool is on the southwestern coast of Victoria (three hours from Melbourne) and has a population of a little over 30,000.more

NAB Cup - Adelaide versus Collingwood in Dubai
When:Saturday, 09/02/08
Where: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Description: Opening match of the 2008 AFL NAB Cupmore

The AFL's coordinator of the 2008 Australian Football International Cup has confirmed the dates for the third instalment of world footy's biggest tournament. Roger Berryman told WFN that the dates previously listed as possible have now been settled, with some minor changes. It looks like at least one match (prior to the Grand Final) may be a curtain raiser to an AFL match, but whether the Grand Final will be is subject to the AFL Finals schedule - not known until after Round 22 of the AFL season. Berryman also gave some further insight into the possible attendees and arrangements between those countries and AFL and VAFA clubs (more on that later).

The confirmed dates are:
2008 Australian Football International Cup
Wednesday 27 August Round 1 Melbourne
Friday 29 August Round 2 Melbourne
Friday 29 August Official function, Melbourne
Saturday 30 August Round 2 continued - 1 match as curtain raiser Sat 30 Aug MCG (to be confirmed)
Sunday 31 August Travel to regional Victoria
Monday 1 September Round 3 regional Victoria
Wednesday 3 September Round 4 regional Victoria
Thursday 4 September Travel back to Melbourne
Friday 5 September Finals (*)

Update 18/11/2007: To avoid any confusion on how local ethnic-based sides are proposed to feature in the 2008 International Cup, we note that several days ago event organiser Roger Berryman told WFN that the "Organising Committee is supportive of including such teams separately to the 2 division comp to differentiate between international and multicultural, for example they may only play 2-3 games".more

Ari website with pacific storieshttp://www.aussierulesinternational.com/profiles/aaron_edwards/gallerymore

TEACHING a group of athletes to play Australian Rules football in nine months is an immense task. Yet when that team is made up of Israelis and Palestinians, coming together to demonstrate the power of peace, the seemingly impossible cannot be discounted.

Over dinner in the Deloitte boardroom tonight, business leaders, AFL representatives and board members from several clubs will pledge funds to add an 18th entrant to the field for the International Cup next August, under the banner of the Peres Peace Team.


"The AFL has a proud track record in using our game to build communities in indigenous and multicultural communities here and increasingly overseas," chief executive Andrew Demetriou said. "The initial approach (regarding the International Cup) was a surprise, but we think it is a great initiative and a great way to send a strong message about the power of sport to unite communitieS.

The quasi World Cup of Australian Rules, to be contested in Melbourne and Warrnambool, is a key element of the league's 150th anniversary of football celebrations. The AFL's commitment to developing the game overseas increases annually, but even the boldest plans did not include something like this.s."more

HOPEFULLY WE CAN BRING OUR AFL SAMOA WEB VIEWERS SOME MORE STORIES OF WAYS IN WHICH SPORT (SPECIFICALLY AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL)CAN HELP SOLVE CONFLICT, WAR, FAMINE, AND TO BUILD FRIENSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH A SINGLE COMMON SPORT.more

Sunday, November 25 2007 @ 11:50 PM EST
Contributed by: Brett
Views: 339

World footy news reported in VAFA clubs invited to host International Cup teams that the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) had apparently been approached to enter into a hosting arrangement with international teams attending the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. We've followed this up with the AFL and the VAFA to find out more details.
Firstly we were curious as to whether the VAFA approached the AFL, or vice versa. Certainly the AFL received feedback from WFN and others after the 2005 International Cup that involvement with local grass roots clubs would be a good way to expand the audience at matches and would potentially be better appreciated by fans and players accustomed to a similar standard.more

The third Australian Football International Cup is scheduled for Melbourne in 2008, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of what is widely recognised as the first game of Australian Football (though the roots of this and all codes of football go back much further). Anywhere between 8 and 20 countries may attend, with around 12 to 14 most likely.
This page will be regularly updated and stories will be addedmore

In some exciting news for raising the profile of International Footy at a 'grass roots' level in Melbourne, the AFL has invited VAFA clubs to 'host' International Cup teams during the period of the 2008 International Cup. The VAFA has forwarded to club secretaries an invitation to become involved. The 'hosting' is envisaged to include sharing ideas, perhaps running a training session and a social function.more

With the IC 2008 now less than a year away, 18 international teams are in active discussion with the AFL about taking part, with a further 3 Melbourne-based migrant community teams under consideration.

Thursday, November 29 2007 @ 05:57 PM EST
Contributed by: Aaron
Views: 558

One of the big changes in the IC 2008 will be the division of the competition into "Premier" and "Developmental" divisions, pitting the more established sides against each other, while giving the newer teams on the block a fairer playing field.

While nothing is yet finalised, discussion between the AFL and international leagues is slowly creating a likely picture of who'll end up in which division.more

. Melbourne newspaper, the Herald Sun featured Rudra Pratap Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni on its back page on Saturday, both marking footballs. This followed a picture of Melbourne football club captain David Neitz with Sachin Tendulkar, who is wearing a Melbourne jumper, the day before.more

8:06 AM Fri 1 June, 2007 | BACK
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

Sixty newly arrived youth from countries as diverse as Burma, Vietnam, India, Albania, West Papua, Somalia and Sudan to name a few, have taken part in a 5 lesson introductory AFL program as part of their English classes. All students are currently studying either Certificate I -III in English or the VCAL (ESL) program at VU's Nicholson Street TAFE campus.
"This is a tremendous result for everyone involved" said AFL Multicultural Program Coordinator Nick Hatzoglou.more

Some of the lads with pacific/polynesian backgrounds playing pro-ball in Australian Footy
- keep your eyes out for many more to come.
You would be amazed to see how many players are born and from other countries and nationalities check it out on this sight of search wikipedia,google etcmore

Two PNG juniors recently attended Australia's Elite AIS/AFL academy camp. The players Stanis Susuve and John James have played the past year in the Queensland local competitions and were the only international players selected for attendance. As many of our readers would know, AFLPNG has a programme that sees their elite athletes competing at state level in Queensland providing a talented player pathway which is clear and logical.

Selection for this academy is from the AFL National Under 16 Championships with the best 30 players under the age of 16 selected Australian-wide. There is a fair chance that the majority of these players will be drafted in the next two years.more

Monday, December 24 2007 @ 02:53 PM EST
Contributed by: Sean

An article appeared in the Herald Sun called "Sheedy California Dreamin", in which the AFL legend was quizzed on his thoughts about several topics.
Among the comments, the new AFL ambassador expressed his desire to see the game promoted more in the USA, even talking up planning construction of an Aussie Rules stadium in Los Angeles similar to the recently completed stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Sheedy's comments follow his recent promotional tour to the States where he saw the growth of the game there first hand.more

Monday, December 24 2007 @ 05:28 PM EST
Contributed by: Brett
There's no question that South Africa is the AFL's number one priority in terms of international development of Australian Football. The past couple of years have seen a significant roll out of support programs, some direct funding, and assistance in gaining major sponsorship from corporations such as Tattersal's and Costa Logistics.
Although there are many other programs being developed around the world, both with and without AFL support, the short term successful rise of Aussie Rules internationally would seem to be most closely tied to the South Africa experiment. So it is with great interest to see recent political changes in that country, and the predictions of possible future effects which analysts are now in demand to explain.more

20 January 2008 Sunday Herald Sun
Jackie Epstein
Four clubs are hold training camps in South Africa this off-season, and all are actively scouting for young talent that can be listed through the league's new international scholarship program.
Players from 15 to 23 years can be put on to the scholarship list for as little as $20,000 a year, which will be used for schooling in Australia.more

Being a close neighbour to Australia and with much Australian trade, media and influence flowing constantly ,it should not be too long before the AFL appoints a permenant and full time Football manager to control and co-ordinate the code of AFL in the pacific.
If the Solomans,fiji,Norfolk Island and Nauru can re-start their associations their is a much greater chance that the AFL will financially support a full time regional Manager to the pacific zone and that more development officers, equipment, support and funding will be available to this region with Tonga , Samoa and PNG programs becoming stronger in each country.

If all seven countries mentioned above work closely on what works in pacific communities then there is no doubt that we will see Australian football played on the world stage as a Sth pacific Games included sport in the years to come.
Donations from the AFL and clubs such as sets of Jumpers, used boots and footballs are great and invaluable for small international associations.
The recent game of solomons vs defence force gained the solomons around $3000 worth of equipment (jumpers) for a one off event that we hope continues on ,but considering an AFL affiliate country recieves an annual grant of around $5000 to run full time programs in primary , secondary and village/community ,plus primary ,high school and mens tournaments , community events, rurual and regional areas, game promotional events,marketing/advertising, transport , administration and development officer training and wages.
Outsiders may see for the first time how difficult it is to keep our sport growing in environments where the code is not the Number 1 sport (has potential to be close) and is up against funding and scholorship opportunities from Gridiron, basketball, soccer, league and union (most of which are less popular than australian football but are funded more and offer greater travel, education and employment prospects)
The game sells itself but the code is not as advanced in growing the game overseas as other sports are and therefore niether invests millions overseas, forces clubs to invest overseas or looks for investment dollars available in europe and the states for International cup sponsorship on a grander scale (eg IRB /FIFA), television rights/access or branding potential.

rest of above article by Michael Roberts
plus - "solomon Islands Thriller " article by afl.commore

A great article on the pitfalls of being a footballer, the way the community accepts them and the pressures of the the communities expectations on acceptable behavior and social advantages.
A sad indictment on professional sport but more so on the community as a whole. great article By Garry Linnell- herald sun melbournemore

In several countries Australian Football has moved beyond what could be considered the first and second phases of game development - expatriate Australians playing the sport and local adults then learning the game. With junior development beyond small groups now taking place in countries such as PNG, New Zealand, South Africa, Samoa, Tonga, China, the UK and Canada, budding young talent needs to be exposed to the highest levels of competition and training if they are to reach their full potential and attract the eye of AFL scouts. For the past couple of years there have been signs of some positive moves in this area but there hasn't been a breakthrough yet. We look at what's on the cards but by no means confirmed.more

Sheedy is on an American tour in his new role as an AFL ambassador and was in Louisville for the weekend's football carnival to celebrate 10 years of Aussie rules in the country.

He was accompanied by former Carlton player Stephen Silvagni.more

MELBOURNE will hand-pick two teenagers for training scholarships during its 10-day trip to China."There are strapping big boys among them and they are very athletic," . "They relish the physical activity. If you've got good hand-eye co-ordination and a good capacity to learn, there is no game you can't learn."

Harris has not ruled out recruiting international rookies from China in the future.

IN WHAT COULD CAUSE A BUTTERFLY EFFECT FOR ALL FUTURE INTERNATIONAL LEAGUES AND FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE WORLD THE MELBOURNE DEMONS LOOK TO ADD SEVERAL YOUNG CHINESE PLAYERS TO THEIR INTERNATIONAL ROOKIE LIST. THIS COULD HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON AFL SAMOA AND ITS PROGRAMS WITH THE LIKELYHOOD THAT SOME AFL CLUBS WILL SOON LOOK TOWARD SAMOA FOR ADDITIONAL TALENT TO THEIR RANKS.
"SAMOA IS A CLOSE NEIGHBOUR TO AUSTRALIA, A DEVELOPING NATION WITH AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF YOUNG ATHLETIC TALENT, THESE KIDS ARE BUILT WELL AND THEY PLAY SPORT ALL DAY EVERY DAY, THE COST FOR A CLUB TO INVEST IN SAMOA WOULD BE MUCH MORE REALISTIC THAN MANY OF THE OTHER COUNTRIES BEING LOOKED AT BY CLUBS, IDENTIFYING THE TALENT IS NOT A PROBLEM AS I HAVE WORKED IN THAT AREA FOR MANY YEARS,I WOULD WELCOME THE VISIT FROM CLUB RECRUITERS AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO RUN THE NECESSARY TESTING TO I.D THE FUTURE STARS OR TO FORM A YOUTH ACADEMY"
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER MICHAEL ROBERTS STATEDmore

EUMEMMERRING Secondary College is set to further embrace multiculturalism after striking a relationship with AFL Samoa.

The budding partnership is only in its early days, but the college has already set its sights on a 15-year-old Samoan joining it from next year.more

Today's Australian Football (Aussie Rules) Grand Final between the Geelong Cats and the Port Adelaide power is set to be a war of states.

Over 100 thousand passionate spectators are expected to be at the famous MCG (Melbourne cricket ground) to watch the spectacle as well as millions and millions of people watching around Australia and the world.

Samoa is no different with many expected to tune in Via the Australia Network, Radio Australia (102 FM) or attend the free Annual AFL Grand final function at Hennies Bar, the home base of the code in Samoa.

Nation Development Manager Michael Roberts believes "this years function will be even bigger than last years" and expects a great game between the two competing teams.

"Geelong has taken on all comers this year stringing 18 wins in a row , with 9 of its players making the all- Australian team as well as young on -baller James Bartels taking out the coveted and prestigious Brownlow medal, the highest individual honor the game bestows upon a player each season" Roberts said

The Brownlow medal is awarded by the AFL and in every game the umpires award a set of one, two and three votes to the best players on the field.

"very few sport still respect and honor the opinion of the referee but lets be honest the media, clubs, players and the association all have their own agendas and opinions from the outside but the umpires are the closest to the action and the most unbiased. I think it's the fairest way to elect a MVP in world sport, it's known as the Best and fairest medal and reported players are ineligible".more

AFL Samoa intends using Edwards as their inspiration for young Samoan boys taking to our sport and such heroics from the player can only help that cause. There aren't too many men of his size, carrying that much muscle bulk, who can leap high above a pack - maybe one day AFL scouts will turn their eyes to the South Pacific island to see if there's any more such talent.
WORLD FOOTY NEWS.more

WORLD FOOTY NEWS ARTICLE.
It may currently surprise some in the international footy scene that an internationally developed Australian Football player is participating in the Rugby World Cup in France right now! And he credits Aussie Rules for helping develop the skills that got him there. Also helping the Kiwis with their line-outs (throw ins from the sideline where players boost each other into the air to try to gain possession) is a former VFL/AFL ruckman who experienced both codes, and Rugby League, in the diverse Sydney sporting scenemore

Some of Australian Football's growth areas are in areas that do not enjoy the same socio-economic circumstances as most people living in western nations. This makes seemingly minor issues like obtaining suitable footwear out of the question for many budding young players in countries such as South Africa, Tonga and Samoa. So it's pleasing to see people in both Australia and the United States getting behind the cause of delivering no longer needed boots to less fortunate players in other countries.more

The 2007 Australian Football League Grand Final is fast approaching and the tradition of hosting parties to watch the game is continuing to grow around the world. Whereas it used to be mostly expatriate Aussies scrambling for a venue that would show the match, now they are increasingly joined by local fans.

Rather than replicate the work of the Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA), who each year list Grand Final parties from all around the world, we once again advise readers looking for a venue to check out www.afana.com and in particular their party page. Note that they do take details from venues all over the world, not just North America.

To increase their chances of getting a search engine hit, party organisers are also welcome to log in to WFN and leave a comment on this story, detailing where fans can watch the game.

Desperate fans who find the above methods unsuccessful could also consider contacting their nearest footy club or league. Visit our Links section to find the closest one.
Samoa will be holding its grand final function at Hennys sports bar and expects over 350 guests for the game. further news will followmore

The NZ Australian Football competitions generally are played in Spring or early Summer to complement existing football codes rather than challenge them for players. Though junior development has occurred previously throughout the year it can be seen that the recent addition of NZAFL CEO Rob Vanstam has generated some momentum again after the disappointing hiatus while no CEO was in office. Read more of the growth in junior development and about preparations for the Barassi International Youth Trophy and International Cup 2008 tournaments.more

There are already Pacific Islanders playing in the AFL.
Samoa has several players now based in minor leagues in Australia.
Aussie Rules has helped launch the careers of players in other codes including Rambo Tavana and Mikaele Pesamino, who were Samoa Aussie Rules representatives at the 2002 International Cup are now national rugby reps.
see below for article and also all international results for Samoamore

Friday, September 14 2007 @ 03:50 PM EST
Contributed by: Ash

Two Samoan footballers, Fia Tootoo and Chris Teniselli will face off against each other this weekend in the Ellinbank & District Football League Grand Final, a country league about an hour's drive east of Melbourne. Teniselli represented Samoa at the 2005 International Cup whilst Tootoo was alongside him in 2005 and part of the inaugural team in 2002. He was also named in both All-star teams.

Both players are former team-mates at the Moorabbin Kangaroos, although come Saturday, Teniselli will pull on a Catani jumper whilst Tootoo lines up for Nyora. According to Michael Roberts, AFL Samoa's Game Development Manager, "both lads can play. Chris is one of my favourite players and should make the best team in 2008. Fia should be our captain next year". The game will be held at Cora Lynn.
According to the league website, Nyora 39.21.255 defeated Catani 18.9.117 - a very high scoring game. Tootoo was among the best for Nyoramore

Groups attempting to establish football programs outside of Australia face many issues, with sustainability particularly hard to achieve. Many clubs and associations will form, only to have disbanded or be on hiatus a few years later. A proven technique for developing a senior team has been a solid junior foundation.more

This article recently appeared in the international Magazine for Volunteers abroad published by VIDA

(Ausaid Volunteer program) Volunteers for International development abroad.This article gives us an overview of Michaels role and his background in the code.more

OVERALL RECORD OF RESULTS FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL HISTORY
'a' international record
8-6
'b' international record
3-0
Overall Record
11-6
Record V all nation
NZ 0-3
RSA 2-0
Can 2-0
Nru 1-0
USA 0-1
Ire 0-1
Tng 1-0
Png 0-1
GB 2-0more

Well ladies and Gentleman this is the game we have all been waiting for, the National Championship Grand final game between Rural Zone winners the Nuuausala Demons and the Metro Zone Premiers the Leififi Falcons.more

CONGRATULATIONS to Belmore North Public School which completed a fairytale run in the 2007 Paul Kelly Cup competition when it defeated Holbrook and St Patrick's Primary Schools at the SCG this week.

The victorious Paul Kelly Cup team included twin brothers from Sierra Leone in Africa, as well as Indigenous Australians, Arabic and Samoan players.more

This week's Metropolitan final between Leififi Falcons and the Faleata Bombers was all it looked like being after last weeks final round where Faleata scraped home to get them themselves into the final. The re-match was worth more to both sides this week and they were both out to prove they could make it to the National Final.more

To once again get the media and community support behind the Samoan Bulldogs team we need your assistance to help promote Samoa to the wider community of Australia and to utilize the event to promote our country to the Australian Rules fans who make up a majority of the sports followers in Australia.more

The final round of this years National schoolboys was destined to be a battle with several teams on both regional ladders playing off for points or equal with fellow schools the door was open for anybody to still make a play at winning each zone championship.
The skills have been exciting so far but it will be the team who works together that will win the Metro Grand final and what happens in the National Game against Nuuausala Demons the following week is anyone's guess.
Can Samoa compete with these countries as an afl recruiting ground?, I think so but it is up to Samoa to get behind the sport and seriously think about the game being played in the off season of rugby to keep teams fit and players active.more

Here is the recent article from the VIDA magazine for international Development Abroad featuring an article from AFL Samoa National Development Officer Michael Robertsmore

AFL Samoa welcomed AFL Multicultural project co-ordinator Nick Hatzoglou to Samoa this week as he made a duel visit to the islands.
Mr Hatzoglou presented AFL Development officer Michael Roberts with some fantastic resources to assist with game education and development and to provide some desperately needed equipment to cater to the sudden increase in school participation.more

As expected the second round of this years National Schoolboy championships was a superb display of skill , flair and athleticism.
The improvement of each team was obvious from the first bounce with every player showing an ability to adapt to a new code but to also make use of space and positional play.
With no fear of knock on's or off-side rules and the advantage of being able to pass in all directions some of the plays looked straight out of an AFL highlight reel.more

It was always going to be a tough physical contest from each school and all teams `came to play' with some `Almost footy Legends' moments that showed the natural athletic prowess and blind courage of young Samoan sportsmen
...........In four quarters of football the Leififi Falcons totally out-played and out-classed their Leififi All Black opponents by kicking an accurate 20 goals 4 behinds to the All-Blacks 1 goal 4 behinds.
With some fantastic team play and strategic forward set up, the Falcons buried the All blacks by 114 points.more

ROUND 1 2007 AFL SAMOA NATIONAL SCHOOLBOYS
CHAMPIONSHIPSmore

Roberts is adamant that "we will see some fantastic young athletes playing `Aussie rules' in the next few weeks. Many have a gift but everything depends on their own drive and if they have the discipline to apply themselves, Aussie rules is not natural for these boys even though these boys are natural for Aussie rules...,,its certainly going to be a great carnival and may the best school win

ROUND 1 2007 SAMOA NATIONAL SCHOOLBOYS
1. LEULOMOEGA LIONS VS NUUAUSALA DEMONS
2. LEULOMOEGA KANGAROOS VS PAUL 6 TIGERS
3. ST JOSEPHS HAWKEs VS FALEATA BOMBERS
4. LEIFIFI FALCONS VS LEIFIFI ALL-BLACKS
#GAME 1 AND TWO RURAL REGION &3 AND 4 METROPOLITAN REGIONmore

Now they're aiming to be included in 2007 SPG

Peter Rees

Much has been said about the influence Pacific Islanders have had on New Zealand rugby. But the Pacific Islands have also been a reliable source of rugby union and league players for Australia as well.

Think Australia, the two-time rugby union world champions (1991 & 1999) and perennial league superpower. But how good would they have been without the likes of Lote Tuqiri, Viliame Ofahengaue, Toutai Kefu or Willie Mason?

It is this line of thinking that has captivated the Australian Rules Football officials who have switched their thinking from domestic to global. That's right; Aussie Rules that game many think is the exclusive property of all Australians.

Efforts to globalise the national game of Australia stretch back to the first officially recorded game played in 1858. A strong 17-team competition ran down on the docklands of Glasgow in Scotland before World War I. There is also evidence of the game being played by South African miners at this time.

Aussie Rules quickly spread to New Zealand, with over a hundred clubs forming by the turn of the last century. And in the 1930s and 1950s the game was first introduced to the Pacific Islands in Nauru and Papua New Guinea respectively.

Today, tiny Nauru with a population of around 8000 regard Aussie Rules as its national sport, while PNG is perhaps the most advanced country playing Aussie Rules outside of Australia with a six league, thirty club domestic competition.

From the late 1980s onwards, organised competition began springing up in Canada, Denmark, Japan, USA and England. Eventually by the 1990s, the spread of expatriate Australians around the Pacific brought the game to Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and even Niue.more

WOMEN'S football took another step towards wider recognition with the staging of the inaugural Victorian Youth Girls Championship at Casey Fields on Saturday.

It featured the best under-18 players from the Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation competition in the western suburbs against the Footy-Pak South East league's elite.
The youth girls' program began in 2004 and has grown to the extent that there are now three associations all-up in the South East, the western suburbs and Bendigo.

The interleague encounter was the first time the girls experienced 20-minute quarters and used a leather football in competition.

Former superstar footballer and current Victorian Women's Football League president Debbie Lee was pleased with the standard the clash produced.

"To see the young girls playing, as president of the VWFL, I'm pretty excited that this will be the talent we'll hopefully see in years to come," she said.

"The enthusiasm, the skills, the high marking, the tackling, and just the general knowledge of football was absolutely phenomenal."

AFL Victoria female football development manager Chyloe Kurdas hopes the game's growth in the state will help keep talented young girls in the sport.more

"Australian history is always picturesque. Indeed, it is so curious and strange that it is itself the chiefest novelty the country has to offer, and so it pushes the other novelties into second or third place. It does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies, and all of a fresh new sort, not the mouldy old stale ones. It is full of surprises, and adventures, and incongruities, and contradictions, and incredibilities, and they are all true."

MARK TWAIN.more

The pathway for this years National schoolboys is designed to allow the system to incorperate further regions as the sport develops.
The newly divided rural and metropolitan regions may in future be complemented by zones from Savaii and more rural parts of the island.
The pathway is anticipated to create an obvious pathway toward participation,competition and talent identification.
Zone rep teams will be named and may play in a 'Village of origin' one off to see the best from both school zones play in representitive football.A National Schoolboy squad will be named to begin training with the afl samoa academy to prepare them for International and senior football "hopefully there is australian scholarships for some of these boys,it would give them a great opportunity to go to school,see the australian culture,share some of their own as well as playing footy where it all happens.
SEE PATHWAY WEBmore

Samoan Rules

"If you build it he shall come"- Field of Dreams.
By Sherrin Faulkner

In the scheme of all things sport around the globe Australian football (Aussie Rules) is a minor player in marketplace but the recent growth and interest in the sport from many countries looking for an exciting game to play and to watch live and on television is rapidly changing the sports place on the must do list of games and challenges.

Countries such as China, Sth Africa and America are craving for more team sports and alternative games for military, university and in the general community.more

The majority of Samoans in Victoria come from the Independent State of Samoa, previously known as Western Samoa.SBS Radio and the Melbourne Ethnic Radio Station 3ZZZ regularly broadcast Samoan language programs.
The community grew from just 49 people in 1976 to 493 in 1986. By 2001, 2,391 Victorians were Samoa-born.more

Samoan Rules by Michael Roberts
Welcome all to the first newsline column purely dedicated to Australian football or as it is known worldwide 'Aussie Rules'.
The game has been around in Australia now for 150 years and has been here on the great island for almost ten years .
Newsline Newspaper Samoamore

YOUVE NEVER HEARD OF THESE TEAMS BUT THEY ROLL OFF THE TONGUE HARDER THAN A SCOTSMANS WHISPER . GET USED TO HEARING ABOUT THE LEIFIFI ALL-BLACKS ,THE LEULUMOEGA KANGAROOS, THE ST JOSEPH'S HAWKES AND THE NUUAUSALA DEMONS.
Next week AFL Samoa begins its National Schoolboys championship.
The nation is divided into the pools of metroploitan and rural regions where each zone or conferance will play off in a do or die season culminating in a grand final. The winner of each region finds themselves centre stage to play off for the overall championship where only one will be named Samoas National champion school.
ATTACHED- SCHOOLBOYS DRAW RURAL REGION + METROPOLITAN REGION
VENUES AND TIMES CONFIRMED.more

Archaeologists believe that Polynesians settled in the Samoa Islands about 3,000 years ago. Their great migration halted here for some 1,000 years before voyagers went on to colonize the Marquesas, Society Islands, and other island groups farther east. Thus the Samoas are known as the "Cradle of Polynesia."more

A GREAT GLIMPSE AT THE EVOLUTION OF MANY FOOTBALL CODES.
Football is the name given to a number of different, but related, team sports. The most popular of these worldwide is Association football, which is called soccer in several countries. The English language word football is also applied to Rugby football (Rugby union and Rugby league), American football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, and Canadian football. (See also: Players who have converted from one football code to another.)more

Any interesting stories or information you believe should be added to this site please forward your thoughts to mickeyroberts@hotmail.com or aflsamoa@samoa.ws
We will endeavour to incorperate these for the advancement of our website.more

AFL SAMOA'S PREPERATION FOR NEXT YEARS INTERNATIONAL CUP WILL TAKE OFF IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WITH THE RUNNING OF ITS NATIONAL SCHOOLBOYS TOURNAMENT.more

As the first female international coach Milani Feaunati achieved amazing results with her team at the last International cup and her re-appointment will secure Samoa's attendance at next years tournament.

Milani's motivation and passion for the game is enormous and her contribution to the sport in Samoa has greatly increased participation and programs on the island.

National Development Officer Michael Roberts believes that "Milani is the heart of football in Samoa,not only is she the first international female coach she is icon of Samoa and has broken through a male dominated sport , more importantly she has greatly empowered island woman toward liberation in such areas"more

SINCE THE CONCEPTION OF THE CODE IN SAMOA IN THE LATE 90'S MANY PEOPLE HAVE WORKED HARD TO BOOST THE PROFILE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPORT.
SOME HAVE BEEN EX-PATS AND SOME PASSIONATE SAMOAN CONVERTS TO THE GREAT GAME.
IN 2008 AFL SAMOA(FORMERLY SARFA) WILL CELEBRATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF THESE GREAT PEOPLE AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SPORT.
SUCH PEOPLE AS SCOTT REID,RICHARD WILLIAMS,JOHN FITZGERALD, BERNIE WOODLAND,MARK BURNS, KABLE KELLAWAY,MILA SOLAMONA,MILANI FEAUNATI AND MANY OTHER VALUABLE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE GROWTH AND CAPCITY OF FOOTBALL IN THE PACIFIC. (UPDATES WILL BE POSTED AND CELEBRATORY EVENTS ANNOUNCED IN DUE TIME) WE THANK ALL OF THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR THE SACRIFICES AND COMMITTMENTS THEY HAVE MADE TO THE SPORT.more

There are no official rankings for international Australian Football, and putting together such a list is fraught with difficulties such as the lack of regular international matches, questions of whether teams fielded their best sides, and the thorny issue of whether to only consider matches played under International Cup rules, not to mention the risk of upsetting people who have a strong attachment to their side. Nevertheless, WFN has thrown caution to the wind and had a go at ranking nations based on their form in recent years, up to the end of 2006 - read on to see where your favourite team was listed.more

The second coming of Samoan spearhead Aaron Edwards has created headlines in Aussie rules football yet again with the kangaroos presenting the young star with the famous number 27 ,a number steeped in premiership history and worn by club legend Keith Greig.

In an era where the name or number on your jumper is a merchandisers dream often there is and an element of pressure on an up and coming star with which the club chooses to inherit a famous number.

Like many sports Aussie rules players are presented with their Guernsey when they join a new club and start a new season and there are few greater honors in Australian football than the prestige and superstition associated with the number you wear on your back.
How will Aaron Edwards cope with this next challenge in his career?more

The 2008 International Cup is just two years away, assuming it will again be held in August. This may seem like a long time but for each country planning on attending their thoughts should already have turned to raising the necessary funds and providing their squads with a quality schedule that will see them playing well come the big tournament. It remains to be seen which nations will show and whether the AFL will be able to significantly subsidise travel, but the hard-working volunteers across the various leagues will no doubt be doing their sums on the basis that they will have to foot the whole bill. We talk to some of the likely attendees, discuss their early preparations, and perhaps foolishly make some early predictions.more

In part two of our long range look at the 2008 International Cup we consider which countries might attend for the first time. We also review previous standings and have a stab in the dark at possible finishing order at the next Cup.
SEE WORLDFOOTYNEWS.COMmore

The 2008 International Cup is now less than 18 months away (assuming an August 2008 date). This might seem like a long time to fans but supporters outside of Melbourne might want to start considering now whether they'll take a trip to Victoria's capital for the event. More importantly it means league administrators around the world will need to finalise whether their country will attend and start drawing up plans for getting around forty players and officials Down Under. Making sure players are available and sufficient funds are in place are two of the biggest issues. With AFL General Manager of National and International Development, David Matthews, recently speculating that as many 20 nations may attend, we've looked at all the possible countries and rated the likelihood that they will be in Melbourne in 2008.more

It appears the Australian Football League and the nations likely to attend the 2008 International Cup are considering whether to loosen the criteria that controls which players are eligible to represent a nation at the tournament. In the first two Cups the definition was very strict, though not always enforced as rigorously as intended. Options are now being considered which could widen the net considerably, to allow players who are simply passport holders for a given country. This has the potential to be a major issue with some countries likely to favour a free-for-all and others keen to maintain the status quo. Changes to the overall structure of the event are also on the cards.more

The third Australian Football International Cup is scheduled for Melbourne in 2008, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of what is widely recognised as the first game of Australian Football (though the roots of this and all codes of football go back much further). Anywhere between 8 and 20 countries may attend, with around 12 to 14 most likely.

This page will be regularly updated and stories will be added below (in reverse chronological order) as the tournament approaches and is played.more

Wales rugby kicking coach Jenkins said the skills Australians learn in rugby league and Australian Rules football give them a head-start in union. "The Aussies are kicking a ball from seven or eight years of age. Our boys kick at that age, but are messing about. The Aussies do it properly because of Aussie Rules.more

The National Football League desperately wants to attract international attention and match the popularity of the NBA and Major League Baseball outside the United States. But the NFL's disadvantage is that while the other sports have an abundance of foreigners, very few players in the NFL were born outside the U.S.

So the league should be thrilled that the sport of Australian football is producing some of the NFL's best punters. Australian punters like the Cowboys' Mat McBriar, the Jets' Ben Graham and Darren Bennett (pictured), formerly of the Chargers, could make the NFL more popular Down Under, just as European basketball players like Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac helped make the NBA more popular overseas.more

SAMOA IS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET 5 GAMES INTO THE COUNTRY PER WEEK WHICH IS GREAT FOR THE PROMOTION AND EXPOSURE OF THE CODEmore

Have you found yourself browsing the afl site or searching for articles about the sport and discovered how much our game has grown and the fantastic direction it is headed both in australia and overseas???? well here is some websites that can help you get the edge on a report or media story,school assignment or to just fast track your searches into Aussie rules,australian football,afl sites.
www.afl.com.au ,www.worlfootynews.com ,www.oceaniasport.com , www.heraldsun.com.au or use a search engine with some of the above keywords.dont forget to always look up afl samoa ,(sarfa) on this address for all the latest programs ,events and news.more

BACKGROUND AND STATS ON FOOTY IN SAMOAmore

PACIFIC ISLAND BOYS MAKE THEIR MOVE ON THE AFL RANKSmore

ARTICLE FROM AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION NORTH AMERICAmore

Samoan footy back on trackmore

Footy could become major national sport in Samoa - interview with Michael Robertsmore

The Arafura Games
The Arafura Sports Festival was first held in Darwin in 1991. It is a celebration of sport and includes 1,400 athletes from surrounding countries such as PNG, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Brunei, Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawack as well as teams from the Northern Territory and North Queensland.

The initial games included a demonstration of Australian Football. The game was played on 22nd May and was between the NT Teal Cup Team and a team of NT senior Footballers from the NTFL, Bathurst Island and Barrunga Community. It included such champions as Maurice Rioli and Noel Long.

Australia Post issued a special commemorative cover and postmark (PM 1715) to celebrate the festival . The left side of the cover shows the logos of the sports played, including Australian Football. ( enlarged logo)

In more recent years, Australian Football games have been played between the International competing countries with PNG winning in 1995 and Singapore in 1997.

1999 saw teams split into two divisions with Division A containing Papua New Guinea , Hong Kong, Japan and the Northern Territory and Division B containing New Zealand, Singapore, Samoa, and Western Australia. The final saw Papua New Guinea defeating New Zealand by 37 points with Samoa winning the Bronze medal.

The 2001 Games were held from the 19-26 May 2001. Nauru won the final from the Central Desert Eagles, with the NT superules team winning the bronze.more

When we think of Samoans excelling in sports we often think rugby, boxing, league or even netball. But Aussie Rules? Well, not exactly. But there is one Samoan bucking the trend that not only plays Australia's national game, but is a highly rated award winning player.
When we think of Samoans excelling in sports we often think rugby, boxing, league or even netball. But Aussie Rules? Well, not exactly. But there is one Samoan bucking the trend that not only plays Australia's national game, but is a highly rated award winning player.

Fiatupu To'oto'o is not a household name in the mould of David Tua or Tana Umaga, but in Melbourne where he lives, he can lay claim to being one of the stars of the Southern Football League, which is one of the strongest competitions in the Melbourne city area.more

Samoa is beginning preperations to attend next years international cup in Melbourne.
The event will be part of the 150th celebrations of the VFL/AFL and will be held from 27th august -7th september.
CONSTANT UPDATES LEADING UP TO THIS EVENT WILL BE POSTED TO KEEP YOU IN THE PICTURE.more

Tonga and Samoa are two pacific nations with a love of aussie rules footy.In the past and in the near future both countries look set to move to the next level of development of the code in their relative territories.
CHECK OUT THE PAST GAMES PLAYED BETWEEN BOTH COUNTRIES.more

So many development objectives can be realised through sport
-- Mark Peters, CEO, Aust Sports Commission

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Meadmore

Sport is a universal language that can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status

-- Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary Generalmore

The AFL will host the second Australian Football International Cup this August. Ten nations - Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Samoa, South Africa, Spain and USA - will battle it out over five rounds with the Grand Final being played as a curtain raiser to Collingwood v Carlton at the MCG on 13 August.

This is the second time the AFL has hosted an Australian Football International Cup. Eleven nations also competed in 2002 with Ireland defeating Papua New Guinea to take out the Grand Final honours.more

YOU MAY BE SURPRISED WHERE THE BURLEY,SHERRIN AND ROSS FAULKNERS HAVE TRAVLLED.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW FOOTY HAS EVOLVED AROUND THE WORLD CULMINATING IN THE GREAT 'INTERNATIONAL CUP' TOURNAMENTS.more

Here is a very accurate referance for all players born outside of Australia and proves the fact that our great game requires the athletic ability and skill attributes of people from all around the world. Australian football is blessed to be a game that requires and appreciates footballers from all cultures, backgrounds, religions and nations.
Our world is made up of many people of all sizes,shapes,colours and creeds which makes our game the best in the world.more

hAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW THE NATIONALITY OR BIRTH HERITAGE OF YOUR FAVOURITE PLAYERS,LOOK NO FURTHER.
This is a listing of Australian Football League (formerly known as the VFL) players listed by their families' country of origin (not to be confused with ethnicity). They may or may not have been born in Australia.

In 2004, the inaugural Multicultural Cup was held by the IAFC, a competition in which players who had a parent or grandparent born overseas were allowed to play for that country. The Multicultural Cup celebrates ethnicity that is vibrant in Australia, and in Australian rules football.

Current AFL players in bold.
SEE BELOW FOR MORE.more

The world footy news website is full of all things football from around the globe ,editor Brett Northey,Aaron Richard and other fantastic writers bring you the latest news in Australian football from the biggest stories to the the most interesting bits of information to keep all footy loverer excited about the growth of the code around the world and intouch with the latest issues regarding the great indiginous Australian game.
Check out their website if you call yourself a true follower at
worldfootynews.commore

IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, UP AND COMING AFL STAR AARON EDWARDS TELLS NATIONAL GAME DEVELOPMENT OFFICER MICHAEL ROBERTS HE IS KEEN TO RE-VISIT SAMOA FOR HIS FIRST VISIT BACK TO THE ISLANDS SINCE HE WAS A FOUR YEAR OLD. THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF A RANGE OF INTERVIEWS AND STORIES RELATING TO THE JOURNEY OF AARON EDWARDS.more

BY any measure, Aaron Edwards's journey through AFL ranks is
an extraordinary tale.
Samoan-born, Frankston-raised, rookie-list survivor, dumped
Eagle, history-making VFL star and now Kangaroos full-forward.

Not only is he the first Samoan-born player to play an AFL
game, but Edwards has come back from football's version of the
black hole.
Dumped rookies just don't get a second chance in the game via
the VFL, let alone little-known four-game forwards considered
undersized and not worth the trouble.
A season at Frankston started slowly, but culminated in a
10-match, 70-goal run, with Edwards notching his 100 goals
with his last major of his year.
By the time he had become the only player in the VFL's
129-year history to win the best-and-fairest and goalkicking
award in the same year, he had done enough to impress a
Kangaroos hierarchy that needed to replace Leigh Harding and
Sav Rocca's output.
Born to a Samoan mother and white New Zealand father with red
hair, which Edwards jokes he is lucky to have avoided, he is
growing increasingly aware of his roots.
Last year he added tribal tattoos on his left forearm and
right tricep, and he plans to return to Samoa for the first
time soon.
"I got the tattoo after I was delisted and I thought there
wasn't much chance of playing again," he said.more

A FINE job against one of the league's toughest defenders has given new Kangaroos forward Aaron Edwards confidence he can make it in the AFL.

Edwards, playing just his eighth AFL game and fourth with the
Roos, took eight marks against Geelong's Matthew Scarlett -- a
dual All-Australian and 2003 best-and-fairest winner.
Edwards, who hopes to nail down the centre half-forward
position, said it was important to earn the respect of his
teammates with strong performances, given his difficult start
at the Kangaroos.
Edwards, who hopes to nail down the centre half-forward
position, said it was important to earn the respect of his
teammates with strong performances, given his difficult start
at the Kangaroos.more

The arrival or Michael Roberts as National Development officer for Australian Rules football in Samoa has been a successfull move for the organisation AFL Samoa......more

AFL Samoa and its National team the 'Bulldogs' are looking to continue their consistant improval at international level by attending next years 2008 international cup.
AFL Samoa is looking for loyal sponsorship both in Samoa and overseas including support with programs such as our bootbank.
Well intentioned persons can be invited to join our overseas membership committee to further develop the game in samoa and australia.Sponsorship in many forms is required to take the team to the international cup. The team will travel to sydney and to melbourne and will be looking to once again show the samoan style,power and flair.
Interested organisations or parties can seek further information by emailing mickeyroberts@hotmail.com or www.aflsamoa.ws
past supporters will have option on major sponsor agreementmore

Talofa lava,
boys and girls from Samoa who have completed their homework and found this website,congratulations!!!!!
Many of you have requested copies of the games and activities found in your workbook and were interested in trying out the other great colouring pictures.As promised here is your wordsearch.
Others will become available soon so watch out .
Also coming soon will be pictures of all our schools and classes and teams from our National primary schools championships.
Check out some more great sites like www.afl.com.au and the links to auskick.
your next exercise is for you and your computor team to choose your own afl team check out the teams,colours,logos and mascots on the above site.choose your team and spread the word.
good luck , fafa tai lava
Michael.more

A part of AFL Samoa's primary school program is the 'AFL Healthy Kids'element.This part of the program is designed to educate young people with healthy life messages such as anti-smoking,healthy eating etc. The program is complemented by 12 page activity book with health and Aussie rules based games puzzles and colouring competition page.AFL Samoa hopes that encouraging these messages and giving kids and teachers a resourse outside clinics will enhance the lives and education of Samoa's youth.The activity book is sponsored with the partnership of the Samoa health ministry.
All primary participants will be able to enter the colouring competition to be judged by samoa development staff.
There are four picture types randomly spread through ages and schools which show the great afl logo characatures of the mascot manor in various poses.more

'Kicking Goals' is the specially designed program for grades 3 & 4 and helps them learn skill sequencing and afl specific skills in a controlled ,fun environment.
'Kicking Goals' is the second phase of programs toward introducing the game gradually in Samoa. Who doesnt like to kick a goal.more

AFL Samoa has launched its 'let them fly' program this term.
The program is designed for senior primary school children from grades 5-7 (ages 11-13).
This program allows senior children to progress from fundamental skill development and afl specific skills to modified games.more

When asked about the serious likelyhood of a Samoan boy ever playing afl football, current Development officer Michael Roberts could not help but hold a wry smile as he informed the doubtfull and rugby loving journo that it has already been achieved by one young man,twice.more

Aaron Edwards a young Melbourne australian football player with Samoan heritage has been drafted to the kangaroos club in the AFL.
This goal kicking machine should play a handy role for the roos if they are to experiance finals this season.more

AFL Samoa has launched their infant aged program targeted toward the junior levels of Primary School and Pre-school.
Reach for the Stars is a fundamental motor skill based program that encourages personal skill development for boys and girls in a non-competitive environment.
The program offers skills in body awarness, ball control, general fitness and is varied and fun.
As part of AFL Samoa's 'Healthy Kids' program it also promotes healthy lifestyle education through the 'Healthy Kids' AFL Workbook which sets educational assignments that challenge and inform the students about nutrition and general health and good behavior.more

Aaron Edwards is set to become the face of AFL football in the small country of Samoa.
Edwards has a samoan heritage and his fame is soon to reach the shores of samoa influencing the youth to take up Australian football as a sport.more

Samoa and Tonga -in many senses they are rivals,in the past envied enemies yet so very close in many ways,these two countries are pacific brothers and are set to unite to improve the way afl football is conducted on a pacific scale and to improve and grow relations between both countries.
A forum will be held in early february between TARFA (Tongan australian rules football association)and afl samoa with Development staff looking to set a permenant pathway and action plan toward consolidating aussie rules as a key sport in the pacific and a key area pool of afl talent potential.more

Term 1 will see over 1000 young samoan students take part in afl clinics in schools as part of afl samoa's 'healthy kids' programs.
This enitiative intents to get young children up and active and to experiance new sports skills.During these lessons children will be faced with many challenges to test and develop their motor skills and sport specific talents. This program also sets out to educate kids in areas of nutrition, anti smoking and key lifestyle choices and healthy life outlooks and is supported by partners from the ministry of health and other government organisationsmore

aarron edwards get a second chance at the top levelmore

young samoan australian, aaron edwards had a steller season for frankston, after being delisted from the west coast eagles edwards hit the vfl with a bang finally proving to the world that he is a true full forward by clinching the league goal kicking award and the mvp/best and fairest trophy,the only player to have achieved both feats.more

Sister school Glengala Primary School Sunshine Victoria and Principal Mr Frank Dri assist Saleapaga p.s in Samoa.more

The 2005 AFL International Cup that took place in Melbourne in August was a triumph for the Pacific nations, despite the unfortunate late withdrawal of Nauru due to economic struggles.
It is no wonder AFL officials are following the lead of rugby union and rugby league and looking more to the island nations as a talent pool. It was a change in mindset that gained more momentum in the mid 1990's.

Previously, Aussie Rules was seen as the national game of Australia without thought of globalisation. That changed as the game spread to over 44 countries due mostly to ex-pat Australians introducing the game to locals. In the 1930s and 1950s the game was first introduced to the Pacific Islands in Nauru and Papua New Guinea respectively.more

| The Tonga Australian Football Association (TAFA) and the Samoa Australian Rules Football Association (SARFA) are holding an inaugural International Schoolboys match in Apia, Samoa. The match between Samoa and Tonga will be played at the Cricket Fields at Tuainaimato on Saturday 27th November 2004 at 2.30 pm.

It will be Tonga's first International Schoolboy (forms 1-6) Test ever and the Tonga National Squad are ready, unlike the old days when Tongan's would jump into their canoe's and paddle off to war against Samoa, this time they will be travelling in style by air. The squad has been selected from boys that participated in the 2004 ASCO Cup High School Competition and is as follows:more

Twenty of the ADF's finest Australian football players have had the honour of playing in the first full international Australian football game in Samoa.

The players were selected on performances at the recent ADF national titles in Brisbane, with the Samoan tour following from the successes of tours to New Zealand in 1996 and South Africa in 1997.

Proudly sponsored by ADCU, Agrevo and ADI and coached by SGT Mick Whiteley of RAAF Richmond, the team played a warm-up game against local premiers, the Fasito-o Tigers in a typical tropical downpour.

After adapting to the fierce tackling of the locals, the ADF team won 12.20(98) to 1.2(8).

The Aussies had only two days to recover prior to what was billed in the local media as a full international against the Premier's 22. This time in fine conditions, the ADF's greater experience saw them prevail 22.14(146) to 2.2(14).

The team travelled to Samoa with ADF umpires, all whom hold current AFL qualifications. They also conducted a number of coaching clinics in Samoan schools where they were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and natural talent of the local boys.

The tour also assisted the Samoans prepare for the inaugural International Australian Football Cup, being held in Melbourne in August 2002.

The players wish to thank the Samoans for their wonderful hospitality, great love of footy and eagerness to teach the ADF team aspects of their culture.more