Courtesy: dnaindia.com

Published: 3rd March, 2010.

Imagine 36 players on the lush green outfield of DY Patil Stadium. Imagine furious action and amazing skill on display, Aussie style.
But we are not talking about any new avatar of cricket. If things fall in place for the Australian Football League (AFL), Essendon Football Club, one of the strongest Australian rules football teams, will soon introduce this unique sport on Indian soil.

In the city to talk business, Essendon FC’s MD & CEO Ian Robson said the large presence of Indian community in the suburb of Essendon makes this opportunity more unique. “Knowing that the sporting culture of India revolves mostly around cricket, our game which has been invented by cricketers can be a welcome break,” explained Robson, who visited the DY Patil Stadium as a possible venue for an exhibition game.

Australian Rules Football was invented in 1858 by a bunch of
cricketers to keep themselves fit during the winter. Essendon FC want to find some business and then arrange a possible match between players of the club and an Indian outfit.

In fact the club has already introduced the sport in New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and South Africa.

“It is an expensive exercise but we are looking at something feasible in the next couple of years,” explained Richard Burnet, chief commercial officer.