Selling Tigers To India Is Afl's Latest Line
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday 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 grounds 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 AFL games to be played in India. Richmond invited Sujatha Singh, the Indian high commissioner to Australia, to their recent match against Essendon. Anita Nayar, the consul-general for India in Melbourne, has also attended two Richmond matches this season. "No decision has been made yet about the teams, but we are very keen to go and be one of the clubs involved in the first AFL match played over there," said Richmond president Gary March. "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." 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, and it's an announcement that should be very exciting," Keane said.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
