Courtesy: worldfootynews.com

Published: 19th January, 2010.

Sudip Chakraborty was a member of the Indian Team at the 2008 International Cup. He has been assisting Darren Ross draw up plans for the soon-to-be-officially-relaunched AFL India.

Unfortunately registration of the organisation is a drawn out process, and is still several weeks away. But that hasn’t stopped Chakraborty promoting the sport in the meantime.

“I organised a month-long training session with twenty-odd kids and teenagers from my neighbourhood Ultadanga in Kolkata, every afternoon. The players, from soccer and cricket backgrounds, were very enthusiastic about learning the new game. They showed good progress and a few of them, especially Arnab Sen (not in the picture), had a natural ability for the game. On the last day of practice, we had a 5-a-side match amongst the players, with proper rules. The picture is of the starting five players of the each team, with me in the centre. They are carrying on short sessions of the game in my absence with a ball I have left them.”

A website has also been launched for the organisation, and it will be updated once registration is finalised, at which point World Footy News will be able to reveal some of the organisation’s plans.

Courtesy: worldfootynews.com

Published:  6th August, 2009.

Following India’s participation in the 2008 International Cup, it appeared that football had finally established a presence in the world’s second most populous country. An AFL India board had been established; the product of ex-VFL footballer Brian Dixon’s earlier work, and despite no clubs, a small playing group and high costs, it managed to get a team to the International Cup. On top of this, the board seemed to have reasonable plans for growing the game in India, based around the country’s major population hubs.

Yet twelve months later there has been no news from the country. World Footy News set out to investigate why.

Our investigation revealed, that in another setback for football in a country with huge potential, the AFL India board is no more. According to Darren Ross, a member of the Indian team in 2008, footy in India, “has become history ever since the Indian team got back from IC08. No notices, no updates on any happenings on footy has taken place.” Josh Vanderloo, the AFL’s National Participation Programs Manager, confirmed the bad news, mentioning in an email that, “the board has dissolved.” WFN believes Mr. Saha and Mr. Nagar shifted their energies to other tasks upon returning to India.

But it’s not all bad news. The players from India’s 2008 International Cup squad aren’t so keen to see the attempt at establishing a sport that several of them consider, “better than cricket or soccer,” fail. Team captain Mario Shelton now lives in Canada, and watching last weekend’s Grand Final only furthered his desire to be part of an Indian team at the 2011 International Cup. He still has strong ties back home, keeps contact with a few of the players and is keen to stay involved.

Back in Kolkata, Darren Ross has remained in contact with most of the team. They all thoroughly enjoyed playing football and yearn for the opportunity to keep playing. Following the tournament, they were, “just waiting and hoping that something came up soon.” Hearing the news of the board’s dissolution, Ross and a small team of ex-players now plan to, “coordinate their efforts and start something.” They’re aware that they face an uphill battle. “It would take a lot to convince people why to take to the sport in a cricket and soccer dominated country,” but at the same time they have the basic knowledge and love of the game that the administrators before them lacked.

Like many of the more successful non-Australian leagues, Ross and his team plan to initially promote the sport through avenues such as schools. Further down the track, once funding streams are secured and venue hire is an option, they will look at establishing stand-alone clubs. In the meantime, AFL acknowledgement and support are high on their agenda, and World Footy News is attempting to assist with this. Once this is obtained Ross will be able to register the body in India and further down the track he hopes to gain the support of the Sports Authority of India.

Their biggest problem in the meantime, is a lack of resources. Ironically whilst many footballs are made in India, they aren’t easily available in India. Please contact WFN if you’re able to help out; we’ll start the ball rolling with a donation to be decided soon. Of greatest need are footballs, jumpers (even basic bibs sometimes used in training or Rec Footy), training DVDs and footage of matches, “showcasing the game and leaving a lasting image in the viewers mind.” A Facebook page has also been established to serve as a contact point for former and future players.

Hopefully the enthusiasm of these players pays off and in twelve months time we’re reporting that Indian footy is on its feet with plans underway to send a squad to their second International Cup.

Courtesy: worldfootynews.com

Published: 21st August, 2008.

India is a diverse country in southern Asia with a population of over 1.1 billion. Along with Sweden, Finland, China and the Peace Team, this will be the country’s first International Cup. In many ways, the Indian team will resemble the South African side of 2002. They won’t be able to match it with the top sides, but with the possibility of two NAB Cup matches in the country in 2009, and India clearly on the AFL’s radar, this is only the beginning of an exciting football journey.

The Country and Australian Football

India is the world’s second most populous country and shares many similarities with Australia. Both countries have been significantly influenced by the British and both share a passion for sport.

There have been a couple of attempts at establishing Australian Football in India. Most of the Indian team at the International Cup are products of the most recent attempt, in Kolkata (West Bengal).

In 2006 ex-VFL footballer Brian Dixon undertook a “World Tour” promoting Australian Football. One of his stops was India, where he met Achintya Saha, who is heavily involved with grassroots sport in Kolkata, particularly Kabaddi. Dixon convinced Saha that Australian Football was worth developing in India, and upon returning to Australia, Dixon had a list of interested parties.

There were a few hiccups on the way, with plans to send two promising Indian footballers to Australia for further development cancelled because of visa problems. But unlike previous attempts, AFL India persevered through the tough times. Eventually Dixon returned to the country, two AFL India board members, Ravinder Chadha and Pranab Bhattacharya attended a coaching course at AFL House in Melbourne and AFL International Coordinator Yuta Kobayashi visited India, to assist the team in making it to Melbourne.

Saha is still on board and will join the Indian team in Melbourne as a Team Manager, along with Sanjeev Nagar. The team will be coached by Biswadip Chakraborty and Kishore Patra. Essendon will support India during their stay in Australia.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The small size of several of the Indian players, their inexperience with the game and being drawn in the same pool as reigning champions, New Zealand (who humbled many of their opponents in 2005) are all negatives. Hopefully the ten players secured for the team in Australia will bring a greater knowledge of the game and offset this inexperience.

A mystery factor surrounds India, which could play in their favour. No team, at least initially, will know what to expect of them. Furthermore most people (including WFN) have written them off to finish last. This underdog status may mean a few surprising results.

Players to Watch

As India makes their football debut at the tournament, pinpointing potential standout players is difficult, but the AFL website’s preview suggests ex-soccer players “Mervin Nathaniel and Sukdeb Mondal.”

Form Guide

As far as Pool A is concerned, the superior skills of New Zealand will mean a one-sided affair. Whilst many of Samoa’s Australia-based players are ineligible or unavailable for the tournament, the team’s physicality should also prove too much for the Indians. Expect a tighter game against Japan.

Classification matches are India’s chance to steal a win, depending on their opposition. The Peace Team looks good on paper, but theoretically should be even less experienced than the Indians. Finland and China are other potential wins.

Bottom Line

Unless they can cause an upset, last place, but a most welcome addition to international footy.

Courtesy: india-voice.com

Published: 19th August, 2008.

The overwhelming success of the Indian Premier League has made the Australian Football League (AFL) turn to India for all the right reasons.

For the first time ever an Indian football team has been invited to participate in the AFL International Cup, which kicks off in Melbourne Aug 27, featuring 18 international teams, including teams from the United States, Britain and Japan.

Essendon Football Club has aligned itself to the Indian team. “We see it as a great opportunity to introduce Australian Rules Football to India. We are hosting the Indian team at our home ground in suburban Essendon. They will watch our senior team train and then train themselves,” Essendon Football Clubs’ chief commercial officer, Mark Anderson, told IANS.

“Indians are now the number one immigrants into the state of Victoria and Indian overseas students are the second largest cohort of international students in the state. We are encouraging students and immigrants to play AFL as it will help them integrate with the community by getting involved and connected with this very Australian cultural activity,” Anderson said.

Essendon Football Clubs, one of the largest clubs in Australia with a membership base of 42,000 and over one million people attending their games in a season, are working with the AFL with a view to playing an Australian Rules Football match in India early next year.

The AFL has grand plans for expanding its presence into India with two exhibition matches to be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in New Delhi and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in early 2009.

“Presently the AFL and Austrade (Australian Trade Commission) are partnering to deliver exhibition games in India in late January – early February 2009. We are planning to have the game played between two AFL clubs before an attending crowd of approximately 10,000 people and to be televised both in Australia, and in India,” said Austrade’s Peter Linford, who was based in Melbourne until late July when he was relocated to New Delhi. “We will link Australian and Indian businesses to deliver the match and to provide profiling sponsorship opportunities for mutual benefit. It is our expectation the game will directly support 30+ companies through the game itself, and building the event over a five year plan will take this further,” Linford said.
Along with Essendon, Richmond and North Melbourne football clubs have been lobbying hard to be involved in the first games to be played in India.

“No decision has been made about the teams yet, but we are very keen to go and be one of the clubs involved in the first AFL match played over there. It’s a great opportunity. There are growing cultural and population ties between India and Australia,” Richmond football club president Gary March told The Age newspaper.

Given the fact that the Australian Rules Football was invented by cricketers and the Australian cricket community is passionate about the sport, the AFL wants to capitalise on the profile of Ricky Ponting, who is an ardent North Melbourne fan, to assist its push into India.

The largest AFL game of the year is held on Anzac Day holiday (April 25) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, drawing a crowd of 100,000.

A family oriented fast game, with women comprising 45 percent of its supporter base, Australian Rules Football should go down well in India.

Courtesy: >foxsportspulse.com

Published: 26th May, 2008

Yuta Kobayashi, one of the AFL’s International Development Coordinators, was recently in India where he assisted AFL India with their plans to send a team to this year’s International Cup. The AFL and AFL India are taking several steps to get an Indian side to the tournament, including recruiting a high profile Australian cricketer’s support.
India’s football program is currently limited to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta – India’s fourth largest city, situated in the country’s east). AFL India has a pool of around 70 players in training and the organisation has its eyes set on talent from other sports. The Indian team won’t be the most experienced side at the International Cup, having only recently been exposed to the game, but the side will still be comprised of competent athletes.

As many Australian football leagues around the world have realised, juniors are the key to a sustained program. AFL India footballers received valuable practice whilst exposing school children to Australian football when they played an exhibition match as a curtain raiser to a school soccer final. The sport was very well received by students and teachers alike, and the viability of a schools program is being investigated.

Most encouragingly, Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting was the special guest at an AFL function, promoting Australian football to Indian business, media and the wider community. Cricket is India’s de facto national sport. Cricketers in the country are very highly regarded, with the sport often described as a religion. In recent years India has demonstrated its position as the major player in world cricket’s financial wheeling and dealing, as shown by the inaugural Indian Premier League, drawing many of the planet’s best cricketers to the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

Ponting has now headed to the Caribbean as Australia takes on the West Indies, but prior to that he joined the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He’s also a passionate Aussie Rules fan and the North Melbourne Football Club’s number one ticket holder. The AFL has clearly recognised Ponting’s ability to reach the Indian people. Perhaps other Australian cricketers with strong football links, such as Shane Warne (at one time a St Kilda reserves player and still a force in the IPL), might prove to be the key to developing Australian football in India.

On more than one occasion India has been suggested as an ideal location to develop Australian football. That’s probably overlooking a few major hurdles, but hopefully Indian representation at this year’s International Cup can help launch the world’s second most populous nation out of the starter’s blocks.

Courtesy: worldfootynews.com

Published: 14th March, 2008.

The AFL today confirmed that India will send a team to this year’s International Cup. Two AFL India board members, Ravinder Chadha and Pranab Bhattacharya were last week able to attend a coaching course at AFL House along with two Chinese delegates. This is a promising step, with India’s previous attempts to send delegates to Australia hampered by visa difficulties.

Chadha predicted “rapid growth” for football in India in the next five years, and expressed his desire to see Australian football played in several of India’s major population centres. He highlighted the possibility of matches against neighbouring China and nearby Japan (no mention of Pakistan was made) and even suggested that famous cricket stadiums such as Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium or Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, with the capacity to hold tens of thousands of spectators, might be sought out to host an AFL exhibition match in a few years time. If successful this would be a big win, as in the past the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been unwilling to open their facilities for external use. Ironically, the Indian cricket team were given Australian football lessons during their recent tour of Australia.

Football’s growth in India was initiated by ex-Melbourne footballer Brian Dixon on his 2006 World Tour.