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, however the AFL has confirmed that the cup will once again be held in Melbourne 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. Ultimately, this idea was dropped, with the sixteen teams being seeded into four pools.
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.
The USA Women's team announced an intention to send a squad to play against Australia and possibly Papua New Guinea. Additionally Canada and England announced their intentions to send Under 17s squads. As a result, there was speculation over an inaugural women's and under 17 divisions. However the AFL denied these divisions in favour of a senior men's competition only. In response, and with the Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament being cancelled, British and Canadian junior teams had to organise their own tours and matches against Australian schools. Despite both international teams being in Australia at the same time, they did not play against each other. The US women's team announced a 2009 tour instead.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Australian Football International Cup
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