The AFL's coordinator of the 2008 Australian Football International Cup has confirmed the dates for the third instalment of world footy's biggest tournament. Roger Berryman told WFN that the dates previously listed as possible have now been settled, with some minor changes. It looks like at least one match (prior to the Grand Final) may be a curtain raiser to an AFL match, but whether the Grand Final will be is subject to the AFL Finals schedule - not known until after Round 22 of the AFL season. Berryman also gave some further insight into the possible attendees and arrangements between those countries and AFL and VAFA clubs (more on that later).

The confirmed dates are:

2008 Australian Football International Cup

Wednesday 27 August		Round 1 Melbourne
Friday 29 August		Round 2 Melbourne
Friday 29 August		Official function, Melbourne
Saturday 30 August		Round 2 continued - 1 match as curtain raiser Sat 30 Aug MCG (to be confirmed)
Sunday 31 August		Travel to regional Victoria
Monday 1 September		Round 3 regional Victoria
Wednesday 3 September		Round 4 regional Victoria
Thursday 4 September		Travel back to Melbourne
Friday 5 September		Finals (*)

* Opportunity for Grand Final to be played as curtain raiser to an AFL final will depend on finals fixture which will not be confirmed until after Round 22 of 2008. Organisers hope for a good outcome but obviously the premiership season runs independently.

The Regional Victoria location is likely to be confirmed in the next couple of weeks.

International players keen to see some live AFL matches will particularly note the round 21 and 22 matches in Melbourne and nearby Geelong, and that the Finals begin the following week (schedule for them unknown until conclusion of round 22). Full draw here.

Friday, Aug 22 - Western Bulldogs vs Essendon Telstra Dome 7:40 pm
Saturday, Aug 23 - Richmond vs Fremantle MCG 2:10 pm, Collingwood vs Sydney Telstra Dome 7:10 pm
Sunday, Aug 24 - Geelong vs Kangaroos Skilled Stadium 1:10 pm, St. Kilda vs Adelaide Telstra Dome 2:10 pm
Saturday, Aug 30 - Kangaroos vs Port Adelaide MCG 1:10 pm, Geelong vs West Coast Skilled Stadium 2:10 pm, Carlton vs Hawthorn Telstra Dome 7:10 pm
Sunday, Aug 31 - Melbourne vs. Richmond MCG 2:10 pm, Essendon vs St. Kilda Telstra Dome 4:40 pm

In terms of which countries are likely to attend, amongst those that could be described as doubtful, Berryman confirmed that India was still a possibility but Germany had ruled itself out as not yet feasible. WFN had previously put Martin Ruppe from the Vienna Kangaroos in Austria in touch with the AFL, but after weighing up the potential costs and squad size necessary, they have decided, like Germany, that 2008 is too soon in their development. With the series going to a four year cycle, fans will be hoping to see them in 2012.

Final deadline for countries entering the 2008 Cup is estimated at being around June '08. Rules and regulations are currently being developed by the committee.

In terms of local ethnic-based sides from Melbourne competing, it now seems they may compete in a separate group altogether, so instead of a main division and a development division with a mix of true international sides and ethnic locals, there could instead effectively be three divisions - premier, developmental and multi-cultural. There would be some irony if the AFL ultimately supported a Multicultural Cup type event, but plenty of followers of international footy would probably encourage them to do so. Possible ethnic local entries being discussed are Vietnam, Sudan and Somalia, with discussions being held with the Victorian Multicultural Commission. If it goes ahead, the multicultural teams may compete in two or three games, rather than the full tournament schedule. More details on VAFA developments later.

Update 18/11/2007: To avoid any confusion on how local ethnic-based sides are proposed to feature in the 2008 International Cup, we note that several days ago event organiser Roger Berryman told WFN that the "Organising Committee is supportive of including such teams separately to the 2 division comp to differentiate between international and multicultural, for example they may only play 2-3 games".