The AFL has released the 2014 International Cup fixtures.
The 2014 International Cup will be played in Melbourne from August 9 to 23. There will be 18 men’s and seven women’s teams competing.
The majority of matches will be played at Royal Park in Parkville and for the first time a community round will be played as curtain-raisers to suburban, amateur and country matches.
The women’s grand final will be played at Punt Road Oval and the men’s grand final will be the curtain-raiser to the Round 22 AFL match between Hawthorn and the Geelong Cats at the MCG.
The men’s fixture is divided into three pools. Each team will play three pool matches and will then be ranked from one to 18. Teams will then be split into three groups for finals; top four, Division One and Division Two.
The New Zealand Hawks will have to defeat Sweden, China and the USA to progress to the semi-finals.
The full fixture can now be found on the IC14 website: www.aflic14.com.au
AFL Head of Development Grant Williams said the International Cup celebrates the passion those outside of Australia have for the game.
“There are 100,000 international participants throughout the world who share our love of Australian football,” he said.
“IC14 will bring together the best 900 players from 18 countries. I look forward to the colour and excitement that the carnival will bring.”
The IC14 twitter and Instagram accounts have also been launched. Follow IC14 on @AFLIC14 and AFLIC14
Expatriate Australians are ineligible to play in the International Cup. Teams are comprised solely of amateurs who must be nationals of the country they represent. All players must have lived the majority of the years aged between 10 and 16 as a citizen of their nation.
The International Cup is played every three years. Previous International Cup winners are; Ireland (2002 & 2011), New Zealand (2005) and Papua New Guinea (2008).
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