Blood Brothers: Swans around the World

There’s a pretty great team in the AFL called the Sydney Swans. I may be a little biased in my statement but you have to admit that over the last two decades, they’ve built a little empire for themselves. Being the only team in a city for so long has it’s advantages. None of the success the swans enjoy today was handed to them on a silver platter, however. The Swans have worked hard to develop their team and their brand.

It can’t be any wonder, then, that there are now Swans all around the world. From Vietnam to London to Los Angeles, the Swans name has been adopted by teams near and far. I wondered, as a Sydney Swans supporter and member, about these other teams that bear the name (and sometimes logo) or the team I love.

Image courtesy of the Chicago Swans

Based at the Waveland Fields, Chicago Swans has given many an ex-pat Aussie and local alike the opportunity to kick a footy around in the peculiar manner than is Australian Rules Football. Former Chicago player, Jason, was introduced to the game by friends of friends and he has never looked back. Now living in Wisconsin, he hopes to introduce a whole new crop of recruits to his adopted game by starting a new club in 2015.

Image courtesy of the London Swans

In the UK, The London Swans, based at Shoreditch Park, have drawn players from the local area as well as ex-pat Aussies. One such ex-pat, Henry, indicated many factors which influenced his decision to join the Swans. Geographical proximity was a major factor but he “couldn't wear Collingwood colours” and after that the decision was easy. Growth of the sport is a common theme when talking to both ex-pats and locals. Henry is no different and happily outlined his desire to see an established Junior League.

You can tell Henry is passionate, not only about his club, but AFL generally when he says he has played AFL since the age of seven but “the last three seasons in London have been some of the most enjoyable years of my footy career. Getting involved in the club in an off-field capacity was very rewarding. Thoroughly recommend the experience for anyone travelling to pull on the boots. No skill or previous experience necessary!”

Image courtesy of the South Dublin Swans

A little further north, the South Dublin Swans have made Bushy Park, Terenure, their home. Peter, a player for South Dublin, sees AFL as a growth sport and, with its similarities to Gaelic Football along with the International Rules Competition hotly contested between Australia and Ireland, he might not be far wrong. Another South Dublin Swan, club president Edward, credits his interest in AFL to it being on TV and the introduction in the 1980s of the compromised rules series.

Speaking not long after the AFL World Cup, both Andrew and Peter hope to see continued growth in player numbers and more players vying for selection on the national team, and Andrew hopes the South Dublin Swans are at the forefront of the growth, with Peter adding that support to “get a women's team going” to compliment the boys at South Dublin Swans might be something they looked at in the future.

Image courtesy of the Ottawa Swans

One club that has an established womens team is the Ottawa Swans, who use the inner oval of Rideau Carleton Raceway as a home ground. One of the players, Meaghan, was introduced to AFL in Toronto but it wasn’t until moving to Ottawa that she began her career and future looks bright for women’s football with people like Meaghan involved. When asked about the future of AFL in the Ottawa area, she replied, “I see it growing immensely. Our recruitment has skyrocketed these past 2 years. I think the benefit we have in Ottawa vs Toronto is that we only have the 1 team, whereas Toronto has multiple teams to choose from so recruitment is more spread out, whereas we essentially have a monopoly in Ottawa. We're also specifically trying to target women who have played a lot of sports before (particularly varsity) and are looking for something new.”

The mens teams in Ottawa are also looking to the future. Jay, who was into many different sports growing up, was asked by friends to give AFL a go and, after watching a few You Tube clips, started training with the club, never looking back. He admits that AFL faces an uphill battle but it’s a battle they are winning: “With such a short summer and so many competing sports, footy has plenty of competition but has established a stronghold in Ottawa, Canada. Women's footy has particularly taken-off in the city and will be a strong point of growth.”

Image courtesy of the Ottawa Swans

There is one draw back to being an AFL fan on the other side of the world, as ex-pat Aussie, now Ottawa resident, Matt explains, “I like to watch the footy from Australia online, but have to admit it's hard to find time, and I'm not serious enough to watch between midnight and 3am (except the grand final).” Many ex-pats are resonsible for the introduction and growth of AFL overseas, but Matt goes on to say that there is now good involvement from Canadians, meaning that the sometimes transient ex-pat population isn’t the sole means of recruitment, either for players or support staff.

Image courtesy of the Årsta Swans

You might not think that Stockholm, Sweden, would be even on the radar as far as AFL was concerned but the Årsta swans, situated at the J.C.G in Skarpnäck, are hoping that the slowly increasing interest in the sport will eventually lead to it becoming more mainstream, though it is still so small that it is flying under the radar of local news and the Swedish sport federation. Wilhelm, a player for Årsta, speaks of brotherhood, more than rivalry, between the five teams currently in the Stockholm area. “We have practices together and act as refs for each others games,” Wilhelm says.

Image courtesy of the Vietnam Swans

The story of the Vietnam Swans is one of hope. Started in 1998, it lasted two games under the Hanoi Hawks banner, before being resurrected in 2003 as the Hanoi Swans. In 2007, the team went national and became the Vietnam Swans. This not only brought in new players but meant that the team has become a valued member of the AFL Asia community. The Vietnam Swans have also succeeded where many other, more established clubs around the world, have fallen short: they have brought Auskick to the kids.

The Australian Auskick program is hugely successful at home, but it is rare to find Auskick or any sort of Junior AFL program outside Australia. While some of the American teams do run Auskick programs, they are few and far between, making it difficult for juniors to get match practice. It is a lament of many that there isn’t more done to publicise AFL around the world. Speak with Rob, who started following AFL in the mid-80s as a college student in America and now lives in LA, and you start to understand how difficult it is for those overseas Swans fans to access AFL on a regular basis. When asked how the AFL could be more supportive of the code internationally, Rob had the following to say:

This could be a book, but I’ll keep it to my top two ideas. First, establish easy TV access to the matches and publicize them. Free Internet streaming (particularly after the match is played), on-demand viewing, anything to make it easier for the curious American fan or the expat Aussie to follow. Secondly, do more in the US! Have an annual exhibition here, bring in training camps, involve inner-city kids, do some outreach. I mean, we have kids playing cricket in our ghettos here. Cricket! If there were any awareness of the sport here, AFL could start a development program and draw some attention.

 

For fans like Rob, watching a Sydney Swans game live at the SCG might be a once if a lifetime opportunity but there beckons the opportunity for the AFL to put on more exhibition and for AFL clubs to provide some sort of “international membership” so that ex-pats and local converts alike can show their support for the club they love, even if it is from afar. Social media has made it easier for international fans to connect with other AFL fans and the clubs they support, yet there is still a call for local hot spots, where fans can meet and watch games together.

Image courtesy of the Sydney Swans

The “Bloods” spirit is truly a global phenomena. It’s fans like Rob getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Swans win a Grand Final. It’s players like Wilhelm who give so much back to the sport. Its teams like the Vietnam Swans who just won’t give up. And while the individual players in the Swans teams around the world may not necessarily support the Sydney Swans, the culture of teamwork and mateship pervades all of these teams. They share a common desire for the sport to grow … nay, thrive! Whether they play games if and when they can, or every weekend, Swans around the world share the love of the game, they passion for the sport and a genuine fondness for that oddly shaped ball and those four big sticks.

Årsta Swans

Website: www.arstaswans.se
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thearstaswans
Twitter: @arstaswans
Email: contact@arstaswans.se

Chicago Swans

Website: www.chicagofooty.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chicagofooty
Twitter: @chicagofooty
Email: info@chicagofooty.com

Ottawa Swans

Website: www.ottawaswans.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ottawaswans
Twitter: @OttawaSwans
Email: swanspresident@gmail.com

London Swans

Website: www.londonswans.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/londonswans
Twitter: @londonswans
Email: recruitment@londonswans.co.uk

South Dublin Swans

Website: www.southdublinswans.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/6803372036
Twitter: @southdubswans
Email: info@southdublinswans.com

Vietnam Swans

Website: www.vietnamswans.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheVietnamSwans
Twitter: @vietnamswans
Email: nationalpres@vietnamswans.com

I’d like to thank the various clubs and their members for their time in answering my questions. Without them, this would have been a very short piece. If you are a member of an international Swans team that I haven’t mentioned here, or a local Australian team affiliated with the Sydney Swans, feel free to tell us about your experiences and leave contact details for your club in the comments section below.