Australian rules football in Sweden
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Australian rules football in Sweden has been played since 1993, with the game currently played in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Scania.
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[edit] History
Australian rules football began in Sweden in late 1993 with the creation of the Helsingborg Saints for play in the Danish Australian Football League. They continued as the only Aussie Rules club in Sweden (excepting the short-lived Lund Bulldogs in 1995) until 2002, when the DAFL was restructured and the Saints were divided into three new clubs, the Port Malmö Maulers, Helsingborg West Raptors and Lund Magpies. After 2005, the three Scania teams became feeders for the South Sweden Saints, who competed in the DAFL Premier League and reached the 2005 Grand Final.
In 2003 a new club was formed, the Göteborg Berserkers, followed by the Stockholm Dynamite in 2004. The three centres for footy in Sweden continued to operate largely independently of each other, with the Dynamite creating its own three team local league, the Stockholm region Australian Football Federation.
A loose federation calling itself the Swedish Australian Football Association was created, but no real governing body has been created to date. The announcement of the creation of the Swedish Australian Football League in 2006 comprises the Scania and Gothenburg clubs, the Stockholm teams remaining separate.
[edit] E4 Cup
The Stockholm Dynamite has competed against the South Sweden Saints (aka Scania Griffins) at least once a year to date since 2004. The Southerners won the first cup in 2004 (surprisingly considering they were thrashed in a practice game earlier in the year) and defended it successfully in 2005. The E4 Cup is named for the E4 motorway connecting the capital with the country's south.
[edit] National Team
The Swedish National team is nicknamed the Elks, drawn from both the SAFL and SAFF teams. The first appearance of a Swedish national team was in 1997, when the Elks were defeated by Denmark's Vikings in Helsingborg. The next Elks match was in 2004, when the Elks defeated the touring North London Lions by 11 points at Malmö. In 2005, the first test match between Sweden and Denmark is some time was held at Farum, Denmark, with the game played out as a draw. This match consisted of an all-Danish Vikings side, although the Sweden side contained a number of Australians. Strong growth in the Swedish league has the Elks aiming at competing in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. The team wears the national colours of Sweden (represented on the Flag of Sweden), a yellow jumper with a blue V featuring three gold crowns and the Swedish name for Sweden (Sverige) on the belly.
[edit] Clubs
[edit] Southern Sweden (Scania - Gothenburg)
- Representative side South Sweden Saints
- Scania League (Skåneligan)
- Malmö Red Eyes
- Helsingborg West Raptors
- Lund Magpies
- GV Rebels
- Regional League
- Port Malmö Maulers
- Landskrona Bulldozers (combined representative side of Lund and Helsingborg West)
- Göteborg Berserkers Official Site
[edit] Stockholm
- Representative side Stockholm Dynamite
- Stockholm region Australian Football Federation
- Central
- South
- North
[edit] Other
- Karlstad Dragons Official Site
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Countries playing Australian rules football |
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Oceania |
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Asia & Middle East |
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Europe |
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Africa |
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Americas |
