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 (2nd title) Women's: Canada Northern Lights (1st title)
Most titles	Men's: Ireland (2 titles) Papua New Guinea (2 titles) Women's: Ireland (1 title) Canada (1 title)
Official website

PNG celebrating their 2008 Australian Football International Cup victory
Tournaments
2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017

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 are efforts to help raise the event's profile by broadcasting the 2017 International Cup on SBS, an organisation devoted to multicultural, 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	Northwind	9th	7th	6th	10th	5th
	China	Red Demons	-	-	15th	17th	16th
	Denmark	Vikings	4th	-	11th	8th	-
	East Timor	Crocs	-	-	-	18th	-
	Fiji	Tribe	-	-	-	13th	10th
	Finland	Icebreakers	-	-	14th	-	15th
	France	Coqs	-	-	-	14th	11th
	India	Tigers	-	-	16th	16th	18th
	Indonesia	Garudas	-	-	-	-	17th
	Ireland	Warriors	1st	4th	4th	1st	2nd
	Israel-Palestinian territories	Peres Team for Peace	-	-	13th	15th	-
	Japan	Samurais	10th	9th	8th	12th	14th
	Nauru	Chiefs	8th	-	5th	6th	7th
	New Zealand	Falcons	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd	3rd
	Pakistan	Shaheens	-	-	-	-	12th
	Papua New Guinea	Mosquitos	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	1st
	Samoa	Kangaroos	7th	5th	10th	-	-
	South Africa	Lions	11th	8th	3rd	5th	4th
	Spain	Bulls	-	10th	-	-	-
	Sweden	Elks	-	-	12th	11th	13th
	Tonga	Tigers	-	-	-	9th	6th
	United Kingdom	Bulldogs	6th	6th	9th	7th	9th
	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	23	20	87%	3	13%	0	0%
2	Papua New Guinea	22	18	82%	4	18%	0	0%
3	Ireland	23	18	78%	5	22%	0	0%
4	United States	23	16	70%	7	30%	0	0%
5	Fiji	6	4	67%	2	33%	0	0%
6	Samoa	17	9	53%	8	47%	0	0%
7	Denmark	16	8	50%	8	50%	0	0%
7	France	6	3	50%	3	50%	0	0%
7	Nauru	16	8	50%	8	50%	0	0%
7	South Africa	22	11	50%	11	50%	0	0%
11	United Kingdom	22	10	45%	12	55%	0	0%
12	Canada	22	9	41%	13	59%	0	0%
13	Israel-Palestinian territories	11	4	36%	7	64%	0	0%
14	China	11	3	27%	8	73%	0	0%
14	Japan	22	6	27%	16	73%	0	0%
14	Sweden	11	3	27%	8	73%	0	0%
17	Finland	5	1	20%	4	80%	0	0%
18	Tonga	6	1	17%	5	83%	0	0%
19	India	11	1	9%	10	91%	0	0%
20	Spain	5	0	0%	5	100%	0	0%
20	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	Northern Lights	2nd	1st
	Canada	Midnight Suns	–	4th
	Fiji	Fiji	–	5th
	Ireland	Banshees	1st	2nd
	Papua New Guinea	Flame	4th	–
	United States	Freedom	3rd	3rd
	United States	Liberty	–	7th
	Tonga	Tonga	–	6th

See also

• Australian Football Multicultural Cup
• Australian rules football around the world
• Countries playing Australian rules football
• List of International Australian rules football tournaments
• World rankings

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. 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.

External links

• AFL International Cup 2014 Home Page
• New Zealand's Haka versus Samoan's Siva Tau - Wangaratta - International Cup 2005 from Google Videos.
• Samoan Siva Tau - International Cup 2005 from Google Videos.
• Papua New Guinea War Dance - International Cup 2005 from YouTube.
• South Africa and Canada post match song from Google Videos.