Have you heard of Australian Football before? In Japan, Australian Football is a relatively unknown sport. However, Australian Football is immensely popular in every state of its native land. In fact, here in Japan in June 2004, an International Australian Football tournament was held at the Radisson Hotel Narita Airport, and the tournament winner was a Japanese team. This result has attracted tremendous interest from the International Australian Football fraternity.

Beating teams from Indonesia, Australia, Ireland and Singapore, the Samurais, comprising students mainly from Komazawa, Senshu and Waseda universities, were the undefeated victors in the Narita Cup. The captain of the Samurais, Michito SAKAKI and his vice captain Toshihiro WAKAZAWA explained "we are disappointed that Australian Football still has a low profile in Japan. At Japanese universities, Australian Football still hasn't received official recognition as a club activity. However, the low profile of the sport has provided us with tremendous opportunities. We hope that our victory in the Narita Cup will help raise the profile of Australian Football in Japan."

Australian Football brings together features of rugby, basketball and soccer. The playing field is up to three times the size of a rugby ground. Points are scored by kicking the ball through goalposts. Australian Football is not restricted by scrums or offside rules allowing play to develop at a fast and furious pace. There are those that describe the game as "martial arts using a ball." Although a full game is played with 18 players per team, the size of grounds in Japan is problematic and therefore most games here are 12-a-side. One distinctive feature of Australian Football is the sleeveless jumper.

People working to spread the word in Japan
There are a number of people in Japan working to broaden the reach of Australian Football. One of these is an office worker called Yuko SUDO, the 2003 Social Secretary for the Tokyo Goannas (a team of mostly expat Aussies). Ms. SUDO was taken to watch an Australian Football game by her Australian boss and has been captivated by the sport ever since. Ms. SUDO strongly advocates Australian Football as a "fast, hard-hitting and very exciting game."

The Tokyo Goannas, a mostly Australian expat team, are making a significant contribution to facilitate the spread of the game in Japan. Due in part to the efforts of the Goannas to promote the game, there are now four teams in the Kanto region and two in the Kansai region. There are now also two women's teams. In addition, the Australian Football League (AFL) have recognized the Japanese efforts and the Japanese league is now known as the Japan AFL. This recognition of the Japanese league by the professional Australian body is a tremendous achievement.

Vice president of the Tokyo Goannas and a tireless promoter of the game in Japan, Gareth Jones explains, "In Australia the top professional league has 16 teams and the game is highly popular in all schools. The speed of Australian Football makes it very different from sports like American Football."

Many of the players for the Tokyo Goannas are English teachers and are learning Japanese. Games and training are held on Sundays. Gareth hopes to increase not only player numbers but also the number of supporters. The Goannas hold a get-together every Thursday evening in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where players and fans can mix and share their interest in Australia. While drinking beer at these get-togethers, those gathered can enjoy chatting about the games and watch live and recorded telecasts of Australian Football games from Australia. The Goannas have created an exceptionally enjoyable society.

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