Great Britain

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#0000FF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="3fa285a1egayea.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Aussie Rules Global Invasion</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aussie Rules Global Invasion"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Canada"><U>Canada</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Denmark"><U>Denmark</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Germany"><U>Germany</U></A>   |   <B>Great Britain</B>   |   <A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ireland"><U>Ireland</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Japan"><U>Japan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nauru"><U>Nauru</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Zealand"><U>New Zealand</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PNG"><U>PNG</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Samoa"><U>Samoa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="South Africa"><U>South Africa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spain"><U>Spain</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sweden"><U>Sweden</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id128.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="USA"><U>USA</U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=9.375% BGCOLOR="#FF0000" TEXT="#080000" background="3f9d4fe0dvlddx.png"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Great Britain</I></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="304" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 131 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="070807d0.png" border=0 width="128" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great Britain"><U><B>Home Page</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id98.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great Britain"><U><B>International Results</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great Britain"><U><B>Photo Gallery</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="698" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#0000FF HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="692"><div> <B>England Invaded</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF HEIGHT= 568 WIDTH="692"><div> <I><B>Eight English teams got the Australian Football bandwagon rolling in 1990:</B></I></div> <div> The British Australian Football League was formed in May 1990 with eight clubs: Wandsworth Demons, Earl's Court Roos, West London Wildcats, London Hawks, North London Lions, East Midland Eagles, Lea Valley Saints and Thames Valley Magpies.</div> <div> The AFL provided initial support for clubs in the form of uniforms and footballs and several clubs were able to secure sponsorship deals.</div> <div> In 1991, the Bristol Bears and Sussex Swans joined the league, followed by the Liverpool Blues and Birmingham Crows in 1992. The first international matches were played against Canada and Hong Kong a year later.</div> <div> Before the 1994 season, the league appointed a paid general manager, Greg Everett. Unfortunetely, aspiring new club Irish Rovens withdrew from the competition on the eve of the first round and the Liverpool Blues disbanded.</div> <div> The first international match - between Great Britain and Denmark in 1994 - was played in London with Great Britain scoring an emphatic 89-point win. The Danes exacted revenge a year later when they won in Copenhagen by 68 points.</div> <div> The London Hawks scored a hat-trick of premierships from 1993 to 1995 and the Wandsworth Demons notched a double in 1996 and 1997. After losing five grand finals from as many attempts, the West London Wildcats finally broke through for a long awaited first flag in 2000.</div> <div> Former West Coast, Fitzroy and Brisbane player Mark Zanotti arrived in London in February 1999 and was keen to get involved. He was appointed CEO of the BARFL and his high profile was a great boost to the code.</div> <div> Zanotti also started a new team, the London Gryphons, who were soon joined by another new side, the Clapham Demons.</div> <div> The 2000 season saw a new exibition match, the Federation Cup, take place at Holland Park in West London. This was organised in conjunction with the Australian High Commission and coincided with the Australian Dreaming exhibition - an exhibition of the Australian art and culture in London.</div> <div> Season 2001 saw the emergence of a two-tiered league system. This was mainly due to rules stating that no more than nine Australians could be on the field during a BARFL match. A second division was created with more flexible rules relating to the number of Aussies permitted to play.</div> <div> The Brit Cup was a new competition made up only of British players from five of the British league teams, including a guest tean from St Helens, an emerging team from the north of England.</div> <div> AFL matches have been played at the Oval in London every year since 1986 when North Melbourne played Carlton. There is also regular international competition, with a strong rivalry developing with Denmark.</div> <div> The British Bulldogs performed well at the Atlantic Alliance Cup in London in October 2001, recording good wins against Canada and Denmark. They are looking forward to repeating their success at the International Cup.</div> <bR> <div> * Above Information is from the Official Souvenir Program of the 2002 International Cup</div> <bR> <div> Great Britain performed well at the 2002 International Cup upsetting Nauru in by a goal. THey went on to finisg 6th losing to the USA in the 5th place play-off.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>