Indonesia
Australian rules football was played in Indonesia by Australian soldiers in 1945 in Morotai and also Ngada.
It is currently played in Indonesia by clubs in Jakarta (formed in 1995), Bali (formed in 1997) and the Borneo Bears based in Balikpapan, these three clubs being mainly made up of expatriate Australians. There is also a league consisting of local villagers around the Pancawati area in West Java. The Jakarta Bintangs and Bali Geckoes regularly contest the Java-Bali Cup and participate in the Asian Australian Football Championships.
A club was under formation as of 2006 in Banda Aceh, although this project was ultimately unsuccessful.
Founded in 2003, the West Java Australian Football League (WeJAFL) has over 500 local junior and senior players in the local competition. The large number of local players makes it the Asian nation with the highest participation rate amongst locals, although an Indonesian team has not yet appeared at the Australian Football International Cup.
The Jakarta Bulldogs Australian Football Club, Established in late 2006, is an Aussie Rules Football Club made up of primarily of Under 18 year old expatriate and local students from the British International School Jakarta, although they share no affiliation with the school. The club was founded by Australian-born brothers Alf Eddy (Club Captain) and Max Eddy (Head Coach) and has played against a wide variety of local Australian Football teams such as the Pancawati Eagles, Depok Garudas, the Bandung-New Guinea AFC and the Jakarta Bintangs. Since 2006 the club has gone from strength to strength obtaining full sponsorship from ANZ Bank which allowed for the acquisition of proper uniforms of AFL standard and new footies in 2007. In 2008 Bulldogs will take part in the inaugural Junior Asian Championships, going into the competition with high expectations from all involved. A Finnish member of the club, Tuomas Anttila, was scouted to play with the Finnish national team at the 2008 International Cup, but was unable to make the journey.
The Borneo Bears were formed in Balikpapan in 2008, making their debut at the 2008 Bali 9s tournament.
The Jakarta Bintangs, Bali Geckoes and Borneo Bears formed the AFL Indonesia in 2009, with a centralised plan for further development of the sport among native Indonesians, and the long-term goal of an Indonesian side at the 2011 Australian Football International Cup.
Australian rules football in Indonesia receives regular coverage from the Jakarta Globe and is now regularly played on television via the Australia Network including live coverage of the AFL Grand Final.
Read more about this topic: Australian Rules Football In Asia