AUSSIE RULES INTERNATIONAL
Sunday, May 29, 2011
AUSTRALIAN Rules football is set to make its official debut at the Africa Games in September.
Held every four years and attended by a quarter of the world's countries, the 2011 Africa Games will be held in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
The inclusion of Australian football in the Africa Games is a result of the lobbying efforts of Aussie Rules International (ARI), a non-profit organisation which was formed in 1995 to promote and develop Australian football internationally.
A meeting in February in Maputo between ARI officials and organisers of the Games confirmed the inclusion of Australian football as an official demonstration sport.
The 2011 Games will take place in Maputo between September 3-18, with an exhibition match scheduled to take place during the first week of the Games.
The two competing teams will be a senior team from South Africa and a senior Australian Aboriginal team (which will wear the jumper pictured). The match will take place at the National Stadium in Maputo, which has a seating capacity of 42,000 people. A junior exhibition match, consisting of local children, will take place during half-time.
ARI will also conduct junior coaching clinics as part of the Youth Camp Program that is held during the Africa Games. This will involve teaching the skills of Australian football to 300 children (aged 14-18) from all over Africa.
The competing countries at previous Games have included Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros & Mayotte, Congo, Congo (Zaire), Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawai, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
See www.aflafrica.com.
For more information,
contact Brian Clarke on 0435-092987
Last Modified on 31/07/2011 23:28