EU Cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also: Australian rules football in Europe
The EU Cup is an international Australian rules football tournament played between European national teams. Played under 9-a-side Footy rules, the tournament was first held at Chiswick Rugby Club in London, England in 2005 as an extension of the Central European Australian Football League Championships. The event has to date been mainly contested by European nations not yet at the stage of having enough players to attend the Australian Football International Cup, as having a smaller squad size makes it easier to attend.
The 2005 EU Cup was also the event which saw the creation of Aussie Rules Europe, a branch of Aussie Rules International.
Contents |
[edit] 2007 EU Cup
- Main article: 2007 EU Cup Australian rules football
The 2007 event was held in Hamburg, Germany on the weekend of September 15 and 16, and was won by Sweden who defeated Germany in the final.
Twelve teams representing Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and a team called EU Crusaders attended the 2007 EU Cup. This tournament limited squad sizes to 15 players, of which no more than ten could be Australians.
[edit] 2006 EU Cup
The 2006 event was to be held in Paris, although the organisers cancelled the event due to less than ten teams indicating they would take part. A number of teams who had originally intended to contest the EU Cup instead attended the CEAFL Championships in Prague.
[edit] 2005 EU Cup
- Main article: 2005 EU Cup Australian rules football
Ten teams representing Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Netherlands, France, Austria, Catalonia and Belgium attended the 2005 EU Cup.
There was no restriction on the numbers of expatriate Australians competing in the event, but a handicap system was put in places whereby sides received a 2 point handicap for each local national and 1 point for each other non-Australian in their squads.
The tournament was won by Belgium who were crowned European Champions after defeating Sweden in the final.
