Spain
If you would like to play Aussie Rules in Spain please contact Jeff Callow from the Madrid Bears.
Aussie Rules was first played in Madrid at a social level in 1997. In 2003, the Madrid Bears club formed and quickly grew in player numbers. In a tournament in 2003 hosted by Spain and with Germany and England also involved, Spain defeated Germany in the final.
In October 2003 the Australian Convicts played their second match of their European tour against the Bears in Madrid.
Spain's national team is nicknamed the Bulls, their guernsey showing a Bull, the national symbol of Spain, in the national colours of red and yellow. The Spanish national team entered a team into the 2005 Australian Football International Cup, successfully raising the money to travel to Melbourne, Australia. The team failed to win a game and finished last, but was widely commended for its spirited performance. This team was drawn exclusively from players from the Madrid Bears and Spanish nationals resident in Melbourne, the Catalan league not taking part in the squad for various reasons.
The Bears' level of activity dropped off in the season following the 2005 International Cup, although the creation of a second team known as the Kangaroos in the town of Móstoles near Madrid and the commencement of a championship series between the Bears and Kangaroos has seen a resurgence in playing numbers.
