Australian Rules Football Outside Australia - International Competition

International Competition

See also: List of International Australian rules football Tournaments

The first truly international competitor in Australian Football was New Zealand. In 1908, the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australian rules football. New Zealand (then representing a total of 115 clubs) defeated both New South Wales and Queensland in the carnival, but lost to Victoria and Tasmania.

The 1995 Arafura Games, held in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia became the first international sporting event to have Australian football as a competition sport, rather than a demonstration sport. Papua New Guinea won the gold medal and retained it in subsequent games. Other teams that have competed at Australian Rules in the games include Japan, Nauru, and a Northern Territory indigenous team. The International Australian football Council (IAFC) was formed after the 1995 Games.

Inspired by successful Arafura Games competitions, the inaugural Australian Football International Cup was held in Melbourne in 2002, as the last act of the IAFC, and held in conjunction with the AFL. The 2002 cup was contested by eleven teams from around the world, made up exclusively of non-Australians. Ireland won, defeating Papua New Guinea in the final.

In the interim years, Japan and New Zealand played an annual game as a curtain raiser to the AFL games. The New Zealand national team were victorious by 100 points in 2003, and so, in 2004, a club side from Auckland played the game, which Japan lost by two points. The amateur Australian Convicts also toured, playing several matches against sides from developing nations.

The second Australian Football International Cup was held in Melbourne in 2005, again under the guidance and funding of the AFL, with New Zealand defeating Papua New Guinea in the final. Third place went to the United States of America.

In 2006, Denmark, Sweden and Germany competed in a tri-nations series, which was planned to be repeated annually.

The third Australian Football International Cup was held in 2008 by the AFL in Melbourne, with a record 16 teams competing. Papua New Guinea won their first title, defeating New Zealand, and South Africa controversially defeated Ireland by 1 point to finish third.

Other international competitions that include Australian expatriates are also held, including the EU Cup, which was first held in 2005 in London, featuring ten teams. In 2007 the Cup was held in Hamburg, with twelve teams.