The AFL support some bigger programs but their assistance at club level tends to be fairly minor and ad hoc. It certainly wouldn't hurt them in the PR area to contribute a few footies and some umpiring gear (whistles, rules in the local language). I would've thought Essendon, being the Bombers, would chip in for Bordeaux.

Yep, let's hope the French can get some stability in their clubs and one day get a France league going - there's been so many club attempts but not much sustainability. But hopefully Bordeaux can focus on something like a 9-a-side local league first to get their numbers up. Internationally Australian Football seems to keep starting with city sides and national sides (and there are some good reasons for that), whereas historically in Australia it has grown as local leagues (in fact 18-a-side), with the Australian national league only occurring after 130 years of local footy.

I'd suggest aim for 2 Bordeaux sides, grow it locally, then look for 3 sides, 4 sides. The target should be that inter-city travel for matches should be occasional rather than the norm. If you have 4 local teams playing 9-a-side, with say 40 regular players, then you can get 20 players to travel on a more regular basis.

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Brett Northey - Co-founder and Chief Editor of WFN