2008 Australian Football International Cup
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The 2008 Australian Football International Cup is the third time the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition, has been contested.
It is scheduled for 2008 (as part of the 150th year celebrations of Australian Football), with 16 nations competing.
The tournament is hosted by both Melbourne and Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia between the 27 August and 6th September, with a single match additionally being played in Geelong.[1]
Like previous tournaments, the competition is open to men's teams with strict nationality eligibility rules.
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,[2] however the AFL has confirmed that the cup will once again be held in Melbourne (the game's spiritual home) 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.[3] Ultimately, this idea was dropped, with the sixteen teams being seeded into four pools.
There has been some speculation over the inclusion of an inaugural Women's division with Australia, the United States and possibly Papua New Guinea, countries sending women's squads.[4] Canada and England have also announced an intention to send Under 17s squads.
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.[5][6]
Competing Nations
The AFL confirmed in July 2008 that sixteen nations will compete.[7] In addition, there will be friendly matches played between Melbourne-based migrant community teams under the names "Team Africa" and "Team Asia", as well as the Tongan side which was unable to commit to the full tournament. Also despite a previous appearance, the Spain Bulls will not be competing.
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
|---|---|---|---|
Games
All information has been sourced from the official AFL website [1]. Some errors are obvious, such as the time of the first game of Round 2, and the ovals used in Round 3 clash. For the time being, these errors have been included here.
Round 1
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ireland Warriors |
12.12 (84) |  Sweden Elks |
1.0 (6) | McAlister Oval | Wednesday, August 27 11:00 AM |
 New Zealand Falcons |
13.13 (91) |  Japan Samurais |
0.2 (2) | Ransford Oval | Wednesday, August 27 11:00 AM |
 Canada Northwind |
18.22 (130) |  Finland Icebreakers |
0.0 (0) | Western Oval | Wednesday, August 27 11:00 AM |
 Samoa Kangaroos |
16.20 (116) |  India Tigers |
1.0 (6) | McAlister Oval | Wednesday, August 27 1:00 PM |
 Great Britain Bulldogs |
20.15 (135) |   Peres Team for Peace |
1.2 (8) | Ransford Oval | Wednesday, August 27 1:00 PM |
 United States Revolution |
11.6 (72) |  Denmark Vikings |
1.4 (10) | Western Oval | Wednesday, August 27 1:00 PM |
 South Africa Lions |
20.26 (146) |  China Red Demons |
0.0 (0) | McAlister Oval | Wednesday, August 27 3:00 PM |
 Papua New Guinea Mosquitos |
10.9 (69) |  Nauru Chiefs |
3.2 (20) | Ransford Oval | Wednesday, August 27 3:00 PM |
Round 2
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand Falcons |
0.0 (0) | India Tigers |
0.0 (0) | Western Oval | Friday, August 29 11:00 AM |
| Ireland Warriors |
0.0 (0) | Finland Icebreakers |
0.0 (0) | McAlister Oval | Friday, August 29 11:00 AM |
| United States Revolution |
0.0 (0) | China Red Demons |
0.0 (0) | Ransford Oval | Friday, August 29 11:00 AM |
| Papua New Guinea Mosquitos |
0.0 (0) | Peres Team for Peace |
0.0 (0) | McAlister Oval | Friday, August 29 1:00 PM |
| Samoa Kangaroos |
0.0 (0) | Japan Samurais |
0.0 (0) | Ransford Oval | Friday, August 29 1:00 PM |
| Great Britain Bulldogs |
0.0 (0) | Nauru Chiefs |
0.0 (0) | Western Oval | Friday, August 29 1:00 PM |
| Canada Northwind |
0.0 (0) | Sweden Elks |
0.0 (0) | Ransford Oval | Friday, August 29 3:00 PM |
| South Africa Lions |
0.0 (0) | Denmark Vikings |
0.0 (0) | West Kardinia Oval | Saturday, August 30 12:00 PM |
Round 3
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland Warriors |
0.0 (0) | Canada Northwind |
0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Monday, September 1 11:00 AM |
| Sweden Elks |
0.0 (0) | Finland Icebreakers |
0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Monday, September 1 11:00 AM |
| New Zealand Falcons |
0.0 (0) | Samoa Kangaroos |
0.0 (0) | Walter Oval | Monday, September 1 11:00 AM |
| Japan Samurais |
0.0 (0) | India Tigers |
0.0 (0) | Mack Oval | Monday, September 1 1:00 PM |
| United States Revolution |
0.0 (0) | South Africa Lions |
0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Monday, September 1 1:00 PM |
| Papua New Guinea Mosquitos |
0.0 (0) | Great Britain Bulldogs |
0.0 (0) | Walter Oval | Monday, September 1 1:00 PM |
| Denmark Vikings |
0.0 (0) | China Red Demons |
0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Monday, September 1 3:00 PM |
| Nauru Chiefs |
0.0 (0) | Peres Team for Peace |
0.0 (0) | Walter Oval | Monday, September 1 3:00 PM |
Group Results After Rounds
Pool A
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points For | Points Against | % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand Falcons |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 2 | 4550.00 | 4 |
| 2 | Samoa Kangaroos |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 6 | 1933.33 | 4 |
| 3 | India Tigers |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 116 | 5.17 | 0 |
| 4 | Japan Samurais |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 2.20 | 0 |
Pool B
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points For | Points Against | % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Britain Bulldogs |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 8 | 1687.5 | 4 |
| 1 | Papua New Guinea Mosquitos |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 20 | 345.00 | 4 |
| 1 | Nauru Chiefs
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 69 | 28.96 | 0 |
| 1 | Peres Team for Peace |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 135 | 5.93 | 0 |
Pool C
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points For | Points Against | % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa Lions |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 0 | *** | 4 |
| 1 | United States Revolution
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 10 | 720.00 | 4 |
| 1 | Denmark Vikings |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 72 | 13.89 | 0 |
| 1 | China Red Demons
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 146 | *** | 0 |
Pool D
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points For | Points Against | % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada Northwind
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 0 | *** | 4 |
| 2 | Ireland Warriors
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 6 | 1400.00 | 4 |
| 3 | Sweden Elks
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 84 | 7.14 | 0 |
| 4 | Finland Icebreakers
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 130 | *** | 0 |
Finals
Finals Round 1
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Pool A | 0.0 (0) | 3rd Pool D | 0.0 (0) | Mack Oval | Wednesday, September 3 1:00 PM |
| 4th Pool A | 0.0 (0) | 4th Pool D | 0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Wednesday, September 3 1:00 PM |
| 4th Pool B | 0.0 (0) | 4th Pool C | 0.0 (0) | Walter Oval | Wednesday, September 3 1:00 PM |
| 2nd Pool B | 0.0 (0) | 2nd Pool C | 0.0 (0) | Mack Oval | Wednesday, September 3 3:00 PM |
| 3rd Pool B | 0.0 (0) | 3rd Pool C | 0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Wednesday, September 3 3:00 PM |
| 2nd Pool A | 0.0 (0) | 2nd Pool D | 0.0 (0) | Walter Oval | Wednesday, September 3 3:00 PM |
| 1st Pool A | 0.0 (0) | 1st Pool D | 0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Wednesday, September 3 5:30 PM |
| 1st Pool B | 0.0 (0) | 1st Pool C | 0.0 (0) | Reid Oval | Wednesday, September 3 7:30 PM |
Finals Round 2
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff for 11th and 12th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | McAlister Oval | Friday, September 5 11:30 AM |
| Playoff for 7th and 8th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | Ransford Oval | Friday, September 5 11:30 AM |
| Playoff for 15th and 16th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | Western Oval | Friday, September 5 11:30 AM |
| Playoff for 13th and 14th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | McAlister Oval | Friday, September 5 1:30 PM |
| Playoff for 9th and 10th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | Ransford Oval | Friday, September 5 1:30 PM |
| Playoff for 3rd and 4th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | Western Oval | Friday, September 5 1:30 PM |
| Playoff for 5th and 6th | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | Ransford Oval | Friday, September 5 3:30 PM |
| Grand Final | |||||
| tba | 0.0 (0) | tba | 0.0 (0) | Melbourne Cricket Ground | Saturday, September 6 12:00 AM |
References
- ^ AFL International Cup goes to Warrnambool
- ^ World Cup For Perth. August 28 Digby Beacham, Sunday Times, Perth
- ^ Cup dates proposed as AFL ponders divisions
- ^ Plenty of issues to consider for Cup organisers
- ^ Israelis and Palestinians to play side by side
- ^ Warrnambool to co-host 2008 International Cup
- ^ World Footy News - 16 teams to contest IC08, a dozen more in the wings
See also
- List of Australian rules football leagues outside Australia
- Australian football around the world
- AFL Women's National Championships
External links
- Official 2008 International Cup Homepage
- http://www.aussierulesinternational.com
- Long term view to IC2008 - part one article from World Footy News with predictions on 2008 results
- Long term view to IC2008 - part two article from World Footy News with predictions on 2008 results
- World Footy News International Cup homepage
- Video of Aussie Rules from YouTube
| Tournaments | |
|---|---|
| National teams (men) | |
| National teams (women) | |
