Australian rules football in the Middle East
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football in the Middle East describes the minority sport of Australian rules football
as it is watched and played in the Middle East
region.
The sport is played at various levels, mainly by expatriate Australians. The main cup competition played in the area is the Dubai 9s, although a regional league under the name AFL Middle East which commenced in October 2008, with the inaugural 2008/09 premiers being the Dubai Heat. The AFLME initially featured six clubs, three in Dubai
and one each from Abu Dhabi
, Muscat
and Doha
.
Australian football is not known as a spectator sport in the Middle East. The first Australian Football League
exhibition match was played in the United Emirates in 2008. The only matches broadcast are AFL matches (particularly the AFL Grand Final
) on satellite television
in some countries through the Australia Network
and on cable television
in Israel.
played a game on ANZAC Day
in 2008 in the colours of Essendon Bombers and Collingwood Magpies to celebrate the The ANZAC Day clash
.
Australian Rules in Israel
has been played sporadically since at least 1995, when a group of around 20 players began regular social matches in Tel Aviv
, although most of the players were based in Jerusalem. By 2005 the community was still playing with around 70 players involved and discussion about creating a four-team league with sides from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and various youth programs. The majority of the playing base are members of the Jewish community in Melbourne
who have emigrated to Israel.
A side representing Israel
competed in both years of the Australian Football Multicultural Cup
, winning the 2004 competition.
A team composed of Australian Jews resident in London competed as Israel in the 2005 EU Cup
.
Highlights of the AFL Grand Final have been shown on Fox Sports Israel
.
players to participate in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup was suggested by members of the Australian Jewish community in late 2007. This team would be composed mainly of basketball
and soccer players, trained from scratch in the first half of 2008. Backing the plan is the Peres Center for Peace
, as well as board members of AFL clubs, including Australian Jewish businessman and Carlton Football Club
president Dick Pratt.
In early 2008 it was reported that around 75 players were in training for the team, to be cut back to around 30 for the squad to attend the International Cup. Match-day coach for the team at the tournament is to be Robert DiPierdomenico
.
was first played around 2003 and 2004 in an attempt to introduce the sport into that country by members of the Lebanese community resident in Melbourne
, this competition (based in Tripoli
) has since gone into recess and there is no Australian rules currently played in Lebanon.
A team representing the Melbourne Lebanese community also competed at the Australian Football Multicultural Cup
in both 2004, 2005 and 2010.
appeared at the 2007 Dubai 9s. The Dubai Dingos followed the Dubai 9s by scheduling a match against the Omani side, which was partly composed of Gaelic football converts. In 2008, the Muscat Magpies were formed as the country's first formal club. The Magpies will compete in the upcoming AFL Middle East.
An Australian rules football club nicknamed the Kangaroos was founded in Doha
, Qatar
in early 2007, with their first appearance being at that year's Dubai 9s tournament. The Squad is made up of expatriate Australians.
The Doha Kangaroos were a founding member of the AFL Middle East.
has been played since 2006, with the creation of a club in Dubai
known as the Dubai Dingoes. In addition to the senior team, there is junior football held weekly. The club is mainly composed of expatriate Australians as well as Irish
from the local gaelic football
club. The Dingoes held a 9-a-side international tournament in early 2007, also featuring teams from Abu Dhabi
, Oman
and Qatar
.
A second and more successful club called the Dubai Heat was created as of 2007.
A team mainly drawn from the Dubai Heat, but also with some players from the Dubai Dingoes, represented the UAE at the 2007 Asian Australian Football Championships
. In 2008 Dubai Heat entered another team in the Asian championships and successfully took the title beating the Singapore Wombats.
In February 2008, the first AFL match in the United Arab Emirates was held at the Ghantoot Polo and Racing Club in Abu Dhabi
between the Adelaide Crows
and the Collingwood Magpies. It was one of few official NAB Cup matches played outside of Australia and the game attracted a sell-out crowd of 6,102 using a makeshift field and grandstand and was televised free-to-air in Australia. The curtain raiser for the AFL match was played between the Dubai Dingos and Dubai Heat.
The Abu Dhabi Falcons and Dubai Dragons were formed in 2008 as the UAE's third and fourth clubs.
Middle Eastern performance at International Cup
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
as it is watched and played in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
region.
The sport is played at various levels, mainly by expatriate Australians. The main cup competition played in the area is the Dubai 9s, although a regional league under the name AFL Middle East which commenced in October 2008, with the inaugural 2008/09 premiers being the Dubai Heat. The AFLME initially featured six clubs, three in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and one each from Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...
and Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
.
Australian football is not known as a spectator sport in the Middle East. The first Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
exhibition match was played in the United Emirates in 2008. The only matches broadcast are AFL matches (particularly the AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
) on satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
in some countries through the Australia Network
Australia Network
Australia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to...
and on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
in Israel.
Bahrain
The Bahrain Blues were created in 2009, making their debut at the Dubai 9s tournament in that year. They will enter the AFL Middle East as the league's seventh club for the season starting in October 2009.Iraq
Servicemen, mostly Australians in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
played a game on ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
in 2008 in the colours of Essendon Bombers and Collingwood Magpies to celebrate the The ANZAC Day clash
The ANZAC Day clash
The Anzac Day clash is an annual Australian rules football match between Australian Football League teams Collingwood and Essendon, held on Anzac Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground .-Early history of Australian rules on Anzac Day:...
.
Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
has been played sporadically since at least 1995, when a group of around 20 players began regular social matches in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, although most of the players were based in Jerusalem. By 2005 the community was still playing with around 70 players involved and discussion about creating a four-team league with sides from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and various youth programs. The majority of the playing base are members of the Jewish community in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
who have emigrated to Israel.
A side representing Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
competed in both years of the Australian Football Multicultural Cup
Australian Football Multicultural Cup
The Australian Football Multicultural Cup was an amateur Australian rules football competition featuring teams drawn from melbourne's migrant communities...
, winning the 2004 competition.
A team composed of Australian Jews resident in London competed as Israel in the 2005 EU Cup
EU Cup
thumb|Logo of the 2007 EU CupThe EU Cup is an international Australian rules football tournament played between European national teams. Played under 9-a-side Footy rules, the tournament was first held at Chiswick Rugby Club in London, England in 2005 as an extension of the Central European...
.
Highlights of the AFL Grand Final have been shown on Fox Sports Israel
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
.
Israel and Palestine
The formation of a composite team of Israeli and PalestinianPalestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
players to participate in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup was suggested by members of the Australian Jewish community in late 2007. This team would be composed mainly of basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and soccer players, trained from scratch in the first half of 2008. Backing the plan is the Peres Center for Peace
Peres Center for Peace
The Peres Center for Peace located in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and current President of Israel Shimon Peres, with the aim of furthering his vision in which people of the Middle East...
, as well as board members of AFL clubs, including Australian Jewish businessman and Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
president Dick Pratt.
In early 2008 it was reported that around 75 players were in training for the team, to be cut back to around 30 for the squad to attend the International Cup. Match-day coach for the team at the tournament is to be Robert DiPierdomenico
Robert DiPierdomenico
Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL of Italian descent and a member of the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century...
.
Lebanon
Australian Rules in LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
was first played around 2003 and 2004 in an attempt to introduce the sport into that country by members of the Lebanese community resident in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, this competition (based in Tripoli
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
) has since gone into recess and there is no Australian rules currently played in Lebanon.
A team representing the Melbourne Lebanese community also competed at the Australian Football Multicultural Cup
Australian Football Multicultural Cup
The Australian Football Multicultural Cup was an amateur Australian rules football competition featuring teams drawn from melbourne's migrant communities...
in both 2004, 2005 and 2010.
Oman
A group of players from OmanOman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
appeared at the 2007 Dubai 9s. The Dubai Dingos followed the Dubai 9s by scheduling a match against the Omani side, which was partly composed of Gaelic football converts. In 2008, the Muscat Magpies were formed as the country's first formal club. The Magpies will compete in the upcoming AFL Middle East.
Qatar
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
in early 2007, with their first appearance being at that year's Dubai 9s tournament. The Squad is made up of expatriate Australians.
The Doha Kangaroos were a founding member of the AFL Middle East.
United Arab Emirates
Australian Rules in the United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
has been played since 2006, with the creation of a club in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
known as the Dubai Dingoes. In addition to the senior team, there is junior football held weekly. The club is mainly composed of expatriate Australians as well as Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
from the local gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
club. The Dingoes held a 9-a-side international tournament in early 2007, also featuring teams from Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
and Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
.
A second and more successful club called the Dubai Heat was created as of 2007.
A team mainly drawn from the Dubai Heat, but also with some players from the Dubai Dingoes, represented the UAE at the 2007 Asian Australian Football Championships
Asian Australian Football Championships
The Asian Australian Football Championships are an annual tournament of Australian rules football between mainly expat-Australian teams from around Asia.-History:...
. In 2008 Dubai Heat entered another team in the Asian championships and successfully took the title beating the Singapore Wombats.
In February 2008, the first AFL match in the United Arab Emirates was held at the Ghantoot Polo and Racing Club in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (emirate)
Abu Dhabi, officially the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, , is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates . It is the capital of UAE and is the largest emirate by area , and second-largest by population , accounting for approximately 86% of the total land area of the UAE...
between the Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
and the Collingwood Magpies. It was one of few official NAB Cup matches played outside of Australia and the game attracted a sell-out crowd of 6,102 using a makeshift field and grandstand and was televised free-to-air in Australia. The curtain raiser for the AFL match was played between the Dubai Dingos and Dubai Heat.
The Abu Dhabi Falcons and Dubai Dragons were formed in 2008 as the UAE's third and fourth clubs.
Middle Eastern performance at International CupAustralian Football International CupThe Australian Football International Cup is an international sport competition in Australian rules football...
| Flag | Nation | Rep team | 2002 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.... |
2005 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.... |
2008 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.... |
2011 2011 Australian Football International Cup The 2011 Australian Football International Cup is the fourth edition of the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition run by the Australian Football League.... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... -Palestinian Territories Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the... |
Peres Team for Peace | - | - | 13th | TBC |