[Archive 2009-11-05] Australian rules football International cup "community event": Australian Football League

Historical archive — originally published 2009-11-05. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

The Australian Football League (AFL) has confirmed to Wikinews that the Australian Football International Cup has been played as a community event "with open access to enable any supporters of all teams to be able to attend." The preliminary games of the 2008 International Cup were played predominately at Royal Park, Melbourne with spectators able to watch without purchasing tickets.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) defeated New Zealand (NZ) in the final of the latest Australian Football International Cup. They had previously finished second to Ireland in 2002 and New Zealand in 2005.

Last month, AFL Germany criticized the AFL for providing insufficient funding to European leagues. Germany has a a local league with some success but AFL Germany holds the position that money that would be spent sending a team to the International Cup would be better spent developing the game locally.

Conceivably this opens the door for broadcasters to broadcast International Cup matches without reimbursing the AFL, the de facto world governing body for Australian rules football.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Australian rules football International cup "community event": Australian Football League by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.