The AFL is planning to host the next International Cup in August 2011 in Melbourne, Sydney and probably the Gold Coast or Brisbane. For the first time in Cup history the competing nations will be split into divisions. The AFL has told potential competitors that "IC11 will be run across multiple divisions - to be determined by the final number of entrants". That suggests that if there are enough teams there could even be three separate divisions.

The 2008 tournament was originally going to have a primary group and a developing nations group, but the final numbers saw the teams merged into one competition, with some demoralising losses. With some new footy nations expected to attend in 2011 and the top squads now very accomplished, a separation is clearly needed if 150+ point blow outs (even allowing for shortened games) are to be avoided.

And in another exciting development the world's national women's sides will be welcomed with their own division. Possibilities at this early stage may include Canada's Northern Lights, the USA Freedom, Papua New Guinea (who have been successful with girls competing in Queensland), South Africa (which has had girls playing as part of FootyWILD) and Ireland, which has recently been trying to begin a women's league. No word yet as to whether Australia would field a side, although that seems unlikely at this stage.

It seems highly likely that 2011 will see a record number of teams competing across men's, women's and in three different cities across Australia's east coast.

The Australian Football League has written to Australian football playing nations outlining its preliminary plans to stage the fourth Australian Football International Cup across three Australian states. They have called for nominations by Friday 27th August 2010.

The initial schedule suggests the welcoming evening will be in Melbourne (Victoria) on Saturday 6th August 2011, with two rounds of matches at Royal Park (Sunday 7th August and Wednesday 10th August).

The tournament would then move to Sydney (NSW) for two rounds (Sunday 14th August and Wednesday 17th August), including at Blacktown, home of the 18th AFL club, current;y called Greater Western Sydney.

The finals (5th round) would then be played on the Gold Coast or in Brisbane (both in southeast Queensland), possibly in the vicinity of the AFL's 17th club the Gold Coast Suns, on Saturday 20th August, with a closing ceremony the following day.

The Australian Football League today released a list of nations that have signaled their aim to compete at the Australian Football International Cup 2011, with 22 countries having submitted an official Expression of Interest as of last Friday.

The 22 nations includes all 17 (Tonga included) who were in attendance in 2008, minus the Peace Team who are yet to submit a response. The six potential newcomers who have returned their official notification are Fiji, Croatia, France, Austria, Portugal and the Netherlands.

In addition to the initial 22 nations, AFL National Participation Programs Manager Josh Vanderloo indicates that the league has also had correspondence with further nations including Vanuatu, Italy and Indonesia who may further expand the field.

Vanderloo said, "The AFL is very pleased to have had such a positive response at this early stage. We now have a large base of interested nations to work with and over the next month or two we will finalise the event details so that they can plan their involvement in the 4th International Cup."

The AFL has not confirmed dates and venues for the IC11, although there is strong speculation that it will run from the 7th until the 21st of August 2011, and again be held in Melbourne and a regional Victorian center.

Any additional nominations will be added to the list below.

The AFL has asked for expressions of interest from countries wishing to attend the 2011 International Cup, to be held in Australia in August 2011, almost certainly in Melbourne and possibly a Victorian country area.

While we await the official list, here is some speculation about possible attendees.

The AFL have issued a short statement calling for expressions of interest from countries wishing to attend the 2011 Australian Football International Cup. WFN assumes the message was sent to all international affiliates and other AFL contacts. Any national leagues not receiving the information should be able to contact the AFL at international@afl.com.au. The AFL text follows and was accompanied by an April 9th return date.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

The AFL is pleased to extend an invitation to participate in the fourth Australian Football International Cup to be played in Australia in August 2011.

A formal entry form will be forwarded in due course however to gauge initial interest from the international network, we ask that countries interested in being involved register their interest below*.

Once a list of interested nations has been established, a working party will be established to determine the most appropriate timing and venues for the event.

* Not attached to this article.

The AFL sought feedback from competing countries after the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. Probably the most interesting three issues raised were the timing of the next such tournament, its location, and whether some form of Australian side should be included.

The League has marked 2011 as the year for the fourth instalment of the Cup, and announced that the location was open to tender - see 2011 confirmed for next IC, location up for tender for more information. It seems that Melbourne is the very warm favourite to again be the primary host for the tournament - there are plenty of logistical and player reasons why this would be a good choice, although it may reduce the allure for some players and supporters (and therefore prospective nations) who have attended previous Cups. Perhaps surprisingly, the AFL reported not a great deal of feedback on the issue of an Australian side. The chances such a team would play the full tournament seem to be unlikely.

The AFL's Roger Berryman (Development Events Manager) was in charge of organising the 2008 Cup and will likely take the reins in 2011. worldfootynews.com posed a series of questions on what we could expect for IC11.

The Australian Football League's David Matthews today told worldfootynews.com that the AFL intends to stage the fourth Australian Football International Cup in 2011.

Originally the tournament was to switch to a 4-year cycle but during the International Forum staged during IC08 Matthews, head of AFL National and International Game Development, expressed an interest in it remaining at 3-year intervals.

Matthews also suggested that keeping the event in Melbourne may be beneficial, but has now told us that the AFL's Roger Berryman, who was the primary event coordinator for IC08, will be managing a tender process to determine location and timing. Encouragingly the AFL say they have had interest from several international affiliates and other Australian states in relation to hosting IC11.

More details as they become available.