Sport | Australian rules football |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | Canada |
Founded | 30 July 2004 |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
President | Lachlan Griffiths |
Replaced | Canadian Australian Football Association |
Official website | |
www | |
AFL Canada (formerly the Canadian Australian Football Association, French : Association canadienne de football australien) is the governing body for men's and women's Australian rules football in Canada.
AFL Canada was formed on 30 July 2004, when the Canadian Australian Football Association changed its official name.
AFL Canada is responsible for co-ordinating three national programs - the Northwind senior men, Northern Lights senior women and the Wolfpack junior men's team. AFL Canada also oversees game development nationally and several competitions and tournaments across the country.
The Canadian Australian Football Association was established in May 1989 when two clubs, the Mississauga Mustangs (now the High Park Demons) and the Toronto Panthers (now the Toronto Eagles), were formed and played in the inaugural Conacher Cup game in Toronto, Ontario.
AFL Canada selects the Northwind, Canada's national men's Australian rules football team, and the Northern Lights, Canada's national women's team. Northwind and Northern Lights players are selected from the best Canadian-born players from the clubs across the country, with both teams playing in international tournaments and exhibition matches. [1]
The Northwind have competed at every edition of the triennial Australian Football International Cup, at which they have finished as high as fifth. [2]
The Northern Lights have competed at all three editions of the women's tournament, making every final of the International Cup and winning the tournament in 2014.
Both national teams also compete against the United States at the 49th Parallel Cup, with the Northern Lights undefeated since 2012. [3]
AFL Canada has also put forward the Wolfpack, a junior men's team, which has played games in Australia. [4]
The Northwind have competed at the Australian Football International Cup since their first appearance in 2002. The International Cup is a competition where players that are citizens of the countries who are competing are the only players allowed to play (no expatriate Australians are permitted to play, with teams composed solely of amateurs who must be nationals of the country they represent).
In the 2002 Australian Football International Cup the Canada Northwind finished 9th of 11 teams.
Round 1: Ireland 7.14 (56) def. Canada 4.7 (31) - Trevor Barker Beach Oval, Sandringham, Melbourne
Round 2: Canada 4.11 (38) def. South Africa 1.5 (11)
Round 3: New Zealand 10.8 (68) def. Canada 2.6 (18)
Round 4: USA 8.4 (52) def. Canada 1.1 (7)
Round 5: Samoa 9.15 (69) def. Canada 0.5 (5)
9th/10th Place Playoff: Canada 6.5 (41) def. Japan 5.2 (32)
In the 2005 Australian Football International Cup the Northwind finished 7th of 10 teams.
Round 1: Ireland 4.7 (31) def. Canada 3.5 (23)
Round 2: Papua New Guinea 5.11 (41) def. Canada 4.3 (27)
Round 3: Samoa 7.4 (46) def. Canada 6.6 (42)
Round 4: Great Britain 3.7 (25) def. 3.5 Canada (23)
Qualifying Final: Canada def. Spain (Spain forfeited).
7th/8th Place Playoff: Canada 4.5 (29) def. South Africa 2.6 (18)
In the 2008 Australian Football International Cup the Northwind finished 6th of 16 teams:
Round 1: Canada Northwind 18.22 (130) def. Finland Icebreakers 0.0 (0) - Western Oval
Round 2: Canada Northwind 16.12 (108) def. Sweden Elks 1.1 (7) - Ransford Oval
Round 3: Ireland Warriors 4.6 (30) def. Canada Northwind 2.2 (14) - Reid Oval
Finals Round 1: Canada Northwind 7.7 (49) def. Japan Samurais 0.3 (3) - Walter Oval
5th/6th Place Playoff: Nauru Chiefs 12.8 (80) def. Canada Northwind 7.7 (49) - Ransford Oval
In the 2011 Australian Football International Cup the Northwind finished 10th of 18 teams
Group 6 - Match 1: Canada 2.0 (12) def. by United States 2.3 (15) - Blacktown International Sportspark 2
Group 6 - Match 2: Canada 3.6 (24) def. Peres Team for Peace 0.0 (0) - Blacktown International Sportspark 2
Division 1 - Group 1 - Match 1: Canada 2.3 (15) def. by Great Britain 6.8 (44) - Blacktown International Sportspark 2
Division 1 - Group 1 - Match 3: Canada 3.2 (20) def. by New Zealand 5.9 (39) - Blacktown International Sportspark 1
Division 1 Semi-Finals: Canada 13.8 (86) def. Japan 2.1 (13) - McAllister Oval
9th/10th Place Playoff: Canada 6.4 (40) def. by Tonga 6.10 (46) - Ransford Oval
In the 2014 Australian Football International Cup the Northwind finished 5th of 18 teams.
Pool C - Round 1: Canada 19.5 (119) def. China 0.1 (1) - McAlister Oval
Pool C - Round 2: Canada 2.8 (20) def. by USA 8.3 (51) - Ransford Oval
Pool C - Round 3: Canada 20.10 (130) def. Sweden 0.0 (0) - Ben Kavanagh Reserve
Division 1 Semi Finals: Canada 9.15 (69) def. France 2.3 (15) - Ransford Oval
Division 1 Championship (5th/6th Place Playoff): Canada 9.7 (61) def. Tonga 7.6 (48) - McAlister Oval
Bellerive Oval, known commercially as Blundstone Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, Australia, holding 20,000 people - the second largest capacity stadium in Tasmania. It is the only venue in Tasmania which hosts international Cricket matches.
North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for rugby league and rugby union and soccer.
The Australian Football International Cup is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open to all nations. More than 26 nations have participated and the competition has expanded into multiple pools and both men and women's divisions. The most recent event 2020 was postponed and then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently postponed until 2024. At the time of the last tournament in 2017, the sport had a record 170,744 players outside Australia growing at a rate of 25% per annum.
Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement, is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules football, cricket, and rugby league.
The Canada national Australian rules football team represents Canada in Australian rules football. The men's side is known as the Northwind while the women's side is known as the Northern Lights. The national team is selected by AFL Canada the governing body for Australian rules football in Canada.
The South African national Australian rules football team represent South Africa in the sport of Australian rules football.
AFL Sydney is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. The AFL Sydney competition comprises 126 teams from 22 clubs which play across seven senior men's divisions, five women's divisions, a Master's Division and two under 19 competitions in season 2022.
Punt Road Oval, also known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and former cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, Victoria, situated a few hundred metres to the east of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Australian rules football in Canada is played in seven provinces - Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The Ontario league, centred on Toronto but also including sides from cities as far afield as Guelph, Hamilton and Ottawa, is considered the largest league outside Australia. In western Canada, there are clubs in Edmonton, Calgary and a six-team league in the Vancouver area. There is also a number of junior and women's clubs across Canada.
Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian rules football, an athletics track and field, three baseball diamonds, two soccer fields, four softball diamonds, administration centers and park land.
The Greater Western Sydney Football Club, nicknamed the Giants, and commonly referred to as the GWS Giants or simply GWS, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales and Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The 2011–12 Sydney Blue Sox season will be the second season for the team. As was the case for the previous season, the Blue Sox will compete in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) with the other five foundation teams, and will again play its home games at Blacktown International Sportspark Sydney. The team will be defending its record from the 2010–11 season where it had the best win–loss record during the regular season.
Blacktown International Sportspark Oval is an Australian rules football and cricket ground located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The stadium was constructed in 2009 as part of the Blacktown International Sportspark. It has a capacity of 10,000 people.
Sarah Jolly is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their nineteenth selection and 145th overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut in the nineteen point win against Collingwood at Ikon Park in round two of the 2017 season. She played the next week in the fourteen point win against the Western Bulldogs at VU Whitten Oval before being omitted for the round four match against Carlton at Casey Fields. She returned for the five point loss to Greater Western Sydney at Blacktown International Sportspark Oval in round five, which was her last match for the year and she finished the season with three games. She was not retained on Melbourne's list at the end of the season and was subsequently delisted in May 2017.
Aliesha Newman is an Australian rules footballer playing for Sydney in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. She previously played for the Melbourne Football Club and for Collingwood.
Cheyenne Hammond is an Australian rules footballer who plays for Port Adelaide in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).