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| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | Japan |
| Official website | www |
AFL Japan is a league and governing body for Australian rules football in Japan. The Top League season runs from April to November, with a summer break during August. All teams including the University teams compete in the Top League. The most successful team has been the Tokyo Goannas, who have been premiers since the inaugural Top League season. In 2007, the Osaka Dingoes joined the Top League. Since then the league has expanded with the addition of 3 new teams with the Nagoya Redbacks joining in 2009, [1] the R246 Lions joining in 2012 [2] (formerly known as the Tokyo Leopards) and just recently the Tokyo Bay Suns in 2013. [3]
Australian rules football in Japan is a growing team sport which dates back to 1910, but found its roots in the late 1980s mainly due to the influence of Australian Football appearing on Japanese television.
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The Japan national Australian rules football team, the Japan Samurais, competed in the triannual Australian Football International Cup in 2003, finishing 10th out of 11 competing countries, in 2005, finishing 7th out of 10 competing countries and 2008, finishing 8th out of 16 competing countries. In 2011, they finished 12th in division 1, beating Fiji and narrowing losing to Sweden along the way. In addition, a combined team of Japanese and Expat players compete in the annual Asian Australian Football Championships as the Japan Goannas. Also, every year, the University Samurais tour Australia in August.
The Japanese national Australian rules football team represent Japan in Australian rules football. The team represents the best Japanese-born players and is selected by AFL Japan from domestic competitions which have been running since 1987.
The Australian Football International Cup is an international sport competition in Australian rules football contested by amateur players only. It is currently co-ordinated by the Australian Football League's game development arm and has been run every three years since 2002.
Their best and fairest player (from the 2005 International Cup) was Michito Sakaki. Sakaki, along with teammate Tsuyoshi Kase was later invited to join the Australian Football League/Australian Institute of Sport academy camp in Canberra and Sakaki played for the Essendon Football Club annual 16-a-side match against the Sydney Swans at the North Sydney Oval on 3 March 2005 in front of 9,654 spectators. Both have since moved to Australia. Sakaki played in the semi-professional Ovens & Murray Football League and Kase in the amateur VAFA. At the recent International Cup 2011, Ken Sato of the Komazawa Magpies was named in the International XVIII team. Also, through the support of the Box Hill North Football Club, a Japanese player receives a scholarship to train and play in Australia annually.
Michito Sakaki is an Australian rules football player from Japan.
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body, and is responsible for controlling the laws of the game. The league was founded as the Victorian Football League (VFL) as a breakaway from the previous Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season commencing in 1897. Originally comprising only teams based in the Australian state of Victoria, the competition's name was changed to the Australian Football League for the 1990 season, after expanding to other states throughout the 1980s.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in Canberra. The 66-hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce. The AIS is a division of the Australian Sports Commission.
