Australian Football International Cup
SportAustralian rules football
Inaugural season2002
No. of teams2017: 18 men's & 8 women's
CountryHost: Australia
Most recent
champion(s)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (men)
Republic of Ireland Ireland (women)
Most titlesPapua New Guinea Papua New Guinea
(men; 3 titles)
Republic of Ireland Ireland (women; 2 titles)
TV partner(s)YouTube[1]
Official websiteAFL International Cup

The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international tournament in Australian rules football. It is the biggest international tournament in the sport that is open to all nations (it is not called a World Cup as Australia does not compete due to the presence of the professional AFL competition and an abundance of semi-professional leagues). More than 26 nations have participated and the competition has expanded into multiple pools and both men and women's divisions. At the time of the last tournament in 2017, the sport had a record 170,744 registered players outside Australia (upwards of 23 per cent of total registered players worldwide) growing at a rate of 25 per cent per annum (as compared to an Australian participation growth rate of 10 per cent).[2]

The 2020 event was postponed and then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3] and after multiple subsequent postponements for both the 2020 and 2023 tournaments, the AFL put the International Cup on hiatus, sponsoring regional tournaments in 2024 exclusive for nations affiliated with the AFL.[4]

The inaugural 2002 tournament was organised by the first world governing body, the International Australian Football Council. With the AFL Commission assuming control over the game internationally, since 2005 it has been run by the Australian Football League (AFL)'s game development arm. The IC Grand Final of each men's tournament has been held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a curtain raiser to a home-and-away match of the AFL premiership season. Though it is run under the banner of the AFL Commission, the AFL's official Laws of the Game are not used, an Amateurs variation is instead applied, acknowledging the primarily amateur composition of the competition and that players are not paid for participating.

Although the competition has grown, its status has remained low for more than two decades, and the arrangement has been criticised due to the focus on domestic competition; the AFL's commitment to fund and promote the sport internationally has also been questioned.[5][6][7][8] The international governing body has itself cited "the significant investment required from the AFL to host the event" as a primary reason for its ongoing postponement,[3] and after multiple subsequent postponements for both the 2020 and 2023 tournaments, the AFL put the International Cup on hiatus, sponsoring regional tournaments in 2024 exclusively for nations affiliated with the AFL.[9] The Commission stated that it would "continue to review its ability" to stage the tournament in future.[10] Competition scheduling discourages it as a standalone spectator event with few pool matches played at stadiums; matches are generally played on weekdays during business hours and rarely with access to ticketed admission, allocated seating, or covered areas. The event and matches receive very little if any promotion. Though a few blockbusters have been played as curtain raisers to AFL matches, they are generally not advertised and attract mostly neutral observers as they filter in early for the main event the record for which was 76,703 at Papua New Guinea vs New Zealand at the 2008 IC Grand Final there for the 2008 AFL Second Qualifying final. Despite the limited accessibility for spectators some regional matches played on weekends have attracted significant attendances, with the current attendance record of 5,000 at The Showgrounds, Wangaratta.

Eligibility rules are very strict compared those of other international competitions. Generally speaking, players must be citizens of the country they represent and have lived there through roughly middle school and high school ages (when most players usually learn the key skills required). IC criteria ensures that expatriate Australians, Australians with overseas ancestry and those who moved to Australia at a young age are ineligible to compete (with the exception of the short-lived and unsuccessful women's Indigenous & Multicultural (OzIM) composite amateurs team in 2011). These rules, combined with professional contracts and limited pathways for players, typically preclude professional players from participating. In addition, there is a per-team cap on players registered with Australian clubs. Despite this, since the 2011 competition, the cup has featured a number of AFL-listed internationals and rookies; however, these players had to first negotiate a release from their AFL/AFLW contracts before being nominated and are not paid for their appearances. To date, three players have played senior matches at the highest level in both competitions – the amateur IC and professional club competition: Hewago Oea (Papua New Guinea/AFL), Laura Duryea (Ireland/AFLW) and Clara Fitzpatrick (Ireland/AFLW). Likewise, the tournament forms a pathway for international players to the AFL, with numerous players having been rookie-listed by AFL clubs after their performances in the competition.

History

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, the 2002 Australian Football International Cup, was held between 14 August and 23 August 2002 (in conjunction with the International Australian Football Council), with eleven countries competing including Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. All matches were played in Melbourne at mainly second tier suburban and Victorian Football League home grounds. Ireland defeated Papua New Guinea in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The second cup in 2005 was run by the AFL's Game Development arm, as the IAFC had been dissolved. It saw the addition of Spain but the withdrawal of Denmark and Nauru for financial reasons. While most of the venues were similar to 2002, it was the first tournament to have matches held outside Melbourne, with the Victorian city of Wangaratta hosting one of the later rounds. New Zealand won their first championship.

The third cup in 2008 saw a record sixteen nations with China, India, Sweden, Finland and a combined Israel-Palestine side (known as the Peres Peace Team) debuting.[11] Tonga entered as a seventeenth team, but as they were unable to commit to the full draw they played a series of multicultural exhibition matches against Team Asia and Team Africa, sides drawn from Melbourne's migrant communities. Like the previous cup, the 2008 event had some matches played outside of Melbourne with the western Victorian city of Warrnambool billed as the co-host and other games being held in Geelong and at Royal Park, Melbourne, featured as a primary venue in subsequent Cups. Papua New Guinea, which had advanced to the Grand Final in both previous tournaments, won its first title.

The fourth tournament, the 2011 Australian Football International Cup, was the first to play matches outside of Victoria, with Sydney being billed as co-host. Blacktown International Sports Park and suburban grounds hosted some of the early round matches and a historic first international at ANZ Stadium between the USA and South Africa played as a curtain raiser to a Sydney Swans AFL match.[12] A record eighteen nations competed,[13] and a women's division was competed for alongside the men's competition for the first time.[14][15] It was the first tournament to feature a side from Australia, the OzIM women's team, composed of amateur indigenous and multicultural players, however the team did not perform well. It was also the first tournament to be split into divisions, seeded from an opening round lighting-style format similar to the 2011 NAB Cup. The tournament saw the addition of teams from Fiji (who went on to take out Men's Division 2), France and Timor-Leste. Tonga, who had previously withdrawn, also competed but Finland and Samoa did not send teams. Ireland won the title in both men's and women's divisions.

The 2014 Australian Football International Cup saw a significant increase in international and media interest. Once again, eighteen teams competed. The Israel-Palestine combine was no longer represented and Denmark announced a return to its domestic game development policy. Indonesia and Pakistan made debuts in their place. As in previous tournaments, one of the rounds was played outside of Melbourne, with matches played at suburban grounds in Melbourne along with regional matches at Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong. South Africa, Fiji and France were the standout improvers. Papua New Guinea regained their title in the men's, winning their second title in five tries, while Sweden finished top of Division 2. Fiji and Tonga debuted in the women's division and the United States and Canada both fielded two women's teams making a record seven teams. Canada achieved a historic first ever title in the women's, defeating Ireland at Punt Road Oval.

The 2017 Australian Football International Cup once again featured eighteen men's teams, including debutante Sri Lanka, reflecting the game's growth in the Indian subcontinent. European teams were finding travel difficult, with northern European nations Finland, Denmark and Sweden (Sweden having competed in both the 2016 Europe Championships and also Denmark in the 2016 and 2017 EU Cups) pulling out, though Croatia and Germany made solid debuts. For the first time, the men's divisions were determined prior to the tournament instead of preliminary matches. Two themed rounds were featured: the School round, where matches were played at Victorian schools, and the Community round, as in 2014 where matches were played at suburban grounds in Melbourne and Geelong. Papua New Guinea won back-to-back men's titles, Croatia won a historic first Division 2 title. In the women's, Great Britain, Pakistan and the European Crusaders joined a record field of eight teams with no nations fielding more than one team. Ireland regained its women's title over Canada at Docklands Stadium in the first women's grand final match played as an AFL curtain raiser.

The 2020 International Cup was scheduled for 21 July – 8 August in Sunshine Coast, Queensland. It was initially postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic[16] before being cancelled altogether in 2021. Prior to the tournament several changes had been announced. Criteria were made more strict, reducing the number of Australian based players allowed to compete. New Zealand announced the planned entry of its first women's team. The AFL had, for the first time, announced capping the men's competition to sixteen teams and the women's to eight.[17]

In August 2021, the AFL announced that the IC would return in 2023 to align with its original three-year schedule. No host as yet been announced.[18] On 22 April 2022, the AFL announced it was postponing the International Cup until 2024 citing "significant investment required from the AFL to host the event".[3] However, on 24 July 2023, the AFL announced that, in lieu of the International Cup, that it would be organizing three regional events in 2024 instead: the Trans-Atlantic Cup, the Asia Cup, and the Pacific Cup. No indication as to when the International Cup would be resumed. [19]

Men's International Cup

Nation Moniker 2002 (11) 2005 (10) 2008 (16) 2011 (18) 2014 (18) 2017 (18)
Canada Canada Northwind 9th 7th 6th 10th 5th 7th
China China Dragons - - 15th 17th 16th 13th
Croatia Croatia Knights - - - - - 11th
Denmark Denmark Vikings 4th W/D 11th 8th - -
Fiji Fiji Tribe - - - 13th 10th 8th
Finland Finland Icebreakers - - 14th - 15th -
France France Les Coqs - - - 14th 11th 10th
Germany Germany Eagles - - - - - 12th
United Kingdom Great Britain Bulldogs 6th 6th 9th 7th 9th 6th
India India Bombers - - 16th 16th 18th 18th
Indonesia Indonesia Garudas - - - - 17th 16th
Republic of Ireland Ireland Warriors 1st 4th 4th 1st 2nd 3rd
IsraelState of Palestine Israel-Palestinian territories Peres Team for Peace - - 13th 15th - -
Japan Japan Samurais 10th 9th 8th 12th 14th 14th
Nauru Nauru Chiefs 8th W/D 5th 6th 7th 5th
New Zealand New Zealand Hawks[20] 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd
Pakistan Pakistan Dragoons - - - - 12th 17th
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Mosquitoes 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st
Samoa Samoa Kangaroos 7th 5th 10th - - -
South Africa South Africa Lions 11th 8th 3rd 5th 4th 9th
Spain Spain Bulls - 10th - - - -
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Lions - - - - - 15th
Sweden Sweden Elks - - 12th 11th 13th -
East Timor Timor-Leste Crocs - - - 18th - -
Tonga Tonga Tigers - - W/D 9th 6th -
United States United States Revolution 5th 3rd 7th 4th 8th 4th
"W/D" = Withdrew from the tournament without playing a match after officially committing to field a side that year.[21][22]

Division 1 Grand final and third place playoff results

Prior to 2011, all men's teams competed in one division.

Year Host Grand Final match Third Place Playoff match Number of teams
Winner Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2002
Details
Melbourne[23]
Ireland
[23]
7.9 (51) - 2.7 (19)
Papua New Guinea

New Zealand
3.7 (25) - 2.4 (16)
Denmark
11
2005
Details
Melbourne, Wangaratta[24]
New Zealand
[25]
7.8 (50) - 5.2 (32)
Papua New Guinea

United States
10.5 (65) - 4.6 (30)
Ireland
10
2008
Details
Melbourne, Warrnambool[26]
Papua New Guinea
[27]
7.12 (54) - 7.4 (46)
New Zealand

South Africa
4.9 (33) - 5.2 (32)
Ireland
16
2011
Details
Melbourne, Sydney[12]
Ireland
[28]
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
2017
Details
Melbourne
Papua New Guinea
4.5 (29) - 4.4 (28)
New Zealand

Ireland
7.6 (48) - 2.4 (16)
United States
18
2020 (Cancelled) Sunshine Coast Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled
2023 (Postponed to 2024 then Cancelled) Sunshine Coast Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled -

Overall tournament results

Sorted by winning percentage, with draws counted as half a win, half a loss, and percentage (points for/points against x 100).

Pos Nation P W L D PF PA  % PTS %W
1 New Zealand 3328502536711356.6811284.85
2 Papua New Guinea 3227502404852282.1610884.38
3 Croatia 541033472463.891680
4 Ireland 3326701840810227.1610078.79
5 United States 332112020101050191.438463.64
6 Nauru 261610016711056158.246461.54
7 Germany 5320230143160.841260
8 Tonga 11650697450154.892454.55
9 Samoa 17980783652120.093652.94
10 South Africa 32161601372150391.286450
11 Canada 331518013321043127.716045.45
12 Fiji 16790899538167.102843.75
13 Denmark 1679069972896.022843.75
14United Kingdom Great Britain 32141801219133491.385643.75
15 Sri Lanka 523015322767.40840
16 China 218130490148832.933238.10
17 Sweden 166100448108641.252437.5
18IsraelState of Palestine Israel-Palestinian territories 1147034474446.241636.36
19 Japan 32112101001180655.434434.38
20 France 16511058996261.232031.25
21 Pakistan 1037025965139.781230
22 Indonesia 1037027485432.081230
23 Finland 1028014878618.83820
24 India 211200279183115.2444.76
25 East Timor 606010752920.2300
26 Spain 60605839114.8300
Table includes finals and has been adjusted to reflect this.

Overall tournament placings

Pos Nation Champions Runners-up Third Fourth
1st  Papua New Guinea 3 (2008, 2014, 2017) 3 (2002, 2005, 2011)
2nd  Ireland 2 (2002, 2011) 1 (2014) 1 (2017) 2 (2005, 2008)
3rd  New Zealand 1 (2005) 2 (2008, 2017) 3 (2002, 2011, 2014)
4th  United States 1 (2005) 2 (2011, 2017)
5th  South Africa 1 (2008) 1 (2014)
6th  Denmark 1 (2002)

Women's International Cup

Nation Moniker 2011 (5) 2014 (7) 2017 (8)
Australia Indigenous and Multicultural Australia OzIM (Australia Indigenous & Multicultural) 5th - -
Canada Canada Midnight Suns - 4th -
Canada Canada Northern Lights 2nd 1st 2nd
Europe Europe European Crusaders - - 7th
Fiji Fiji Vonu - 5th 6th
United Kingdom Great Britain Swans - - 3rd
Republic of Ireland Ireland Banshees 1st 2nd 1st
Pakistan Pakistan Shaheens - - 8th
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Flame 4th - 5th
Tonga Tonga Black Marlins - 6th -
United States United States Freedom 3rd 3rd 4th
United States United States Liberty - 7th -

Grand final and third place playoff results

Year Host Grand Final match Third Place Playoff match Number of teams
Winner Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2011
Details
Melbourne, Sydney
Ireland
5.9 (39) - 1.2 (8)
Canada

Northern Lights

United States

Freedom
4.3 (27) - 1.2 (8)
Papua New Guinea
5
2014
Details
Melbourne
Canada

Northern Lights
5.8 (38) - 2.0 (12)
Ireland

United States

Freedom
6.8 (44) - 6.7 (43)
Canada

Midnight Suns
7
2017
Details
Melbourne
Ireland
4.1 (25) - 3.3 (21)
Canada

Northern Lights
United Kingdom Great Britain
Swans
5.2 (32) - 4.1 (25)
United States

Freedom
8
2020 (Cancelled) Sunshine Coast Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled

Overall tournament results

Sorted by winning percentage, with draws counted as half a win, half a loss, and percentage (points for/points against x 100).

Pos Nation P W L D PF PA  % PTS %W
1Republic of Ireland Ireland 151410800163490.795693.33
2Canada Canada - Northern Lights 151230838177473.444880
3United States United States - Freedom 15960659285231.223660
4United Kingdom Great Britain 5320225106212.261260
5Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 10460343290118.271640
6Fiji Fiji 1046030230698.691640
7Canada Canada - Midnight Suns 52308728130.96840
8Europe European Crusaders (see European Crusaders) 51406533619.34420
9Tonga Tonga 50503231210.2500
10United States United States - Liberty 4040222777.9400
11Australia Australia 4040202886.9400
12Pakistan Pakistan 505067360.8100
^ Table includes finals and has been adjusted to reflect this.

Overall tournament placings

Pos Nation Champions Runners-up Third Fourth
1st Republic of Ireland Ireland 2 (2011, 2017) 1 (2014)
2nd Canada Canada - Northern Lights 1 (2014) 2 (2011, 2017)
3rd United States United States - Freedom 2 (2011, 2014) 1 (2017)
4th United Kingdom Great Britain 1 (2017)
5th Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 1 (2011)
Canada Canada - Midnight Suns 1 (2014)

Men's Division 2 results

Since the 2011 Australian Football International Cup the Men's competition has been split into two Divisions, with the format differing from each past edition. In 2011 and 2014, the divisional lineup was decided by a preliminary competition that involved all eighteen teams. In 2017, the divisions were pre determined prior to the tournament, with ten teams playing in Division 1 and eight playing in Division 2.

In 2014, Division Two was decided by ladder position.

Grand final and third place playoff results

Year Host Grand Final match Third Place Playoff match Number of teams
Winner Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2011
Details
Melbourne, Sydney
Fiji
9.8 (62) - 3.3 (21)
France
IsraelState of Palestine
Peres Team for Peace
7.15 (57) - 2.8 (20)
India
6
(of 18)
2014
Details
Melbourne
Sweden
N/A
Japan

China
N/A
Finland
6
(of 18)
2017
Details
Melbourne
Croatia
11.8 (74) - 1.2 (8)
Germany

China
4.8 (32) - 3.5 (23)
Japan
8
(of 18)

Overall tournament placings

Pos Nation  Gold  Silver  Bronze Fourth
1st  Fiji 1 (2011)
 Sweden 1 (2014)
 Croatia 1 (2017)
4th  Japan 1 (2014) 1 (2017)
5th  France 1 (2011)
 Germany 1 (2017)
7th  China 2 (2014, 2017)
8th IsraelState of Palestine Peres Team for Peace 1 (2011)
9th  India 1 (2011)
 Finland 1 (2014)

Qualification & Player Eligibility

As of the cancelled 2020 tournament there is no formal system in place for qualification of participating sides and countries are extended open invitations to send sides. The AFL had, for the first time, announced capping the men's competition to sixteen teams and the women's to eight; however no system for qualification has been proposed.[17] While there are now established regional tournaments in Europe, Asia and North America performance in these tournaments does formally affect seedings for the International Cup.

The tournament is geared towards development of the sport outside Australia and as such player eligibility rules are much more strict than those of other international football competitions. Generally speaking players must be a citizen of the country they represent and have lived there through roughly middle school and high school ages (so that is usually where they learned to play). IC criteria ensures that expatriate Australians, Australians with overseas ancestry and those who moved to Australia at a young age are ineligible to compete (with the exception of the women's OzIM team, which is composed of indigenous and multicultural Australians). These rules, combined with professional contracts and limited pathways for players typically precludes professional players from participating and players wishing to participate must negotiate their own release from their AFL/AFLW contracts before nominating. In addition there is a per team cap on players registered with Australian clubs which countries teams from stacking their teams with talent developed in Australia. This limit was initially set to twelve, however with the increasing number of international players participating in Australian competitions and an increasing number of players learning the game outside Australia, this was later reduced to eight.

Current AFL/AFLW listed Players

The following AFL and AFLW listed international players have previously represented their country at the IC.

Currently on a club list
PlayerAFL/AFLW clubInternational TeamTournaments participated in
Clara FitzpatrickGold Coast SunsIreland2017
Hewago OeaGold Coast SunsPapua New Guinea2017

AFL/AFLW listed players who have participated while contracted

No senior AFL players on contracts have yet been released to play in the International Cup, like most amateur representative competitions, this is primarily due to the risk of injury. However clubs will sometimes make exclusions to allow the participation of lower paid rookies, international scholarship players and AFL Women's players in the amateur tournament.

Currently on a club list
PlayerAFL/AFLW clubInternational TeamTournament/s played in while contracted
Barclay MillerSt Kilda FCNew Zealand2017
Joe Baker-ThomasSt Kilda FCNew Zealand2017
Kendra HeilCollingwood FCCanada (women's)2017
Laura DuryeaMelbourne FCIreland (women's)2017
Gideon SimonRichmond FCPapua New Guinea2014
Yoshi HarrisGWS GiantsNauru2011
Theo GavuriGWS GiantsPapua New Guinea2011
Charlton BrownGWS GiantsNew Zealand2011

Individual honours

Mike Finn of Ireland, one of the tournament's most decorated players

Best and fairest

Tournament best and fairests have been named since 2005. In addition, each nation typically nominates their best and fairest player.

YearMen's Best & Fairest
2002
2005Samoa Fia Tootoo, Papua New Guinea Navu Maha
2008Republic of Ireland Mike Finn
2011
2014Republic of Ireland Mike Finn
2017

World team honours

A World (formerly All-International) Team is selected from the best players (similarly to the All-Australian Team selection in the AFL). Prior to 2008, field positions and captaincy positions were not nominated. Captaincies have not been nominated since 2014.

Men's World Team

The following players have been nominated more than twice:

PlayerNationWorld Team CapsYearsCaptaincies
Mike FinnRepublic of Ireland Ireland42005, 2008, 2011, 20142 (2011, 2014)
John IkupuPapua New Guinea Papua New Guinea32011, 2014, 2017
Michito SakakiJapan Japan32005, 2008, 2017
Fia TootooSamoa Samoa32002, 2005, 2008
Tshoboko MoagiSouth Africa South Africa32011, 2014, 2017

Broadcasting and audience

The IC has maintained a low media profile for more than two decades.

Attendance

Apart from the Grand Final which is played as a curtain raiser, matches not scheduled for stadiums are free entry and are generally played midday and mid-week prohibiting it as a spectator event, though some regional matches have been played on weekends. As such, only two regional matches have attracted a significant attendance: 5,000 attended Japan vs South Africa in 2005 at City Oval in Wangaratta and 3,500 attended Papua New Guinea vs South Africa at Reid Oval in Warrnambool[29]

Broadcast media

The 2002 tournament was video recorded and posted on the IAFC website though there were no live broadcasts. The United States Australian Football League also provided video coverage and recorded a documentary on its participation. The 2005 tournament attracted some coverage from Fox Sports including a Grand Final replay on Fox Sports (Australia) and the Fox Footy Channel, though matches were not broadcast. Some community radio and television stations in Victoria also provided limited coverage and World Footy News provided score updates. The AFL began posting videos of the 2008 tournament on its website along with editorial posts after the matches were played. The AFL failed to secure a broadcast partner for the 2011 tournament, instead adding delayed highlights to their online video service. For the 2014 tournament the AFL included live streaming for the first time and the tournament attracted media interest from outside Australia. For the 2017 tournament the AFL partnered with Internet service YouTube to provide live streaming of the three rounds held at Royal Park and the two Grand Finals. The USAFL, AFL Canada, World Footy News, and the Eastern Football League provided supplementary coverage of the school and community rounds.

IC coverage was not included in the AFL's record breaking 2.5 billion broadcasting deal in 2015[30] or contract negotiations in 2019 for the 2020 extension, though Kayo will stream AFLW matches.[31] There were efforts to help raise the event's profile by broadcasting the 2017 International Cup on SBS, an organisation devoted to multicultural, multi-lingual entertainment, but this did not materialize [32]

Hosts

The inaugural IAFC tournament was held in the game's spiritual home of Melbourne, with some games at suburban stadiums around the city.

Showgrounds at Wangaratta, the event's first co-host city which has held the record match attendance since 2005

With the AFL headquartered in Melbourne, all events have been hosted in Victoria, Australia with regional matches in Warrnambool (2008), Wangaratta (2005), the exception being matches scheduled for Sydney, New South Wales in 2011. The West Australian Football League expressed an interest in bidding for the 2008 cup to go to Perth, Western Australia[33] however the AFL did not open up hosting to bidders and the tournament was held in Victoria instead.

The cancelled 2020 tournament was the first time in the history of the event that the AFL opened up to bidders as part of a closed bidding process. Among newly introduced criteria was that the grounds must meet the AFL's Preferred Facility Guidelines at Regional level to qualify.[34] These include requirements for the ground dimensions and surface, staff facilities, lighting and accessibility. The guidelines are mainly aimed at providing AFL staff with maximum amenity, there are no requirements for spectator seating, viewing mounds and a covered area under which spectators can stand are deemed sufficient for calculating ground capacity.[34] The guidelines, combined with the requirement to have at least two main fields meeting this requirement in close proximity, has significantly raised the barrier to entry for hosting the tournament.

The result was selection between two bids, a Ballarat, Victoria bid to hold matches at the Eureka Stadium precinct and adjoining ovals North Oval No.2 (which underwent a total $38.5 million in upgrades to meet AFL standard criteria from 2016-2020) and a Sunshine Coast, Queensland bid backed by the Queensland government in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland and Sunshine Coast Council to hold matches at the Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex (which underwent a total $5.8 million in upgrades to meet the AFL standard criteria in 2019-2020).[35]

Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex, at Maroochydore proposed AFL standard host venue for the winning bid for the (cancelled) 2020 tournament

At the end of 2019, the AFL announced that it had selected the Sunshine Coast bid which would have seen the event hosted outside of Melbourne and Victoria for the first time (not counting the 2011 event which saw some secondary matches played in Western Sydney). As part of the Queensland bid, the Grand Finals would be played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground as a curtain raiser to a Brisbane Lions AFL premiership match.[36] Queensland remained the successful bidder when the tournament was postponed until 2021. However following the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, no announcement was made as to whether the Queensland bid would be retained. On 22 April 2022, the AFL announced it would be continuing discussions with the winning Sunshine Coast bid.[3]

The AFL (video game series) by Melbourne game developer Wicked Witch Software has featured selectable teams, including player names, from the IC. In particular, AFL Evolution and AFL Evolution 2 let players play the entire IC17 tournament, but at AFL-standard stadiums from around Australia.[37]

Pathway to Professional AFL and Semi-Professional leagues in Australia

The IC has been a development pathway for several players who have been rookie listed or received an international scholarship with professional AFL clubs or clubs from semi-professional competitions throughout Australia. The first player to this pathway was Laura Corrigan who made an AFLW debut in 2016 following a 2011 senior appearance for Ireland. In 2022, the first male player, Hewago Oea made his debut in the AFL following a 2017 senior appearance for Papua New Guinea.

IC's potential as a pathway was first promoted by Kevin Sheedy while coaching at the Essendon Football Club, following the 2005 cup he invited Japanese IC players Michito Sakaki and Tsuyoshi Kase to train and play with the club's pre-season team. Though Essendon did not recruit Sakaki, he received an invitation to AFL Draft Camp and the exposure was a catalyst for the Wodonga Raiders club contracting him to play semi-professionally in the strong Ovens & Murray league in 2006.[38]

For older international players, the IC is one of the only options other than moving to Australia and moving up the semi-professional competition pathway, to be noticed by recruiters and rookie listed to the AFL or AFLW. Unlike the AFL International Combine open-aged pathway, the IC is accessible to amateurs from a much broader international area and tests their gameplay and game sense, rather than just their athletic attributes.

For underaged international players the IC provides an alternative pathway and the opportunity to prove their ability to compete at a high senior level. Currently only New Zealand competes against the AFL Academy (Australia's best junior players) (though South Africa has in the past). The Under 16 and AFL U18/U19 Championships, AFL Women's Under 18 Championships and AFL Draft held in Australia and the Pacific Nations Youth tournament do not provide the opportunity to test players ability against fully developed players, and provide limited opportunities for youth not willing to relocate to Oceania.

Since the first IC has been a major pathway for Papua New Guineans to play professionally (even with affiliations to Queensland in the National Championships). IC players from PNG finding their way to AFL clubs have included Amua Pirika,[39] Hewago Oea (both debuted for the senior Papua New Guinea team when under 17 years old) and Stanis Susuve at the Gold Coast, Theo Gavuri at the GWS Giants and John James Lavai, Brendan Beno and David Meli at the Brisbane Lions.

IC players from other countries to have been recruited to play professionally include Padraig Lucey (Ireland) at Geelong Football Club,[40] Joe Baker-Thomas (New Zealand) at St Kilda Football Club,[41] Yoshi Harris (Nauru) at GWS Giants, and Kendra Heil (Canada) at Collingwood. All of these players were rookie listed shortly following outstanding performances in an IC tournament.

See also

References

  1. AFL International Cup (Live and on-demand coverage from the 2017 AFL International Cup held in Melbourne, Australia.)
  2. Australian Football League (23 March 2018). AFL Annual Report 2017 (PDF) (Report). AFL release announcement
  3. 1 2 3 4
  4. "AFL confirms international regional events for 2024". AFL. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  5. Pennells, Steve (25 October 2009). "Against the odds, oval ball bounces into Europe". The Age.
  6. Issa, Antoun (2 August 2017). "Fanfare over International Cup fails to mask AFL's deeply insular world view". The Guardian.
  7. Rucci, Michelangelo (30 July 2021). "AFL's chance to take on rugby at Brisbane Olympics". InDaily.
  8. Kleyn, Brittney (9 December 2022). "AFL warned it may have missed the boat on potential US imports as women's game continues to grow overseas". ABC News. ABC Australia.
  9. "AFL confirms international regional events for 2024". AFL. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  10. Australian Football League (March 2021). AFL Annual Report 2020 (PDF) (Report).
  11. "AFL Development: History". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2012. The third International Cup will pit Papua New Guinea against 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, who are yet to see a set of goal posts.
  12. 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.
  13. "About AFL International Cup". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. 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.
  14. "Women's Teams". Aussie Rules International. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012. 2011 sees the inaugural Women's International Cup in Australian Football.
  15. "About AFL International Cup". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. 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.
  16. "Statement: AFL postpones Auskick, International Cup, more". AFL. 17 March 2020.
  17. 1 2 Thompson, Troy (28 August 2019). "2020 AFL International Cup update". World Footy News. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  18. Thompson, Troy (25 August 2021). "AFL Confirms Commitment to 2023 International Cup". WorldFootyNews.com.
  19. "AFL confirms international regional events for 2024". AFL. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  20. "The Kiwis embracing AFL". AFL New Zealand. 31 August 2017. AFL NZ website home page
  21. WFN Administrator (31 July 2005). "IC 2005 Fixture - released after Denmark and Nauru withdrawal". - World Footy News. 2005 withdrawals
  22. Northey, Brett (19 May 2008). "AFL close to releasing IC08 draw". World Footy News.
  23. 1 2 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." [...] "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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
  26. 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.
  27. 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.
  28. 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.
  29. Fletcher, Peter (4 September 2008). "WORLD BEATER: Rave reviews for city's International Cup role". The Warrnambool Standard. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
  30. "AFL announces record $2.5 billion television deal". ABC News. 18 August 2015.
  31. Mark, David (12 June 2020). "AFL TV deal provides some certainty in troubled times". ABC News.
  32. "2017 AFL International Cup — Melbourne: 5–19 August". AFL. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. (Archived 11 April 2017)
  33. Beacham, Digby (28 August 2008). "World Cup For Perth". The West Australian. [Sunday Times magazine]
  34. 1 2 AFL Preferred Facility Guidelines
  35. "Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex Named Home Ground For AFLW'S Brisbane Lions". AusLeisure News. Australasian Leisure Management. 19 November 2021.
  36. "2020 AFL International Cup heads to Sunshine Coast". World Footy News.
  37. Troy Thompson (15 December 2016). "AFL Evolution Video game announced for 2017" World Footy News.
  38. McClure, Geoff (22 March 2006). "Japan's Michito wows the bush". The Age.
  39. Nangoi, Donald (31 March 2021). "AFL raising the PNG flag higher". Papua New Guinea Post Courier.
  40. Lawlor, Damian (9 November 2014). "Breaking the code to turn his world upside down". Irish Independent.
  41. Worthington, Sam (26 April 2013). "AFL's St Kilda sign Porirua teen on scholarship". Stuff NZ.

Further reading

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