AFL Italia launch 1st Premiership Season

After their debut season last year, mainly dedicated to the development of the Italia Azzurri national team, culminating with the participation at the EU Cup in Samobor (Croatia) in October 2009, the AFL Italia have worked hard during the off-season and have come up with the numbers to begin a 4-team national league in 2010.

Nicola Giampaolo and Armando Colombo made the official announcement on a meeting held in Busto Arsizio on Saturday February 13th, just before the National Training Camp in Milano.

The 4 teams are to be based in Milan, Rome, Genoa and Lugano, the last of those cities being located just over the border in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. The home and away season will see the teams play each of their opponents twice, followed by a final-four system with the two best-placed teams on the ladder having a double chance.

Grand Final day will be September 4th in Roma, and the Italian Aussie Rules community are sure that it will be a great event with a good turnout.

At the meeting, AFL Italia announced there will also be some friendly matches for the national team against English, French and German opponents.

On July 3rd in Fontanafredda (Pordenone) there will be a 4-team tournament between Italy, Croatia, Scotland and hopefully the Czech Republic, as part of a 4-day important sports event called the ‘Rugby Festival’, where ‘oval ball’ sports including rugby union, rugby league, touch rugby, beach rugby and Aussie Rules are represented. Colombo and Giampaolo are optimistic that the event will also feature a women's Aussie Rules match.

The Italians are hoping that the season will end with the EU Cup in Milano, for which Giampaolo and Colombo have forwarded their application to the newly founded European Australian Football Association, as governing body in Europe, which recently held its summit in Frankfurt.

There are great expectations on the development of Australian Football in Italy and the AFL Italia report that the enthusiasm showed by youngsters that have been introduced to the game is overwhelming.

The AFL Italia can be contacted via their Facebook group.

The 2009 Italia Azzurri squad

The new logo and jumper(s) for the Milano Aussie Rulers