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The AFL brand is increasingly being recognised internationally. This trend is improving the quality of our game, injecting highly talented and extremely athletic individuals into the AFL system, as well as highlighting the importance of diversity and multiculturalism with in the league.
The most renowned non-Australian player is Irish native Jim Stynes, a Brownlow Medalist, Melbourne Football Club champion and twice Victorian of the year.
Stynes first bought raw international talent to the AFL, pioneering what is now an inextricable part of our game.
Currently a ‘multicultural player’ in the AFL system is a player who has at least one parent born overseas.
According to this classification, a total of 112 of the 811 listed AFL players come from multicultural backgrounds. With 40 countries represented, these players account for 14 per cent of the league.
While many of the players may have spent the majority of their lives in Australia, they often bring with them a passion for their cultural heritage and a desire to market the game to an international audience.
During 2012, such players were recognised through the announcement of a multicultural team of champions. It included 12 AFL Hall of Fame inductees, three players who have legend status, and a combined total of 44 AFL premierships.
Some members of the team included Alex Jesaulenko (Austria), Stephen Silvagni (Italy), Wayne Schwass (New Zealand), Peter Daicos (Macedonia), Peter Bell (Korea) and Nick Riewoldt (Germany).
Currently, there are 25 players born outside Australia on AFL lists, from 11 countries.
The recent form of Irish-born, Brisbane Lions player Pearce Hanley is testament to this. Over the last six rounds, Hanley has averaged 30 possessions, including an impressive 11 inside 50 entries, two goals and three goal assists in a 45-possession game against the Gold Coast Suns.
What the AFL is doing beyond the immediate senior competition is more impressive and exciting.
Last week, the third AFL International Cup began in Melbourne, bringing together 900 male and female players from 18 countries, including three new teams from Finland, Indonesia and Pakistan.
With expatriate Australians deemed ineligible to play, the 25 participating teams are comprised solely of amateurs who must be nationals of the country they represent.
For the first time this year, the Cup will be showcased in regional centres across Victoria as curtain raisers to suburban and country matches, exposing the international growth of our game.
To supplement the International Cup, the AFL annually forms an U16 World XVIII Team, which competes in division three of the National Championships.
Coached and mentored by Greek-born Carlton legend Anthony Koutoufides in 2014, the World XVIII brings together players of African, Asian and European descent as well as two highly-talented players directly scouted from the AFL South Africa program based in Cape Town.
In this division, they also play against young players from Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga who represent the South Pacific.
With an AFL game now played there annually on Anzac Day, New Zealand continues to be an important market for the AFL with over 30,000 Kiwis now playing the game.
To complement this, the AFL named a 2014 New Zealand team that was led by Sam Mitchell, Ben Rutten, Shane Savage, Nathan Van Berlo and Dustin Martin as well held a match between an open-age New Zealand Hawks team against the U17 Australian Team, who ended up being victorious by only four points.
In addition to coaching and learning opportunities, the AFL has for some time now indicated its desire to tap into the US market, by running annual US draft combines. Incredibly, when the combine was first taken to the US, six athletes beat Nic Natuani’s vertical jump record.
So impressive is their athletic ability and potential, during 2012 North Melbourne signed former US basketballer Eric Wallace to a 10-day contract.
By the end of 2012, there was an estimated 110,000 people playing AFL internationally compared to the 854,000 in Australia. There is also now 20 AFL-affiliated governing bodies worldwide.
While the AFL will never rival the international quality and popularity of league, union, cricket, football and many other sports, the globalisation of the game is positive.
Perhaps there will be a day when we see a world or multicultural team come up against an AFL side in a pre-season or exhibition game? Or perhaps a New Zealand team will play an All-Australian team on Anzac day?
With the AFL now seeking various commercial, coaching and recruitment ventures internationally, the constant expansion globally is inevitable and maybe one day these games will be a possibility.
Some of the current AFL players to have strong international and multicultural ties include: Nic Naitanui (West Coast, Fiji), Majak Daw (North Melbourne, South Sudan), Aaron Edwards (Richmond, Western Samoa), Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn, New Zealand), Mike Pike (Sydney, Canada), Zak Tuohy (Carlton, Ireland), Lin Jong (Western Bulldogs, Taiwan), Patrick Mitchell (Sydney, USA) and Heritier Lamumba (Collingwood, Brazil).
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