Birmingham Bears are an Australian rules football

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...

 team in the city of Birmingham, England. The Bears were set up in the Winter of 2008/2009 to play in the Aussie Rules UK

Aussie Rules UK

Aussie Rules UK was a United Kingdom organisation set up in April 2005 to introduce children in the UK to Australian rules football via an adaptation of the sport for use in schools...

 Walkabout National League in 2009 under a 9-a-side format.

History

The Bears played in their first season in 2009 having been formed at the end of season 2008. They played against teams such as Manchester Mosquitoes

Manchester Mosquitoes

The Manchester Mosquitoes are an Australian Rules Football club based at Burnage Rugby Club, south Manchester, England.-History:The Mozzies were formed in 2005 by a group of Australian and British AFL fans who, after many weekends of kicking the footy around in the park in Chorlton, decided to form...

, Huddersfield Rams, Sheffield Thunder, Liverpool Eagles and Leeds Bombers.

The Bears played their first games at the Aussie Rules UK

Aussie Rules UK

Aussie Rules UK was a United Kingdom organisation set up in April 2005 to introduce children in the UK to Australian rules football via an adaptation of the sport for use in schools...

 National Carnival in Newcastle on 9 May 2009. The Bears played against Huddersfield Rams in their first game, losing 54-19 with the club's first goal scored by Mathew Mitchell. The next game was against the Newcastle Centurions, the current Northern Premiers with the game finishing 42-0 in the opposition's favour. The third game was against the Chippenham Redbacks, featuring the England coach and the Welsh international captain. After a close start the final score was 35-8 to the Redbacks. The scheduled fourth game against Middlesbrough Hawks was won on forfeit after the Hawks refused to field a side. This saw the Bears finish 11th out of 12 in their first taste of Aussie Rules action.

In the 2009 season, Birmingham Bears finished 2nd in the ARUK Central England ladder, resulting in a 3rd vs. 2nd Preliminary Final versus Liverpool Eagles. Having won this match dominantly 147-42, the Bears ascended to their first ever Grand Final to be played in Huddersfield against the Huddersfield Rams. Despite leading going into the final quarter and ruckman Scott Alford being award best and fairest, the Bears were overcome by the Rams 105-84 to finish runners-up in a very successful opening season.

Season 2010

Season 2010 was a time of rebuilding for the Bears. With the formation and success of the University of Birmingham Sharks Australian Football Club at the end of 2010, midfielder Tim Smith took over the reins from Mat Mitchell and will be the cornerstone for the revival of the Birmingham Bears in 2011.

Season 2011

The Bears resumed training in January 2011 and will compete in the AFL Britain CNW (Central and North West) Division with old rivals Huddersfield, Liverpool and Leeds as well as the Wolverhampton Wolverines. The complete competition for Season 2011 is as follows:

| Manchester Mosquitoes
| Nottingham Scorpions
| Birmingham Bears
| Wolverhampton Wolverines
| Liverpool Eagles
| Huddersfield Rams
| Sheffield Thunder
| Peterborough Lightning
| Hull Monarchs
| Oxford Beavers

Fixtures & Results

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
9 May	National Carnival	Newcastle	LLLW
16 May	Sheffield Thunder	Manchester	W 6.3.(39) - 3.7.(25)
23 May	Leeds Bombers	Sheffield	W 12.10.(82) - ?.?.(35)
30 May	Huddersfield Rams	Birmingham	L 11.5.(71) - 13.20.(98)
6 June	Liverpool Eagles	Huddersfield	-
14 June	Leeds Bombers	Leeds	W 22.16.(142) - 6.8.(44)
20 June	Huddersfield	Liverpool	Cancelled
27 June	Liverpool Eagles	Huddersfield	-
4 July	Brit Cup	Cardiff	-
11 July	Liverpool Eagles	Liverpool	W 15.5.(95) - 11. 12.(78)
18 July	Bye Weekend	-	-
26 July	Huddersfield Rams	Huddersfield	L 4.5 (29) - 8.15 (63)
8th Aug	Prelim Final (2nd v 3rd)	Birmingham	W 21.21 (147) - 6.7 (42)
15th Aug	Central Grand Final	Huddersfield Rams	L 13.27 (105) - 12.12 (84)

Past and Present Players

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Grand Final Appearances

Aussie Rules UK Central Division

2009 - Runners Up

Sporton Cup

2010 (Spring) - Runners Up

2011 - C&NW Lightning Cup (Winners)