2008 Australian Football International Cup

The 2008 Australian Football International Cup is the third time the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition, has been contested.

It is scheduled for 2008 (as part of the 150th year celebrations of Australian Football), with 16 nations competing.

The tournament is hosted by both Melbourne and Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia between the 27 August and 6th September, with a single match additionally being played in Geelong. [ [http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=53863 AFL International Cup goes to Warrnambool] ]

Like previous tournaments, the competition is open to men's teams with strict nationality eligibility rules.

The Grand Final was played between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea were victorious by 8 points with a goal kicked after the siren. Like the Grand Final in previous years, the match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a curtain raiser to the 2008 AFL Season finals match between Hawthorn Hawks and Western Bulldogs which attracted a crowd of 76,703 spectators. However unlike previous tournaments, the final was not televised.

History and build up

The WAFL and Perth, Western Australia raised the possibility of bidding for the tournament soon after the 2005 cup had been completed, [World Cup For Perth. August 28 Digby Beacham, Sunday Times, Perth] however the AFL has confirmed that the cup will once again be held in Melbourne (the game's spiritual home) for at least for one more year, as the 2008 Cup will coincide with Australian Rules football's 150th anniversary. The AFL later indicated that a regional round and semi-finals would be held in Warrnambool.

The AFL indicated that unlike earlier cups, it would likely be split into two divisions, a premier division and development division, with some discussion as to whether the eligibility rules could be loosened for the development division, to enable more countries to participate. Leagues were given the opportunity to nominate which they would prefer, with eight in each division being an initial target. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20070718233549434 Cup dates proposed as AFL ponders divisions] ] Ultimately, this idea was dropped, with the sixteen teams being seeded into four pools.

There has been some speculation over the inclusion of an inaugural Women's division with Australia, the United States and possibly Papua New Guinea, countries sending women's squads. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20070729221631386 Plenty of issues to consider for Cup organisers] ] Canada and England have also announced an intention to send Under 17s squads.

In December, 2007, it was announced that Melbourne and Warrnambool would co-host the two division event, with Melbourne matches to be played mainly in Royal Park North. Several potential new sides were announced by the AFL, including an Israeli-Palestine combination supported by the Peres Centre for Peace, China and India. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/israelis-and-palestinians-to-play-side-by-side/2007/12/02/1196530481029.html Israelis and Palestinians to play side by side] ] [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20071127223254512 Warrnambool to co-host 2008 International Cup] ]

Competing Nations

The AFL confirmed in July 2008 that sixteen nations will compete. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20080208123145947 World Footy News - 16 teams to contest IC08, a dozen more in the wings ] ] In addition, there will be friendly matches played between Melbourne-based migrant community teams under the names "Team Africa" and "Team Asia", as well as the Tongan side which was unable to commit to the full tournament. Also despite a previous appearance, the Spain Bulls will not be competing.

Round 3

Pool C

Finals Round 2

Gallery

References

ee also

*List of Australian rules football leagues outside Australia
*Australian football around the world
*AFL Women's National Championships

External links

* [http://www.ic08.com.au Official 2008 International Cup Homepage]
* http://www.aussierulesinternational.com
* [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20060714020605537 Long term view to IC2008 - part one] article from World Footy News with predictions on 2008 results
* [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20060801173754568 Long term view to IC2008 - part two] article from World Footy News with predictions on 2008 results
* [http://www.worldfootynews.com/staticpages/index.php/20070107140306873 World Footy News International Cup homepage]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E Video of Aussie Rules] from YouTube