India next in AFL expansion plans
Mark Hawthorne | August 19, 2008
THE AFL will push further into overseas markets by playing two exhibition matches in India in early March, in addition to the scheduled Collingwood-West Coast game in South Africa.
Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in New Delhi and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have been selected as the two preferred arena by the AFL. Both have a capacity of about 40,000. The AFL also has plans to play a further exhibition match in Miami.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has ruled out his club's involvement in an Indian match due to the existing South African commitment, but Richmond, Essendon and North Melbourne have been lobbying hard to be involved in the first games to be played in India.
Richmond invited Sujatha Singh, the Indian high commissioner to Australia, to a recent match against Essendon. Anita Nayar, India's Consul General in Melbourne, has also attended two Tigers' games this season.
"No decision has been made about the teams yet, but we are very keen to go and be one of the clubs involved in the first AFL match played over there," Richmond president Gary March said.
"It's a great opportunity. There are growing cultural and population ties between India and Australia. The Tigers, being a revered animal in that country, would be a perfect fit for the Indian market."
Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson confirmed that the club has been involved in negotiations for months to play in India.
"It's no secret we would love to go," Jackson said. "It's a tremendous opportunity, and would fit right in with our club's history of developing the game with different cultures and communities. We would even make a financial contribution to meet some of the costs if required."
AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said an announcement on next year's overseas schedule was "imminent", but it was too early to confirm whether the matches in India would go ahead. "We hope to have an announcement in four-to-six weeks," he said.
"But we are not in a position to say anything further at this stage as we are in a number of negotiations."
The AFL has enlisted the help of Federal Government agency Austrade and Melbourne-based Stride Sports Management, a company co-owned by Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting, to guide and promote its push into the Indian market.
Austrade's recently appointed New Delhi commissioner, Peter Linford, has been dealing with the AFL for several months to help with the logistics of playing two matches in India.
Linford was based in Melbourne until late last month, when he relocated to New Delhi.
The AFL wants to capitalise on the profile of Ponting to assist its push into India.
In May, Ponting was the special guest at an AFL function in Kolkata that promoted Australian football to Indian business leaders and the media.
Ponting is an ardent North Melbourne fan who has publicly stated his desire to join the board of the football club.
The involvement of Stride further strengthens North Melbourne's chances of playing in India — former Kangaroos players Glenn Archer, Anthony Stevens and Keith McKenzie are all part of the Stride management team.
Representatives of both Taj Hotels Group, an Indian-owned luxury hotel chain, and Austrade confirmed that provisional hotel bookings have been made by the AFL for New Delhi and Mumbai in early March. That means the matches could be part of the NAB Cup pre-season series.
"There are still some negotiations to be done over the dates," said a spokesman for Taj Hotels.
February is peak tourist season in India — New Delhi and Mumbai are the two main arrival points for overseas tourists.
Including players and officials, the AFL needs between 60 and 80 rooms in both cities.
If the later March dates are to go ahead, the AFL would limit the commitments of the clubs involved so they could fly in, play their games, and then return to Australia.
Last February, Collingwood spent almost two weeks in Dubai promoting the game. Jackson would prefer the matches were part of the NAB Cup series. "If you are going to showcase the sport overseas, then it's best to be serious about it and play games that mean something and make an impression," he said.
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