Aussie Rules for doing business with India

The Australian government is using the Australian Football League (AFL) to deepen sport and business links with India.

For the first time, an Indian Aussie Rules football team is in Melbourne participating in the AFL International Cup. Balraj Singh, a former AFL Crows player is mentoring the Indian team.

Welcoming the 16 teams to Australia, Minister for Trade Simon Crean said: "The International Cup is an excellent platform to build sport and business links with India. I would like to congratulate the AFL for this initiative. The government will continue to work with them to assist in promoting our great game overseas."

"AFL India was formed 18 months ago in Kolkata. With cricket ovals vacant in winter months, there is a great opportunity for Australian football to become a sporting option for young Indian boys and girls throughout the country," said AFL general manager David Matthews.

Essendon Football Club's CCO, Mark Anderson, told IANS: "Indians are now the number one immigrants into the state of Victoria and Indian students are the second largest group of international students in the state. We encourage students and immigrants to play AFL, as getting involved and connected with this very Australian cultural activity can help them integrate with the community."

The AFL plans to stage exhibition matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in New Delhi and the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in early 2009.

"Presently the AFL and Austrade (Australian Trade Commission) are partnering to deliver exhibition games in India in late January - early February 2009. We are planning to have the game played between two AFL clubs before a crowd of approximately 10,000 people and to be televised both in Australia and in India," Austrade's Senior Trade Commissioner for South Asia Peter Linford told IANS.