The AFL is pleased to announce the 2017 AFL International Cup (IC17) will be held in Melbourne from Saturday August 5 to Saturday August 19, 2017.
The sixth International Cup will once again include both men’s and women’s competitions.
AFL Head of Community & International Development Grant Williams said he expects the 2017 carnival to be the biggest yet.
“The popularity of Australian football overseas continues to grow with more players and fans taking up and supporting our game,” he said.
“Following the success of the AFL International Cup in 2014, we will again conduct a round of matches in IC17 at suburban and country grounds to give participants an authentic Australian football experience.
“We look forward to welcoming players from North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific to compete.”
The AFL International Cup is played every three years. No expatriate Australians are eligible to play. Teams comprise solely of amateurs who must be nationals of the country they represent.
In 2014 there were 25 teams (18 men’s and seven women’s teams) that represented 18 different nations. Papua New Guinea won the men’s final while Canada won the women’s final.
Japan, China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan have previously sent teams the International Cup and the Asian component will may expand with an Indo-China team a possibility to compete with nationals from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Teams competing in the International Cup pay their own way to attend which is a huge outlay for all nations who have to find a way to fund their participation through team and individual fund raising and sponsorship.
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