By Mark Ball
April 1
Semi-professional Australian rules football will expand across the Pacific Ocean next year with Vancouver-based teams set to join second-tier Australian leagues from 2020.
The Vancouver Beavers will enter men’s and women’s teams in the Victorian Football League and VFL Women’s from next year – the first international expansion of any league of that calibre.
Beavers chief executive April Fullingham said it marked a new era for Australian rules football in North America.
“The VFL and VFL Women’s are widely recognized as the second best Australian rules football competitions in the world,” Ms Fullingham said.
“The Beavers’ inclusion in these leagues represents opportunities for players across both Canada and the United States to develop their playing careers while staying close to home.
“There are thousands of young men and women across the continent who have the potential to play professionally in Australia but can’t commit living across the world to develop their game.
“This is the next step to a flood of Canadians and Americans in the AFL and AFL Women’s.”
The AFL has committed $30 million to build a 10,000-seat stadium in suburban Vancouver.
Gillon McLachlan Oval has been designed with the potential to increase capacity to 30,000 in the future.
“As our teams increase in skill, we anticipate the crowd numbers to increase as well,” Ms Fullingham said.
“Vancouver already holds the record for the highest crowd outside mainland Australia. We’ve already proved that we’re a city that supports footy.
“I see no reason that if we prove ourselves we can’t one day have teams in the AFL and AFL Women’s.
“We have beautiful weather throughout the AFL season, we share a timezone on the West Coast with 60 million people and we are a gateway to 400 million potential new fans. It just makes sense.”
*A special thank you to the Oregon Beavers for the temporary use of their logo
Last Modified on 10/04/2019 09:56