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Aussie Rules in India
Aussie Rules is a relatively new sport in the country that invented 'Snakes and Ladders', with the game only recently gaining a foothold.



The West Australian Football League toured India in 1969, playing a series of exhibition matches between East Perth and Subiaco Football Clubs, which attracted large crowds and interest.

But it took another 32 years before the game began being played in India by locals and ex-pats with the creation of the Indian Amateur Australian Football Association in 2001.

The organisation was based in Delhi, but disbanded in 2004.

But the foundation was laid in November, 2006, when former Melbourne player and Victorian politician Brian Dixon, secretary General of the Asiana Sport for All Association, approached the promoter of India’s traditional game, Kabaddi, Mr. Saha.

Kabaddi is a popular sport throughout Southeast Asia and alike football, has elements similar to numerous other sports all intertwined in the one game. It is unique in being a sport in which offence is an individual effort whereas defence is a group effort. From an outsider’s perspective, Kabaddi is most commonly likened to a game of tag.
Mr.Dixon stresses the importance of having football (at least in its developing stages) aligned with a sport that is firmly rooted in that society’s culture, as it can lead to shared resources, athletes and training programs and methods. It is similar to the relationships formed between Gaelic and Australian Rules clubs throughout the world.
Plus, Kabaddi has over 80,000 registered participants.

Two-and-a-half years later, Dixon finally convinced the Indians that footy had a future there and the Minister of Sports, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata University and the YMCA jumped on board, setting up an AFL India body, comprising of about 40 members.

This has resulted in the formation of starter clubs in the city and a platform for the development of an Indian team for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.

In 2010 it was repoted that Essendon Football Club will soon possibly play an exhibition match on Indian soil.
In Mumbai to talk business, Essendon FC’s MD & CEO Ian Robson said the large presence of Indian community in the suburb of Essendon makes this opportunity more unique. “Knowing that the sporting culture of India revolves mostly around cricket, our game which has been invented by cricketers can be a welcome break,” explained Robson, who visited the DY Patil Stadium as a possible venue for an exhibition game.


Above The Indian national jumper.

India fielded its first national side to compete in the 2008 International Cup. Most players had been playing the game for less than 12 months.





 
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