Can Aussie Rules really rule the world?

NO! Most exciting game in the world = Rugby Union; Most beutiful game in the world = Baseball. Footy: becomes a mad dog scramble when the ball hits the ground, because it uses a bastardized Rugby ball. Solution use a round soccer ball. But I hear you say that would make it Gaelic Football - hurray! Solution make it Aussie by keeping your sleeve less shirts and use Australian commercial know-how to popularize it through out the world; which the Irish have utterly failed to do.

here is a fact that will put an end to all the haters out there the 2010 AFL GF was watched by over 250 million viwers world wide this figure was achievd twice this year due to the replay 500 million viewers globally PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT

Why do you post so often on the AFL tab? And get it so wrong like here and as you have been exposed more than once. Would not it be better to be a little less arrogant when posting outside of your comfort zone rather than making a fool of yourself.

Many of the European countries competing in this 9s tournament come with no ex-pat Aussies. In fact, the whole 9s concept is pretty much a European invention to overcome some of the problems described by Kermit: low numbers, isolation, lack of grounds, etc

Um, the FIFA WC in Sydney or at the MCG as you describe would be a once in a life time event. Perhaps if the Socceroos generated 10,000 attendees to every open training session when in Australia for WC qualifiers? that might be nearer the context. I reckon MF had it about right.

Matt - actually in Canada, if you wander over to Toronto, you find the OAFL - Ontario Australian Football League. 2 divisions. Div 1 has 10 teams that play a 13 or 14 round H&A season plus a finals series. This is one of the stand out leagues. In many other areas, isolation is the enemy. One or two clubs but a long way from anyone else. It makes it hard. This was seen clearly South Africa with the sudden and rapid improvement in the Western Cape province where a core competition involving Nyanga Bluebirds, Nyanga Thunderstorm, Khayelitsha Divines, Khayelitsha Real Kangaroos, Mitchell Plains Warriors and Gugulethu Cheetahs and all 6 teams are pretty well within a 20-30 minute drive. The capacity to have regular and decent competition provide great scope for improvement. This is a key challenge. The European examples are encouraging with more and more countries with less and less expats and more organisation and competition. The 9 aside Euro's used to be the peak competition. This year, the peak competition was the full ground "European Championships" with 8 of the better nations. The Euro 9s just completed saw Croatia just get over the Netherlands with the last goal of the game putting them in front to win by 5 pts. The tournament was held in Italy. Italy, the Netherlands, and other competitors like Switzerland are very new. There were 15 nations involved. And that did not include nations like Denmark, Sweden or Finland who competed in the European Championships. So yeah - conquer the world perhaps not - but, there's some fair growth happening and it's fun to watch and be part of.

Hahahahaha, what an article! The AFL is barely making a dent in the majority of the Australian market. (TV ratings wise in QLD & NSW with neither the Swans or Lions averaging close to 100k per game in prime time on FTA and uncontested spotswise on a Saturday night). 55% of Australia's population is in NSW and QLD, maybe they should concentrate on lifting their abysmal ratings first. The Swans average about the same as the Storm in Melbourne, the only difference the Storm don't get shown before midnight...

American here, just wanted to mention a few things. 01.) NFL Europe closed up shop. 02.) The NFL plays games overseas (a handful so far) to interest people in watching the NFL. Not to play American football, if they do that's great. They're much more interested in them watching the league and spending money on it. Most NFL fans will admit that the NFL is never going to conquer Europe or Asia and honestly wish they'd stop. As a lifelong fan of the New England Patriots, I can tell you almost every fellow fan I know hated us playing overseas. The team was supposed to play in China (costing us a home game) and fans were furious. The game didn't happen. 03.) When it comes to popularity you are all forgetting the college version of American football's intense (bordering on the insane) level of popularity. College football predates the pro game. The University of Michigan and Ohio State University, for example, both play in front of home crowds that number in excess of 100,000 for every single game. Large swaths of America have no pro team, but there are college teams close to damn near everyone. College football gets almost as much press and media attention, nationally, as the NFL does. 04.) Complaints about the complex nature of American football sound just like my friends when I try to explain rugby (pick a code) or AFL to them. You didn't grow up with it, thusly it appears hard to learn. 05.) Soccer in the USA is huge, MLS just isn't huge (yet). You can watch EPL or Mexican soccer in almost any bar in any major American city and a good chunk of people will know what's going on. MLS is growing by leaps and bounds, almost every team plays in what we call an SSS (soccer specific stadium). Seattle Sounders, for example, are averaging more than 30,000 a game. Yes we still have the knee-jerk "soccer is for foreigners and girls" contingent in our media but then again so do you. Both groups are wrong.

I am a Canadian in Vancouver, and I love the AFL. However, we Canadians love our hockey and Canadian Football, and Americans love ther National Football. We do have a small AFL club here, but that is about it. Conquer the world, maybe not, but there are fans across the globe (and I cant beleive I have to stay up until 4 AM PST to watch another Grand Final this weekend, I mean, I want to, but the time difference can be a killer).

I wouldn't be too hard on Ireland. Not only do they have to travel the farthest to get to Melbourne but they get less than $800K less a year poured into their game than the South Africans over the last few years. Having seen them play in the recent EC and seen them grow their domestic league in the last two years, I think they will be a top 3 side next year.

Also, for interest sake, the annual Euro Cup tournament takes place in Milan, Italy this Saturday. * 15 mens nations * and for the first time 2 womens nations will play a match in Europe Almost 99% locally developed players (under International Cup rules). First time countries like Switzerland get allowances for a couple of Aussies to help with the numbers since they have only started playing there this year. Website: www.eurocup2010.info With 250+ players from all corners of Europe, this tournament has been in existence since 2005 and is a big deal for Europe. It is by far the biggest annual tournament of its kind in the world. I can't understand why it isn't getting much press back or interest in Australia. Just a little support from the games heartland can really go a long way to getting local people more engaged into the sport (at all levels). Aren't footy people back home even slightly interested? Or... are there other concerns playing out in peoples mind with the game expanding overseas and actually doing well in the given circumstances (minimal direct support from Australia)?

Wildfooty? Yeah it 's a huge game in Ireland. It's called rugby union in Ireland though. Didn't think it would have a huge advantage over South Africa though. Long may it continue.

If you want to promote the AFL world wise, they had better get rid of the flood, press and such from modern game. It is ugly.ugly ugly. Just a sprawling mass of bodies with a ball bobbling around. Play fast open footy and people will want to play and watch.It is spectacular. But the modern game is no great shakes. North and Essendon had a game this year which was a shootout and it was best game of year. Trouble is ugly football wins games, see GF. (except for Geelong last couple of years, their play on style was fantastic)

Very concise Lazza. :)

Anthony,youre wrong,,,the USA media make out Yanks loving their Football,reality is mostYanks could"nt careless about their Football,and many know like the rest of us that PRO American Football is simply boring

That's all well and good, but where are your words of caution to other sports: - you shouldn't try and introduce hockey to South Africa, rugby is too big - you shouldn't try and introduce volleyball to South Africa, rugby is too big - you shouldn't try and introduce baseball to South Africa, rugby is too big etc etc When you stand back and look at it that way - what are people's objections exactly? Is anyone putting up posts telling the Europeans to not bother introducing European Handball to Australia? (a sport I played in my early teens, back in the late 70s I might add)

Mr. Football. Are you suggesting that those people who are not good enough to play top level Football will be good enough to play top level AFL because all they need is athleticism and the will to succeed.?????

Spent two months in South Africa over June and July. NEVER saw anything about AFL there at all. It is mainly rugby union and soccer. People there just assume Aussies are rugby mad like they are.

"what will the be the publicity if he becomes a regular player?" ....not much Plenty of aussies have played professional baseball in the US and it has no real effect on the game here. These are minor curiosities for the media, stories that basically only come out when they cant find the video of the waterskiing chipmunk.

Jono 52795 I assume you have never lived outside Melbourne. It is the 'Stockholm Syndome'. In no other city in the world are you kidnapped by your neighbours to watch a game of football. To live in Paris, Sydney or New York you can enjoy your Saturdays without wasting 3-4 hours watching something that you aren't really interested in. Canberra proves the point. Hundreds of Melbourne graduates move to Canberra at the end of their university courses to start in January. Around the water cooler for a few months they can talk about nothing else than Carlton or Collingwood and their wish too see a game of AFL in Canberra. When they first go to see Footscray vs the Swans before 7000 people at a freezing Manuka Oval they start to realise that the atmosphere is nothing like Melbourne. Then they hear that the Raiders (RL) and Brumbies (RU) got 15,000 to their respective matches on the weekend but are surprised that no one talks about them at work. They then learn that It is not cool to talk about any kinds of football (at work). The social lubricant that binds AFL and Melbourne together doesn't exist anywhere else in the world apart from Adelaide and Perth. The growth of any sports depends on many factors. To say that because Australian Rules is uniquely Australian it will be a success is like saying that a uniquely Estonian sport will be a success. The Australianess will militate against any global success, If South Africa has garnered 20,000 participants in AFL that's all to the good - though I'd say the figures are very rubbery.. However, you must very ignorant about South African history and that of the Afrikaaners to not understand what rugby means to them. Rugby was the means for the Afikaaners (Dutch speaking white South Afiicans) to demostrate their superiority over their English speaking colonisers. Despite its former white exclusiveness there are now more black and coloured players playing top-level rugby than whites playing top-level soccer (ss it is called in South Africa). Six weeks ago 94,000 people watched the rugby test at Soccer City in Joh'burg between New Zealand (the All Blacks) and South Afica (the Springboks) That was exactly 10,000 people more than watched the FIFA World Cup final at the same venue between Spain and Holland. I would bet in one hundred years time there wouldn't be 9,400 watching an Australian Rules game between South Africa and New Zealand in Joh'burg.