While Australian rules football is a major spectator sport only in Australia (except for occasional exhibition games staged in other countries), in the late 1980s small amateur competitions were attempted in countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, France, the USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, China and South Africa. The largest overseas competition is the Ontario Australian Football League, with 12 teams scheduled to compete in 2006. Separate from their local competitions, North American fans have formed an organization, AFANA, specifically to work for improved media coverage of Australian football and its U.S. branch, US Footy. Australian Rules and Aussie Rules redirect here. ... Australian Rules Football has been introduced to a wide range of places around Australian and around the world since the codes inception in 1848. ... MacGyver - 1980s hero The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... AFL Canada Logo The Ontario Australian Football League is the largest Australian rules football league in North America. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... AFANA is the organization that formed out of the campaign to save TV coverage of Australian Rules Football on USA and Canadian TV in 1996. ... The United States Australian Football League (also known informally as the USAFL or US Footy) is an amateur Australian rules football league and governing body that was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. ...

International promotion, funding & governance

The International Australian football Council (IAFC) was formed in 1995 to promote and develop Australian football internationally. In 2005 a new organization was set up - called Aussie Rules International - by former IAFC member Brian Clarke in London. This successor to the IAFC promotes itself as an international organisation for developing (not governing) international Australian football. As well as playing a role in promoting aussie rules overseas, Aussie Rules International coordinates the Multicultural Cup aimed at instilling national pride in those born overseas and encouraging migrants to take up the game. The International Australian Football Council (IAFC) was a body that was established in the aftermath of the 1995 Arafura Games, held in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. ... Aussie Rules International Logo // Mission The role of Aussie Rules International is to promote and develop the sport of Australian Rules Football internationally. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... The Multicultural Cup is an amateur Australian Rules Football competition coordinated by Aussie Rules International (formerly International Australian Football Council allowing players born overseas to represent their country of origin. ...

Australian football is not yet considered large enough internationally for a FIFA styled governing body, so the Australian Football League is primarily responsible for funding and governance and provides $29 million for development of the game in Australia and around A$500,000 annually for international development, with the following breakdown in 2005: The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, known worldwide by its acronym FIFA, is the international governing body of football (soccer) and the largest sporting organization in the world. ... The Australian Football League is the Australian national competition in the sport of Australian rules football. ... The Australian dollar (currency code AUD) has been, since 1966, the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. ...

• New Zealand $150,000
• South Africa $100,000
• United States of America $90,000
• Papua New Guinea $45,000
• Other $115,000 [1]

Much of the additional international promotion of the game fuelled by exhibition matches, expatriate Australians, local leagues and various AusAID projects. The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is the Australian organisation responsible for delivering most non-military foreign aid. ...

Junior development

Several countries now have youth Australian rules programs in place. These countries include Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Nauru, Denmark, South Africa, England, Indonesia, USA and Canada. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004...

Since 1998, the Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament, endorsed by the Australian Football League as part of its International Policy, has hosted several of these nation's representative youth teams. The Barassi Youth Tournament is an international Australian Rules Football tournament for junior players. ...

South African AusAID Project

An AusAID funded project is South African junior development, which is assisted by aid agency Australian Volunteers International in partnership with programs such as AFL Auskick and sponsored by Tattersalls. In 2006, the AFL announced it would send an All-aboriginal juniors side (from the Clontarf Football Academy [2]) headed by former Essendon star Michael Long and Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes to play 3 matches, including an International Rules match against local sides in South Africa [3]. Although the Australian team won easily [4] the AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou wants South Africa to join an International Rules tri-series and believes that a junior from South Africa will eventually play at the AFL level[5]. The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is the Australian organisation responsible for delivering most non-military foreign aid. ... Australian Volunteers International or AVI is a is a not-for-profit international volunteering recruitment agency in Australia. ... NAB AFL Auskick logo. ... Tattersalls Limited is a Victorian lottery/gaming company. ... Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... Michael Long was an Australian Rules footballer and outspoken critic of racism in sport. ... The Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney, New South Wales; formerly it was the South Melbourne Football Club. ... Adam Goodes (born January 8, 1980) is an Australian rules football player. ... International rules is a rhetoric sentence used by the governments of United States and Great Britain when pointing at countries that they regard as rogue states because of their political inclinations or because they do not voluntarily align to Washington or Londons international policies. ... Andrew Demetriou (born April 14, 1961) is the CEO of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer of Greek heritage. ...

Aussie Rules Schools (England)

Another junior project funded project is Aussie Rules Schools UK, which is funded by Sports England and co-ordinated by Aussie Rules UK and Aussie Rules International. This project has seen up to 10 English schools adopt Aussie Rules as part of the school cirriculum to combat obesity. Aussie Rules International Logo // Mission The role of Aussie Rules International is to promote and develop the sport of Australian Rules Football internationally. ...

China AusAID project

In February 2006, a joint project between the AFL, Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne City Council and AusAID to post an Australian Youth Ambassador in Tianjin, a city of 10 million, about 120km southeast of Beijing in an effort to kickstart Australian Football in China was announced. [6] The Melbourne Football Club (MFC), nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. ... The arms of the City of Melbourne The flag of the City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. ... (Chinese: 天津; Pinyin: Tiānjīn; Postal System Pinyin: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Beijing (Chinese: 北京; Pinyin: Běijīng; ; IPA: ), a city in northern China (formerly spelled in English as Peking or Peiking), is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

International competition

The first truly international competitor in Australian rules was New Zealand. In 1908 the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australian rules football. New Zealand (then representing a total of 115 clubs) defeated both New South Wales and Queensland in the carnival but lost to Victoria and Tasmania.

The Arafura Games, held in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (a competition for northern Australia, South East Asia and Pacific Islands) were the first International games to have Australian football as a competition sport, rather than a demonstration sport in 1995. Papua New Guinea won the Gold medal and retained it in subsequent games. Other teams that have competed at Australian Rules in the games include Japan, Nauru and a Northern Territory indigenous team. The International Australian football Council (IAFC) was formed after the 1995 Games (source IAFC). The Arafura Games is a Multi-sport event usually held every two years in the Australian city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. ... Darwin is the territorial capital and most populous city of the Northern Territory. ... Emblems: Sturts Desert Rose (floral) Motto: None Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Const. ... A demonstration sport is a sport which is played in order to promote itself during the Olympic Games (or other sporting events). ... Gold Medal is an album by American band The Donnas, released in 2004. ...

Inspired by successful Arafura Games competitions, the inaugural Australian Football International Cup was held in Melbourne in 2002, an initiative of the newly formed IAFC. The 2002 cup was contested by 11 teams from around the world made up exclusively of non-Australians. Ireland won the 2002 cup, defeating Papua New Guinea in the final. The second Australian football International Cup was held in Melbourne in 2005, under the direction of the guidance and funding of the AFL with New Zealand defeating Papua New Guinea in the final, with third place going to the United States of America. In the interim years, Japan and New Zealand played an annual game as a curtain raiser to an AFL game: the New Zealand national team were victorious by 100 points in 2003, and so in 2004, an club side from Auckland played the game, which Japan lost by two points. The Australian Football International Cup is an international Australian Rules Football competition hosted by the Australian Football League. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Auckland Metropolitan Area, or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ...

The third Australian Football International Cup will be held in Melbourne in 2008.

In April 2007 the Bermuda Australian Rules Football Championships will begin with teams from the North Atlantic, including the USA, Canada and Europe competing [7]. The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ...

Other international competitions that include Australian ex-patriates are also held, including the EU Cup, which was first held in 2005 in London, featuring 10 teams.

See List of International Australian Rules Football Tournaments

Australian Rules Football is a sport played in many countries around the world. ...

World Rankings

Based on 'A' International Australian rules football Tests (such as the Australian Football International Cup i.e: rules state that all players must be born in and have played in the country they are representing) based on the total number of wins and ratio percentage.

Rankings as at 2006

Ranking	Country	#Played	#Won	%Won	#Lost	%Lost	#Drawn	%Drawn
1	Australia	0	NA	NA	0	NA	NA	NA
2	Ireland	22	19	86%	3	14%	0	0%
3	Papua New Guinea	22	19	86%	3	14%	0	0%
4	New Zealand	24	18	75%	6	25%	0	0%
6	United States of America	24	17	71%	7	29%	0	0%
5	Denmark	18	11	62%	6	33%	1	5%
8	Samoa	18	10	56%	8	44%	0	0%
7	Great Britain	26	13	50%	13	50%	0	0%
9	Nauru	8	2	25%	6	75%	0	0%
10	Canada	24	4	17%	20	83%	0	0%
11	Sweden	2	0	0%	1	50%	1	50%

(Source: OzRulzGlobal + World Footy News) Note: Ranking is different to International Cup ranking and Australia's #1 title is assumed, although it has not participated in any international tests (except for the compromise rules series against Ireland). Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Papua_New_Guinea. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Samoa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Nauru. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ...

International rules Australia vs Ireland

A series of hybrid International rules matches between the Australian Football League's best professional players and a representative Gaelic football team from Ireland's Gaelic Athletic Association amateur players. The series is staged annually. The rules are a compromise between the two codes, using a round ball and a rectangular field. The fierce tackling of the Australian code is allowed, however more recently this has caused controversy with the Irish players who play a less violent contact game. The series have remained evenly matched with the Irish using speed and athleticism, and the Australians strength and power - both inherent skills in their respective codes. This contrast of skills has created exciting contests that are a hit with spectators. International rules is a rhetoric sentence used by the governments of United States and Great Britain when pointing at countries that they regard as rogue states because of their political inclinations or because they do not voluntarily align to Washington or Londons international policies. ... The Australian Football League is the Australian national competition in the sport of Australian rules football. ... GAA teams Offaly and Louth in action Gaelic football (Irish: peil ghaelach) is a form of football played mainly in Ireland. ... A stylised Celtic cross serves as the traditional logo of the GAA. The Gaelic Athletic Association (The GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is an organisation which is mostly focussed on promoting Irish sports, such as hurling and camogie, Gaelic football and handball, and rounders. ... Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. ...

International drafts & converts

International Players

Although no player to learn the game overseas has played in the AFL, Michito Sakaki from Japan became the first to play at AFL level when selected to play for the Essendon Football Club against the Sydney Swans at an exhibition match at North Sydney Oval in February 2006. Michito Sakaki (born May 19th, 1983), is a Australian rules football player from Japan. ... Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... The Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney, New South Wales; formerly it was the South Melbourne Football Club. ... North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility primarily used for Rugby League (as home ground of the North Sydney Bears) and Rugby Union but is also utilised for Cricket, Australian Rules Football and Soccer. ...

Gaelic converts to Australian football

See Also List of Football Code Converts

Australia has recruited several Irish Gaelic footballers to play Aussie Rules. As Gaelic football is primarily amateur competition and the AFL competition is professional, there is a strong financial lure. Converts include: In the past, many football players have converted between codes or come across from other sports. ...

1990s

• Melbourne Football Club - Brownlow medallist Jim Stynes and Sean Wight

2000-2005 The Melbourne Football Club (MFC), nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. ... The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal, is an annual medal awarded to the fairest and best player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (ie. ... Jim Stynes (born April 23, 1966) is an Irish Australian rules football player. ... John Phillips Sean Wight (born March 15, 1964 in Scotland) is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL. He played for the Melbourne Football Club between 1985 and 1995, playing 150 games and booting 63 goals. ...

• Sydney Swans - premiership player Tadhg Kennelly, has also represented Ireland against Australia
• Carlton Football Club - Setanta Ó hAilpín and Aisake Ó hAilpín

Recent drafts The Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney, New South Wales; formerly it was the South Melbourne Football Club. ... Tadhg Kennelly (born 1 July 1981) is a former Gaelic football player from Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, who is now a backline Australian Rules football player for the Sydney Swans, in the AFL. He is the son of Tim Kennelly, a former champion footballer with Kerry. ... Carlton Football Club, nicknamed The Blues for their dark blue playing colours, is one of the oldest and most successful Australian rules football clubs. ... Setanta Ó hAilpín (born March 18, 1983) is an Irish sportsman. ... Aisake Faga Ó hAilpín (24 August 1985 -) is a hurler, Gaelic and Australian Rules Footballer who played with his two brothers, Seán Óg and Setanta, for the Na Piarsaigh club in Cork City when they won the Cork Senior Hurling Championship in 2004. ...

• Brisbane Lions - Colm Begley and Brendan Quigley (international rookie list)

Due to increasing concern from the GAA, in 2006 the AFL made a deal with the GAA to limit the number of junior Gaelic drafts. The Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... GAA redirects here. ...

Australian football converts to American Football (Gridiron)

See Also List of Football Code Converts

Australia has exported players to the NFL. Since the 1980s, many AFL players have tried out as American Football punters. The kicking position requires similar skills to those found in Australian football players. Salaries are up to 5 times higher and the position lends itself to longevity. Australian football players generally retire at around 30, whereas American football punters can play well into their forties. United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... In the past, many football players have converted between codes or come across from other sports. ... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... Todd Sauerbrun, one of the NFLs top punters, punts the ball for the Carolina Panthers. ...

The first convert was Colin Ridgeway, but the most successful of these players was Darren Bennett - former Melbourne Football Club AFL player recruited by the San Diego Chargers, now playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Colin Ridgeway (born February 19, 1939) was distinguished as being the first Australian to play in the NFL. Athletic career Ridgeway was a high jumper who competed at the 1956 Olympic Games and 1958 Commonwealth Games for Australia. ... Darren Bennett (born January 9, 1965 in Perth) is an Australian who had a modestly successful career in Australian Rules football, followed by a far more substantial career in American football as a punter. ... The Melbourne Football Club (MFC), nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. ... City San Diego, California Other nicknames Bolts, Super Chargers Team colors Navy Blue, White, and Gold Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer Owner Alex Spanos George Pernicano (Minority owner (3%)) General manager A.J. Smith Fight song San Diego Super Chargers Local radio Flagship stations: KIOZ (105. ... City Minneapolis, Minnesota Other nicknames The Vikes, The Purple People Eaters Team colors Purple, Gold, and White Head Coach Brad Childress Owner Zygi Wilf General manager Rob Brzezinski Fight song Skol, Vikings Mascot Ragnar and Vikadontis Rex Local radio Flagship stations: KFAN (1130 AM) Announcers: Paul Allen, Greg Coleman, and...

Shortly after Darren Bennett became successful in the NFL in the early 90s, many other VFL players followed suit, including journeyman Richard Osborne and Footscray fullback Tony Campbell. Kangaroos and Crows champion Wayne Carey [8] was also rumoured to have tried out with the Cowboys. Many of these were unsuccessful. Richard Osborne (born 16 June, 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who enjoyed a lengthy career in the VFL/AFL. He played 283 games in total. ... Anthony (Tony) Campbell (born May 7, 1962 in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a former professional basketball player in the NBA. A 67 small forward out of Ohio State University, Campbell was selected 20th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1984 NBA Draft. ... Wayne Carey (born May 27, 1971), is regarded as one of the greatest Australian rules football players of all time. ...

In 2004, Geelong Football Club star Ben Graham shocked fans by cutting his career short to play with the New York Jets [9]. In the same year, retired Brisbane Bears and Hawthorn Football Club Nathan Chapman achieved a punting contract with the Green Bay Packers. [10] While Ben Graham made the grade and achieved a million dollar contract, the career of Nathan Chapman is currently in the wings. The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. ... Ben Graham (born November 2, 1973) is a former Australian rules football player and currently on the roster of the New York Jets NFL team. ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Gang Green, J-E-T-S Team colors Green and White Head Coach Eric Mangini Owner Robert Wood Johnson IV General manager Mike Tannenbaum Local radio Flagship stations: WABC (770 AM) and WEPN (1050 AM) Announcers: Marty Lyons and Bob Wischusen League/Conference... City Green Bay, Wisconsin Team colors Dark Green, Gold, and White Head Coach Mike McCarthy Owner A public company General manager Ted Thompson Fight song Go! You Packers! Go! Local radio Flagship stations: Milwaukee - WTMJ (620 AM) Green Bay - WNFL (1440 AM) and WIXX (101. ...

More recently, Collingwood Football Club's Anthony Rocca [11] and his brother Saverio Rocca [12] have both indicated their intention to try out at the conclusion of their AFL careers. In 2006, NFL began more actively scouting Australian Rules players. The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies after the black and white striped guernseys worn by the players, is an Australian rules football club, playing in the elite Australian Football League. ... Anthony Rocca (born August 15, 1977) is an Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the AFL. Of Italian descent, Rocca is the younger brother of fellow Australian rules footballer and former teammate Saverio Rocca. ... Saverio Sav Rocca (born November 20, 1973) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ...

See also

• List of Australian Football Leagues outside Australia
• Australian Football International Cup
• List of International Australian Rules Football Tournaments

This is a list of Australian rules football leagues outside of Australia. ... The Australian Football International Cup is an international Australian Rules Football competition hosted by the Australian Football League. ... Australian Rules Football is a sport played in many countries around the world. ...

External links

Fan Sites

• The Footy Record - Results from around the globe
• Aussie Rules Global Invasion
• World Footy News - All the news and views from Australian football's global frontier
• BigFooty - International Footy Forum of the Largest unofficial Aussie Rules fan community site and forum

Governing Bodies

• AFL International Development

International Tournaments

• Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament

Promotional Organisations

• Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA)
• Aussie Rules International
• Official International Australian Football Council site
• Aussie Rules UK
• Australian Convicts - Amateur touring side that helps support international leagues

International Leagues

• U.S. Australian Rules Football League
• Women's footy USA
• DAFL - The Danish Australian Football League
• AFLG - The Australian Football League Germany