History
FOOTY KICKS OFF IN WEST AFRICA
Following its introduction in 1997, Australian Football was earmarked by the South African government as 'the new sport for the new South Africa'. Subsequent developments have seen an Under-16 South African team compete at the 1998 Jim Stynes Cup in Canberra, as well as an Ansett Cup match between Brisbane and Fremantle in Cape Town.
Indeed the AFL identified Africa as a growth area in 1994 and Aussie Rules International (ARI) wholeheartedly agrees. The vast majority of Africa's 56 countries contain both children looking for something to do and the room needed to play the game.
Now Senegal, in West Africa, has become the second African nation to take up the sport.
Two local enthusiasts, Papa Amadou Sow and Abdoul Souleye Sow, are behind the introduction of the sport in Senegal. They have formed two teams - the Crocodiles and the Hares. And there are plans to contact the Minister of Sports in Senegal in order to form a Federation.
Slightly smaller than Great Britain, this French speaking country has a population of 9.4 million, with 900,000 contained in the capital, Dakar.
So how did a small country in West Africa come to take up Australian football? The catalyst was a two month visit by Darwin based Mark Moretti in 1991. He took two old footys with him as well as a home-made video of highlights to show the local kids. His aim was not to introduce the game but to show his hosts some Australian culture. But the kids loved kicking the footy and were quickly hooked. Mark also met soccer administrator Papa Amadou Sow, who was just as enthusiastic.
Upon Moretti's return in 1997 the footys had long died a natural death and nothing had happened. So he got in touch with the IAFC's Executive Officer regarding providing Senegal with some support. Some footys and other material were duly dispatched and Senegal was represented at the IAFC AGM in Darwin in 1999.
Further materials including footys, manuals and videos were sent over by the AFL's former International Coordinator, Roger Berryman.
Can footy become popular in a continent as diverse as Africa? ARI is under no illusion that soccer is the number one game. But if footy can be promoted as an off-season code that provides both fun and fitness, then the potential for growth is unlimited.
- Up to Senegal
