Captains Of 18 Countries at International Cup 2014 Launch

The official launch of International Cup 2014, at Federation Square in Melbourne was a brilliant way to start off the tournament , with the captains of all the 18 men’s and 7 women’s teams meeting each other.

This was India’s third successive International Cup (IC) participation which was a big achievement in itself. With paucity of funds Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI) had to fight unfavourable situations just to take the team to Australia to participate in IC 14. Apart from AFL being the biggest support for Indian Tigers in the International Cup, Bhratiya Vidya Bhavan – Australia was one of the major sponsors, counterpart of Bhavans educational group in India, which has over 100 schools across India, given two of the players in the squad coming from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan school in Kolkata.

India Vs Tonga

The tournament saw India starting off against the big and strong Tongans who physically destroyed the amateur Indian side, but at the same time India did not go goal-less in its first match of IC 14 International Cup, with Biswajit Das, the senior most player of Indian Tigers, scoring the first goal for his country in IC14.

India Vs Papua New Guinea

In the second match Papua New Guinea  annihilated the Indian tigers with an over 200 score to nil, leaving the Tigers with a lot of things to learn from.

Pakistan Captain And Indian Captain

The third match was the main attraction for many as it put forward one of the most intense sporting rivalries in the world- India Vs Pakistan. This vehement sporting rivalry between the two countries was  hailed as the Dosti Cup. Dosti is the Hindi and Urdu word for Friendship, the spirit in which India and Pakistan would play this game of football. The inaugural Dosti Cup was contested on Saturday at Highgate Reserve in Cragieburn, an outer northern suburb of Melbourne. The day began with a pre-match event, which ran concurrently with the Essendon vs Richmond VFL curtain raiser. Guest speakers addressed the audience, team captains were jointly interviewed, bollywood dancers and drummers entertained whilst players shared meal. A number of guests were present, including Ms Manika Jain, the Consul General of India (Melbourne) and Mr Abdul Aziz Uqaili, the Consul General and Trade Minsiter of Pakistan (Sydney). The common message being that both Pakistan and India offered a great growth opportunity to Australian Football, given their large populations, a passion for sport and access to cricket fields.

From the very start Pakistan’s advantage over India was accentuated by the way they were scoring goals. Since all the players of the Pakistan contingent were born and brought up in India, they were all far more experienced than the Indians as far as footy is concerned. In the end it can be said that Pakistan was a clear and deserved winner in a passionate match between the two countries.

India Vs Finland

The fourth round match between India and Finland saw both sides coming to this match after three successive defeats – Finland suffering losses to USA, Sweden and China. India going down to Tonga, PNG and Pakistan.  Even though defensively India made a mark on the match as Finland was held to just three goals but offensively it was again a disappointing match for India.

India Vs Indonesia

The last match of the International Cup 2014 for India was against Indonesia. India this time was more than determined to have their first victory of the tournament. India gave quite a fight before losing a hard fought match as Indian Tigers couldn’t capitalise on their improved performance.

Even though this time India was bereft of an international victory in IC 14 but it was a learning experience for India as players of the Indian contingent got an opportunity to practise at the Punt Road Oval under the watchful eyes of Richmond Tigers, one of the best clubs of Australian Football League.

It is often said that failure is the pillar of success. Even though Indian Tigers this time couldn’t secure a victory but they promised to come back stronger and better in the next International Cup.

Indian Tigers at Punt Road Oval

Bengal, the very birthplace of Footy in India, hosted the inaugural tournament ‘ARFAI Bengal State Championship’ in Salt Lake on 15^th June. Bengal which has always been at the centre of any sports related development in India once again proved to be the worthy place where a sport can be introduced and developed over time.

Six teams with players  from Bongaon, Kharda, Hooghly, Howrah and Kolkata played it out to become the winner of the inaugural Bengal State Championship. The teams were divided into 2 groups of 3 each and played out a round robin format to decide  2 teams which would go on to contest the final. The first group featured the Tigers, Giants and Bombers while the second group matched up the Eagles, Saints and Wolverines against each other. The Eagles team was lucky to play in official West Coast Eagles merchandize provided by the club themselves and facilitated by ARFAI ambassador Helen Mell from Perth. The tournament also saw the first appearance of a non-Australian brother club in the form of Wolverines who take their name from Wolverhampton Wolverines club in AFL England.

It was not just the six teams which embellished  the tournament but also two girls’ teams from Bongaon who played an exhibition footy match, the first of its kind in Bengal. It was the Saints and the Bombers who went on to play the finals which was delayed for sometime because of the incessant  rainfall. The rainfall even couldn’t dampen the spirits of the two finalist teams of the state championship. The final surely called for even more vehement performance from the players and the players provided higher levels of performance in the finals in that rain soaked ground. Bombers ultimately went on to defeat the Saints.

The Guests were regaled to witness such strenuous and zealous performance from the players. The list includedTom Calder, Australian Trade Commisioner in India and also honorary President Of ARFAI,  Sudip Chakraborty, Secretary General of ARFAI,Prasun Mukherjee, former Commissioner of Kolkata Police, President of Cricket Association of Bengal and Executive Vice Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kolkata, Maidul Islam, former Indian soccer player and Mohammedan Sporting legend, G.V. Subramanium, Joint Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Stephanie March, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) India correspondent. Stephanie was present in the state for 2 days with her colleague to cover the Footy story in Bengal and the hardships the players overcome to play the game without any support from Australia.

Arif Ali , the captain of the winning team, also was the winner of an individual award for Best Mark.. Maidul Ali from the Bombers went on to win the Best Goal award and Amaresh Mondal from the Saints won the Player of the Tournament award, the most prestigious individual award of the tournament.

Bengal has the bragging right for sports infrastructure in the country having in possession the 2^nd largest football stadium in the world and the largest cricket stadium of India. Prasun Mukherjee and Maidul Islam expressed their support for Footy development in the state. No wonder Bengal is said to be one of the most sports crazy state in the country. Now only time will tell how Footy crazy Bengal becomes.

Great descriptive video which introduces Australian Rules Football to everyone..

Why would we keep the greatest game in the world a secret?

Australia’s national game is under threat from all world sports. Now the AFL must find new ways to survive in this global market.  AUSSIE RULES THE WORLD follows AFL superstar Brett Kirk on an international mission to save the game. Narrated by award winning actor David Wenham- this film uncovers people’s passion for footy in unexpected corners of the globe. Footy will never be the same.

First promotional video for promoting Australia Rules Football (aka Footy) in India.