Australian rules football in Europe

Bydgoszcz Wildcats
Names
Nickname(s)	Wildcats
Club details
Founded	2015
Colours	Blue      White      Red

Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, each nation having a number of clubs, organised junior programs and women's football. The British AFL has now dramatically expanded into the Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 19 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.

The sport has grown from a few clubs and leagues started mainly by expatriate Australians and returning nationals in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to now, having large established leagues in over 15 nations, with the majority of players being non-Australian.

Ireland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, France and Finland have thus far sent national teams to the Australian Football International Cup.

The two main cup competitions played between nations in Europe are the 16-a-side European Championships in Australian Football, which are played under rules requiring teams to be composed entirely of locals, and the nine-a-side Euro Cup (formerly known as the EU Cup), where initially expat Australians could be included in the squads under a handicap system. Since 2011 however, teams have to be made up entirely of European nation nationals.

...
Wikipedia