I must admit I am torn. On one hand I would love Australian football to have a buoyant, viable international presence.
On the other hand I love we have a great treasure all to ourselves, a game that gives many people an Australian grounding and identity, a game that can be traced back to the very early roots of this country’s European history and even further if you subscribe to the Marn Grook theory to which I do.
There is even talk that Ned Kelly played for Williamstown VFA club in the 1870s while serving a sentence on a prison ship in the bay as a 17-year-old. He was apparently a gun CHB with a bit of a temper.
I love the fact we have a game to show off to international visitors, guests and tourists, like Gaelic footy or hurling in Ireland, shinty in Scotland, ice hockey in Canada, American Football in the US.
It’s our own game, I love the fact that with each immigration wave to this country a new layer gets added to the sport.
So exactly how international is our game, how well is it known, is it growing, it is worth persevering with internationally, will AFLX change the international outlook of the game, or are we just wasting a bit of time here?
Should the AFL invest more money into it?
(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
If we look locally and by locally I mean Oceania and NZ, the game has a bit of traction, particularly in Papua New Guinea where the game has been played since at least the 1940s and more recently in NZ.
The AFLNZ website is worth having a look at, they seem quite organised in New Zealand and of course the only other country in the world where Australian football is number one is Nauru.
If we look wider there are organised leagues in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and different countries in Europe, Denmark has quite an organised league. The US nationals which are held every year is the biggest organised festival of Australian football in the world, with over 50 18-a-side teams participating.
Their websites are all worth having a look at and generally up to date.
There are also leagues in the Middle East, Asia and South Africa all varying in size.
It is also worth pointing out that globalisation and the internet has increased football’s reach rather than see it retreating back to its roots.
All these leagues have grown in general despite a lack of AFL support. South Africa and New Zealand seem to be the exceptions where the AFL seem to have kicked in some funds or sought sponsorship to cover costs. I also understand that AFL Queensland helps fund Papua New Guinea and Papua New Guinea teams play in Queensland underage champs.
Should the AFL really focus on a couple of countries and pour resources into them? Should it just focus on NSW and Queensland?.
Should the AFL abandon any international development whatsoever, is the idea of international growth actually a detriment to the game which could see bigger money from overseas take the best players away from here in the future?
Do international players ‘steal’ list places from more deserving Australians? More and more international players lead to less and less Australians on AFL lists.
If we review where the current international draft picks come from, the US seems to provide ruckman types from a basketball background and Ireland contributes HB flanker types from Gaelic footy.
I don’t have the exact figures but there seems to be around ten Irishman on AFL lists, a couple of Americans and a couple of Kiwis.
If we use AFLX for example, the Irish could probably put a pretty competitive team on the park, in fact a competitive Irish team could possibly lead to the AFLX pre-season tournament featuring an Irish team.
I wonder what sort of financial incentive there is for the AFL to televise these type of games to Ireland.
I understand that the Australian international rules team will play a Test match in a US city to be nominated against the Irish, so there is some irons in the fire as far as IR goes.
Roarers, what do you think about the current state of the game outside Australia, is it growing, is it worth growing, what are the benefits, what are the negatives?
George Chindilas
Guest
Just for kicks
Lroy
Guest
India has plenty of cricket pitches, we could have a team called ''The Delhi Dockers''.... They couldn't be any worse than that current mob we have ha ha ha ha
Lroy
Guest
Your posts are incomprehensible, that's probably why the mods block em.. In response to your comment, you can do a search on a thing called ''google'' and with it people like you can learn new stuff. The ''Canadian Australian Football League '' is what you are looking for, the Brits have something similar. So, no need to be stuck in your mum's basement, I'm sure it gets lonely down there. We live on an amazing planet, get on Google, get educated, get amongst it boy!!!
HELLESPONT
Guest
How could the AFL become an international game with the present rules and structure. You need a cricket sized oval to play it on. There aren't to many of them around the world.
Martin
Guest
Thanks Leonard for that info. I just search Wikipedia with the term 'Stadium Australia' and found some historical details. The date was actually 7th August 1999 with the Denver Broncos playing the San Diego Chargers. It says there were 78,811 spectators at this American Bowl Game.
Leonard
Guest
Yes, it happened (but only as a pre-season / practise match) in mid-1998 as the full-size Homebush Olympic Stadium was preparing for 100,000 crowds to the 2000 Olympics. The two of us went to it (one more enthusiastically than t'other!) and came away deeply unsatisfied and disappointed. The big TV screens spent most of their time spouting propaganda for the NSW Government - - there was nothing about the sport tailored for us 'foreigners' to the game. The game actually started while the state premier was BS-ing his way through some tosh, and there was no equivalent to our siren to signal the start of the game. Food and drink outlets had l----o----n----g queues, and we could hear unhappily hungry spectators venting about the quality and quantity (although being 'outraged' had not yet become the norm). As a selling exercise, a dodgy feed of slightly off oysters would have had a better reception. Wonder how many (especially of those who left early) said "stuff that for a joke!" and vowed to never have the slightest interest in what can be an intriguing sport?
truetigerfan
Guest
Here, hear Jacqueline. Carna Tigers!
Leonard
Guest
The claim, "There are amateur [‘AFL’] leagues all around the world with thousands of people playing. They aren’t professional leagues because very few people know or care about Australian football", is similar to a point argued in these sites about the A-League, and it’s about the contrast between the hundreds of thousands who are active players at sub-professional level all around the nation (as shown by ABS statistics easily accessible online) and the tens of thousands of empty seats at A-League venues in the five mainland states during that competition’s H&A season (as TV screens make obvious at nearly every match). Which begs the Julius Sumner Miller question: “Why is it so?” (What a wonderful experience his TV science shows were back in the 1960s and 70s! – link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Sumner_Miller#Television) Why are these hundreds of thousands of ABS statistics leaving empty the tens of thousands of seats at venues ranging from the 40000 DLS in Melbourne and Lang Park in Brisbane to the 60000 AO in Adelaide and Homebush in Sydney? Is it because “very few people know or care about” the A-League?
Cat
Roar Guru
Where's your proof Stalker? Link the 'real' numbers. Bet you cannot. Starting to sound an awful lot like Denial Hird. Just wait until the 'truth' comes out ... ya ... funny we're still waiting despite months and years of chances to prove this alleged 'truth'.
Stalking Fred
Guest
I have replied to this post but it didn't get through . Why is that ? Is it due to highlighting the absolute rubbish that was claimed Is propaganda allowed but disputing that propaganda frowned upon . Sadly that's why posters don't bother posting here .
Stalking Fred
Guest
& somehow CAT you believe there's 170k not counting Auskick . Lol x1000000 As I've said . Real registers numbers were looked at & were nothing like the numbers claimed .
Jacqueline Camp
Guest
I'm a Yank and I love footy. I am also a Richmond Tigers fan (go Tiges!) Footy is Australian and should remain Australian. No need for it to be any other way. It just wouldn't be right!
Random Thinker
Guest
I don’t know if Aussie Rules will ever be credible (in my life time at least) overseas and I don’t think I care either way. However just pondering on this topic clicks a few gears in my head. If there is one place in the world where it could work could it be India? India and their neighboring South Asian countries are supposedly crazy about cricket. Think about it, no need to modify the game for a rectangular field and would be great in the cricket off season. Mind you this is just a thought and I have done zero research into this is idea. But it could make sense. But ultimately before expanding our codes horizons into international territories we would have to get it right in NSW and (more so) QLD. Perhaps even give tassie the respect they deserve and recognise them properly not just with the hawks.
Slane
Guest
]You are asking 'why aren't their professional leagues if people are playing footy?'. There is no logic in your question. It's a non sequitur. That's like saying 'why is grass green if the sky is blue?'. There are no professional Australian rules leagues outside Australia because there aren't a lot of fans outside of Australia. There are amateur leagues all around the world with thousands of people playing. They aren't professional leagues because very few people know or care about Australian football. Not too hard to follow.
Cat
Roar Guru
Martin
Guest
India is a cricketing nation and so they would need to play AFLX on oval shaped grounds in any case. And China already has the annual Port Adelaide match which means they already got a taste of the authentic game of Australian Rules football played on an oval, I doubt they would be interested in a mutated version.
Stalking Fred
Guest
Slane you're not even on the same page . No one is talking fans ..it's not the topic . It's about over seas playing numbers . Try to keep up
Aligee
Guest
Your argument is a bit silly, lacrosse is played in many countries and is relatively popular here, kids get scholarships all the time to America and Canada. I think Australia has come second in world championships multiple times, 38 countries played in 2014 world champs.. Why is then that the only professional leagues transversus the US and Canada ?. Why doesn't Australia have a pro comp ?.
Lroy
Guest
Australian Rules Football already has an international challenge outside the AFL. The Canadians and English play each other every couple of years for a trophy (going back to the early 1990's) and Im sure other countries do likewise... and most of the players have to be British or Canadian born. I played in Torronto in 1995 and they had 10 teams!! The AFL should embrace these international leagues and invite them over in grand final week to play of for a world cup, the decider to be played before the GF.
Aligee
Guest
Believe what you want, i believe Australian club numbers which are actually in the AFL annual report are real, plus or minus a couple of % and i have no problem with the AFL reporting 170,000 odd O/S participants, of that i am pretty sure the bulk would be as i posted above - kids type Auskick programs. In many countries the Aussie $ stretches and employs locals to over see programs for little cost, the number of kids playing can add up very quickly.