[Archive 2008-08-17] Wikinews previews the 2008 Australian rules football International Cup

Historical archive — originally published 2008-08-17. 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 International Cup is Australian rules footballs world cup. The 2008 event is being held in Melbourne to celebrate 150 years of Australian rules football.

Currently the nation winning the International Cup is considered a distant second to Australia, who does not compete at the cup. This is because the difference in skill level between Australia and the next best country is quite considerate. The Australian Football League still names an All-Australian team anyway.

New Zealand compete after playing against a touring Maffra side, who play in the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League. The match played in Auckland on August 2nd. The final result for this match was a win for the Maffra side 13 goals 13 behinds 91 to 3 goals 1 behind 19.

2005 Japanese captain Michito Sakaki was the first non-Irish internationally based player to play at AFL level.

2002 and 2005 runners up Papua New Guinea are set to play a trial game in Coolongatta before heading off to the cup. “Unless Mal Michael’s allowed to play, we’ve got no height” says coach Andrew Cadzow. Michaels plays for the Brisbane lions in the AFL.

The Peace Team, a combined Israeli-Palistinian team, is a cup debutant. It is being sponsored by The Pratt Foundation.

{{w|Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team|Great Britain]] come off the AFL Great Britain Northern Grand Final between Newcastle Centurians and Middlesborough Hawks. The match being won by the Centurions 11 goals 15 behinds 81 to 4 goals 13 behinds 37.

Plans are also in the works for a National Championship between The Centurions and southern Champions, the Southampton Titans.

2005 third place getters the United States are generally considered the bench mark of this group. However the Danes enter the competition off the back of the national grand final.

With the Olympics in Beijing this year, the Beijing Bombers will play a demonstration match in the Chinese capital during the games. The Bombers will supply players to the Chinese national team for the Cup.

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Text adapted from Wikinews previews the 2008 Australian rules football International Cup by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.