2002 Australian Football International Cup

The 2002 Australian Football International Cup was the inaugural international Australian rules football tournament held in Melbourne, Australia in 2002.

11 nations participated from around the world and the tournament was officiated by the International Australian Football Council.

Ireland won the tournament, finishing undefeated and victorious over Papua New Guinea in the Grand Final on 23 August at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Pool A

Pool B

Round 1

Round 2

2005 Australian Football International Cup

The 2005 Australian Football International Cup was the second time that the Australian Football International Cup tournament, an international Australian rules football competition was held.

The event was hosted by both Melbourne and Wangaratta, Australia in 2005.

10 nations participated following the late withdrawal of both Nauru and Denmark and the introduction of Spain.

All sides were scheduled to play 4 games, after which the top 4 sides played off in semi-finals for a berth in the Grand Final decider. The Grand Final was between Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Both sides went through the tournament undefeated. It was played as a curtain raiser to an official Australian Football League premiership season match and was replayed on Fox Sports (Australia) and the Fox Footy Channel.

Tournament results

Round 1

(Wednesday 3 August 2005)

Round 2

(Friday 5 August 2005)

Round 3

(Sunday 7 August 2005)

Round 4

(Tuesday 9 August 2005)

Ladder after four rounds

Semifinals

2008 Australian Football International Cup

The 2008 Australian Football International Cup was the third time the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition, has been contested.

It was scheduled for 2008 (as part of the 150th year celebrations of Australian Football), with 16 nations competing.

The tournament was hosted by both Melbourne and Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia between 27 August and 6 September, with a single match additionally played in Geelong.

Like previous tournaments, the competition was open to men's teams with strict nationality eligibility rules.

The Grand Final was played between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea were victorious by 8 points with a goal kicked after the siren. Like the Grand Final in previous years, the match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a curtain raiser to the 2008 AFL Season finals match between Hawthorn Hawks and Western Bulldogs which attracted a crowd of 76,703 spectators. However unlike previous tournaments, the final was not televised.

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football,also called football, footy, or Aussie rules (and in some regions marketed as AFL after the Australian Football League, the most popular and only fully professional Australian football league in the country), is a sport played between two teams of eighteen players on the field of either an Australian football ground, a modified cricket field, or a similarly sized sports venue. The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the two tall goal posts. The team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins unless a draw is declared.

During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled: for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions) are awarded possession. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid.

Football (ball)

A football is a ball inflated with air that is used to play one of the various sports known as football. In these games, with some exceptions, goals or points are scored only when the ball enters one of two designated goal-scoring areas; football games involve the two teams each trying to move the ball in opposite directions along the field of play.

The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, later put inside a leather cover, which has given rise to the American slang-term "pigskin". Modern balls are designed by teams of engineers to exacting specifications, with rubber or plastic bladders, and often with plastic covers. Various leagues and games use different balls, though they all have one of the following basic shapes:

Australian Football International Cup

The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup) is an international sport competition in Australian rules football. It is currently co-ordinated by the Australian Football League's game development arm and run every 3 years since 2002.

The tournament is the largest international Australian rules football event and the only one that is open to worldwide senior competition; although Australia, the home and world's strongest nation in the game, does not participate as it would most likely dominate the competition.

The inaugural tournament was the 2002 Australian Football International Cup run by the International Australian Football Council under the auspices of the Australian Football League, which then assumed full control with the winding up of the IAFC.

The Cup was originally for male participants only, but in 2011 a women's competition was established. After some suggestions the tournament would be run every 4 years, the AFL is currently maintaining the 3-year cycle.