Australian Football International Cup

Australian Football International Cup
Most recent season or competition:
2014 Australian Football International Cup
Sport Australian rules football
Inaugural season 2002
No. of teams 2014: 18 men's, 7 women's
Most recent champion(s) Men's:
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (2nd title)
Women's:
Canada Canada Northern Lights (1st title)
Most titles Men's:
Republic of Ireland Ireland (2 titles)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (2 titles)
Women's:
Republic of Ireland Ireland (1 title)
Canada Canada (1 title)
Official website

The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup) is an international sport competition in Australian rules football. It is currently co-ordinated by the Australian Football League's game development arm and run every 3 years since 2002.

The tournament is the largest international Australian rules football event and the only one that is open to worldwide senior competition; although Australia, the home and world's strongest nation in the game, does not participate as it would most likely dominate the competition.

The inaugural tournament was the 2002 Australian Football International Cup run by the International Australian Football Council under the auspices of the Australian Football League, which then assumed full control with the winding up of the IAFC.

The Cup was originally for male participants only, but in 2011 a women's competition was established.[1] After some suggestions the tournament would be run every 4 years, the AFL is currently maintaining the 3-year cycle.

The grand final of each men's tournament has been held as a curtain raiser to a home-and-away match of the AFL premiership season.

Australia is not represented in the men's tournament; as the only nation where the sport is played professionally, the difference in skill level between an Australian national team and the nearest competitor is currently far too large for any contest to be worthwhile. As such, the tournament is geared towards development of the sport outside Australia and expatriate Australians may not compete, with the exception of the women's OzIM team, where only indigenous and multicultural Australians are able to enter.

Currently there this petition to help raise the profile of the AFL International Cup by broadcasting the 2017 International Cup on the SBS, an organisation devoted to multi-cultural, multi-lingual entertainment.

History

Ireland has won the tournament in 2002 and 2011.

When the International Australian Football Council was formed in 1995 one of its aims was to 'establish and promote an official World Cup of Australian Football'. At the time it was thought that 2008, being the 150th anniversary of the game, was the appropriate date.

However, in 1999 a proposal was received from the New Zealand Australian Football League (NZAFL), suggesting that the World Cup be brought forward to 2002. This was accepted by the council and, following visits to many countries, IAFC public relations officer Brian Clarke drafted a discussion paper and draft regulations for circulation to the various national bodies.

An approach was then made to the AFL, asking for their support in staging the event. The AFL agreed on the basis that the event was renamed the "International Cup". An organising committee, chaired by Ed Biggs and including AFL and IAFC representatives, was then appointed.

The inaugural competition was held between 14 August and 23 August 2002 (in conjunction with the International Australian Football Council), with 11 countries competing including Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Ireland defeated Papua New Guinea in the final.

The second cup was held between 3 August and 13 August 2005 in Australia. Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States competed. Denmark and Nauru competed in 2002 but withdrew from the 2005 tournament for financial reasons. Papua New Guinea were again runners up, this time defeated by New Zealand by 7.8 (50) to 5.2 (32).

The third cup was held in August and September 2008. Sixteen nations competed; all teams from the 2002 competition returned, joined by debutants China, India, Sweden, Finland and the Peres Peace Team (Israel-Palestine).[2] Tonga competed as a seventeenth team, but as they were unable to commit to the full draw they played a series of matches against Team Asia and Team Africa, sides drawn from Melbourne's migrant communities.

The fourth tournament, the 2011 Australian Football International Cup was held in Melbourne and Sydney[3] in August 2011 with 18 nations competing,[4] as well as five women's teams.[5]

Results

Year Host Final Third place match Number of teams
Winner Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2002
Details		 Melbourne[6]
Ireland[7]		 7.9 (51) - 2.7 (19)
Papua New Guinea
New Zealand		 3.7 (25) - 2.4 (16)
Denmark		 11
2005
Details		 Melbourne, Wangaratta[8]
New Zealand[9]		 7.8 (50) - 5.2 (32)
Papua New Guinea
United States		 10.5 (65) - 4.6 (30)
Ireland		 10
2008
Details		 Melbourne, Warrnambool[10]
Papua New Guinea[11]		 7.12 (54) - 7.4 (46)
New Zealand
South Africa		 4.9 (33) - 5.2 (32)
Ireland		 16
2011
Details		 Melbourne, Sydney[3]
Ireland[12]		 8.5 (53) - 5.5 (35)
Papua New Guinea
New Zealand		 12.4 (76) - 6.5 (41)
United States		 18
2014
Details		 Melbourne
Papua New Guinea		 6.9 (45) - 6.6 (42)
Ireland
New Zealand		 6.8 (44) - 6.7 (43)
South Africa		 18

Competing teams, nicknames, and placings

Flag Nation Rep team 2002 (11) 2005 (10) 2008 (16) 2011 (18) 2014 2017
Canada Canada Northwind 9th 7th 6th 10th 5th
China China Red Demons - - 15th 17th 16th
Denmark Denmark Vikings 4th - 11th 8th -
East Timor East Timor Crocs - - - 18th -
Fiji Fiji Tribe - - - 13th 10th
Finland Finland Icebreakers - - 14th - 15th
France France Coqs - - - 14th 11th
India India Tigers - - 16th 16th 18th
Indonesia Indonesia Garudas - - - - 17th
Republic of Ireland Ireland Warriors 1st 4th 4th 1st 2nd
IsraelState of Palestine Israel-Palestinian territories Peres Team for Peace - - 13th 15th -
Japan Japan Samurais 10th 9th 8th 12th 14th
Nauru Nauru Chiefs 8th - 5th 6th 7th
New Zealand New Zealand Falcons 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd
Pakistan Pakistan Dragoons - - - - 12th
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Mosquitos 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st
Samoa Samoa Kangaroos 7th 5th 10th - -
South Africa South Africa Lions 11th 8th 3rd 5th 4th
Spain Spain Bulls - 10th - - -
Sweden Sweden Elks - - 12th 11th 13th
Tonga Tonga Tigers - - - 9th 6th
United Kingdom United Kingdom Bulldogs 6th 6th 9th 7th 9th
United States United States Revolution 5th 3rd 7th 4th 8th

Overall tournament rankings and statistics

Ranking Country #Played #Won %Won #Lost %Lost #Drawn %Drawn
1 New Zealand New Zealand 23 20 87% 3 13% 0 0%
2 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 22 18 82% 4 18% 0 0%
3 Republic of Ireland Ireland 23 18 78% 5 22% 0 0%
4 United States United States 23 16 70% 7 30% 0 0%
5 Fiji Fiji 6 4 67% 2 33% 0 0%
6 Samoa Samoa 17 9 53% 8 47% 0 0%
7 Denmark Denmark 16 8 50% 8 50% 0 0%
7 France France 6 3 50% 3 50% 0 0%
7 Nauru Nauru 16 8 50% 8 50% 0 0%
7 South Africa South Africa 22 11 50% 11 50% 0 0%
11 United Kingdom United Kingdom 22 10 45% 12 55% 0 0%
12 Canada Canada 22 9 41% 13 59% 0 0%
13 IsraelState of Palestine Israel-Palestinian territories 11 4 36% 7 64% 0 0%
14 China China 11 3 27% 8 73% 0 0%
14 Japan Japan 22 6 27% 16 73% 0 0%
14 Sweden Sweden 11 3 27% 8 73% 0 0%
17 Finland Finland 5 1 20% 4 80% 0 0%
18 Tonga Tonga 6 1 17% 5 83% 0 0%
19 India India 11 1 9% 10 91% 0 0%
20 Spain Spain 5 0 0% 5 100% 0 0%
20 East Timor East Timor 6 0 0% 6 100% 0 0%

Placing rankings

Pos. Team  Gold  Silver  Bronze Fourth
1st Papua New Guinea 2 (2008, 2014) 3 (2002, 2005, 2011)
2nd Ireland 2 (2002, 2011) 1 (2014) 2 (2005, 2008)
3rd New Zealand 1 (2005) 1 (2008) 3 (2002, 2011, 2014)
4th United States 1 (2005) 1 (2011)
South Africa 1 (2008) 1 (2014)
6th Denmark 1 (2002)

Women's International Cup

Beginning in 2011, a Women's International Cup will be competed for alongside the men's competition.[13] Teams competing in the women's division include:

Flag Nation Rep team 2011 (5)[14] 2014 (7)[15] 2017 (–)
Australia Indigenous & Multicultural team Australia OzIM 5th –
Canada Canada Northern Lights 2nd 1st
Canada Canada Midnight Suns – 4th
Fiji Fiji Fiji – 5th
Republic of Ireland Ireland Banshees 1st 2nd
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Flame 4th –
United States United States Freedom 3rd 3rd
United States United States Liberty – 7th
Tonga Tonga Tonga – 6th

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About AFL International Cup". Australian Football League. Retrieved 25 May 2012. In addition, 2011 sees the introduction of a women's tournament with five competing countries: Canada, PNG, Ireland, USA and a combined Indigenous/Multicultural team from Australia.
  2. ↑ "AFL International Cup History". Australian Football League. Retrieved 25 May 2012. The third International Cup hosted Papua New Guinea, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Nauru, Samoa, South Africa, Sweden, United States and an unprecedented Peres Peace Team combining Israeli and Palestinian players.
  3. 1 2 Thompson, Troy (2 December 2010). "IC11 dates and locations confirmed". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. The AFL have now stated that Melbourne and Sydney are locked in, but there will be no Queensland matches.
  4. ↑ "About AFL International Cup". Australian Football League. Retrieved 25 May 2012. This year, 18 men's teams will compete for the title with Tonga, France Fiji and Timor-Leste (East Timor) all joining for the first time.
  5. ↑ "About AFL International Cup". Australian Football League. Retrieved 25 May 2012. In addition, 2011 sees the introduction of a women's tournament with five competing countries: Canada, PNG, Ireland, USA and a combined Indigenous/Multicultural team from Australia.
  6. ↑ Northey, Brett (16 November 2004). "International Cup 2002 in Review". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. It has been two years since the inaugural International Cup, held in Melbourne.
  7. ↑ Northey, Brett (16 November 2004). "International Cup 2002 in Review". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. In a tough contest, the Green Machine, as they were dubbed by the Australian media, shut down the Papuans. There are numerous opinions on how the Irish came to defeat such a fancied opponent.
  8. ↑ Northey, Brett (23 April 2005). "International Cup venues released". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. As reported earlier, the grand final is to be played at the MCG, and the series also includes a round of matches at a country venue, Wangaratta, about northeast of Melbourne.
  9. ↑ Richard, Aaron (13 August 2005). "New Zealand take the Cup". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. New Zealand held off Papua New Guinea to win the 2005 Australian Football International Cup this evening, running out 7.8.50 to 5.2.32 winners.
  10. ↑ Nugent, Ash (27 November 2007). "Warrnambool to co-host 2008 International Cup". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. The AFL today announced that Warrnambool will join Melbourne as the host of the 2008 International Cup.
  11. ↑ Northey, Brett (6 September 2008). "Mozzies at last in MCG thriller". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. Papua New Guinea's Mosquitoes have finally broken through to win the International Cup at the MCG after twice being runners-up. It was magnificent come from behind win against quality opposition, the New Zealand Falcons, in a high quality match.
  12. ↑ Richard, Aaron (27 August 2011). "IC11 Men's Div 1 Grand Final - Ireland's Double Glory". World Footy News. Retrieved 25 May 2012. Ireland have come back from a 28-point deficit midway through the second term to defeat the PNG Mosquitoes by 18 points today, in a match that saw the Warriors become the first nation to win two International Cups, as well as the first nation to win the Men's and Women's International Cups in the same year.
  13. ↑ "Women's Teams". Aussie Rules International. Retrieved 25 May 2012. 2011 sees the inaugural Women's International Cup in Australian Football.
  14. ↑ AFL Community (2011-08-28). "AFL Community: International Cup 2011". aflcommunity.com.au. Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  15. ↑ AFL (2014-08-25). "International Cup 2014 Final rankings". afl.com.au. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.

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