International_australian_football_council

The International Australian Football Council (IAFC) was a body established in 1995 to govern the sport of Australian rules football internationally.

The IAFC was established after the Arafura Games, held in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

The Arafura Games were the first international games to have Australian rules football as a competition, rather than a demonstration sport. Papua New Guinea won the Gold medal that year and retained it in subsequent games. The national delegations that fielded Australian rules football teams met and decided to form a central body to co-ordinate efforts to promote the game in their own nations. The IAFC was founded as a result of this meeting, the first president being Will McKenzie (New Zealand).

The Australian Football League negotiated the voluntary dissolution of the IAFC to retain the status of world governing body. The AFL refused to recognise the IAFC\'s role to govern the rules of the code internationally, and as a response the AFL brought on its own international game development initiatives and funding, limiting the scope and purpose of the IAFC to a promotional body. In line with these initiatives, many leagues around the world formally affiliated with the AFL.

The IAFC helped organise the first Australian Football International Cup in Melbourne in 2002 which was won by Ireland. The IAFC also instigated the Multicultural Cup competitions in 2004 and 2005, involving expatriate communities living in Australia, of which Israel won the first, while Greece won the second.

Background

In 1890, the first Australasian Football Council is formed in Melbourne under Australasian Rules to take control of all International Football matches (14 years before FIFA). In 1905, an official Australasian Football Council was formed, after delegates from the North and South Islands of New Zealand became involved. This body is in no way related to the International Australian Football Council, although the principle is the same. By 1927, this body had changed its name to that of the Australian National Football Council owing to New Zealand no longer being represented. The organisation disbanded some time due to the localisation of the Australian rules football code and the dominance of the Victorian Football League.

See also

• List of Australian rules football leagues outside Australia
• Aussie Rules International
• List of overseas-born AFL players

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