The Transatlantic Cup of Australian Rules Football kicks off in Toronto on Friday. Colombia will face three European teams on consecutive days. Players and coaches tell us what’s going on
2024 is a super standout sporting summer, with Colombia riding high at the Copa América, Santiago Buitrago cracking the top 10 in the Tour de France and various medal hopes in the Olympics. Add to that the nation’s first ever appearance in the Australian Rules Football Transatlantic Cup this August in Toronto. The games will alternate between Mens’ and Womens’ days for 10 days, starting this Friday 2nd August.
Both men’s and women’s teams will compete. As Australian ambassador to Colombia Anna Chrisp says with warmth at the event to wave the teams off, “we are both sporting nations.” Colombians made a sporting impact in Australia recently with the superpoderosas’ fairytale run Down Under in the Women’s World Cup of fútbol last year.
While fútbol reigns supreme in Colombia, other codes exist in the country – American football and rugby are also thriving. Australian Rules Football might not be the most high-profile sport in the world, but to those in the know, it’s a fast-paced contact sport that deserves more attention.
The growth of Australian Rules Football in Colombia
Using a red oval ball similar to rugby or gridiron, the game uses a massive oval pitch as long as two football pitches. There are rugby style goalposts, with the aim to kick through them, similar to field goals in other codes. Marks are a common feature, where a player gets up to claim a high ball and win possession, often clambering over others to do so.
Half back flank player in Colombia with six or seven years under his belt, Santiago Espinosa, takes time to speak to us. “The principal attraction for me is that I have always loved contact sports,” he says, having done combat sports before.
“It started off as a laugh with mates and beers afterwards, totally normal, but now we’ve started to be more serious,” he says as he explains the growth of the sport in Colombia over the past few years. It is becoming rapidly more professional and shedding a little of its sometimes blokey culture.
It doesn’t get any more serious than representing your country. He grins as he says “Honestly, I’m really excited. I’ve been in the sport for so many years up to now and it’s been great. I’ve always given 100% and I hope I can be a good example representing Colombia for the first time.”
In Colombia, a combination of characteristically dedicated and passionate Aussie immigrants and curious Colombians has led to a thriving local scene. A whopping 54 players are heading out, meaning that both teams are fielding a full bench. With 18 starters per team, it’s an enormous sport.
Coach Tim Smith started as a player three years ago and started coaching the teams six months later. He says of the Colombian organisation, “The growth over the last year or two has been astronomical. We have the Bogotá Bulldogs, the Antioquia Mountain Lions, Tunja as well. In Bogotá we have our own small league with three teams Osos, Condors and Dardos.” He’s affiliated with the latter, and Caimanes will join soon.
While events such as the Los Andes Cup in Santiago have featured a representative team from Bogotá (the Bulldogs) against their counterparts the Saints, that wasn’t a national team as such, featuring Aussies and others. A shame perhaps, as they won three on the spin against the Chilean team. The Transatlantic Cup is a different beast entirely.
Hopes for the Transatlantic Cup in Toronto
The tournament is focused entirely on the international side of the sport – Australia aren’t sending a team and the national teams feature only local-born players. It takes its name from the fact that it features three teams from the Americas and three from Europe.
While Colombia are pooled with their continental cousins Canada and the USA, this means they will play France, the UK and Ireland – three teams they’ve never come close to facing before. Luckily, the team has an impressive card up their sleeve: former leading professional and AFL royalty Josh Kennedy.
Although his father made his name with Hawthorn, Josh only spent a year there before moving to Sydney, becoming synonymous with the Swans who he went on to captain after claiming three Bob Skilton medals as the club’s best player. His connection to Colombia comes through his Medellín-born wife, meaning he’s going to link up as a coach.
Tim is effusive about this: “Josh is coming in with obviously a wealth of experience and it’s so exciting that he’s going to be able to coach the team. But of course, Josh hasn’t had the experience with the players as us. With him at the helm and us supporting it’s going to be more of a team effort rather than one person leading. Josh will be the head coach and myself and Matt Howe from Medellín as the assistant coaches.”
There’s certainly plenty of optimism and confidence. Tim reckons they can have a red hot crack: “I can see us getting a couple of scalps in the tournament. I think the guys have worked super hard. Going into the tournament we’ve had a year or two of experience, the others have 15-20 years.”
He relishes a perceived underdog status, acknowledging that “no one’s expecting much from us but I think we can surprise people.” Their best chance is probably against the French, with Ireland the top ranked team outside the antipodes and Great Britain strong too.
Meanwhile, forward Yeimi Bohorquez says of the women’s team: “We have big expectations, like now we have the opportunity to represent Colombia in Canada, to meet players from other countries. We’re playing to win, we want to show off everything we’ve learnt and give a good account of ourselves, our culture and Colombia.”
A local twist
While the game is obviously foreign in origin, the teams have their own take on the game. Aussie players take to the ground as a point of last resort, but Colombian players are much more willing to kick the ball from the ground. Tim says that they initially tried to coach that out, but are now accepting it as a different style, as it can be effective.
The guernseys, too, are different, with flashy designs representing the teams’ nickname of Jaguares. Far from traditional kits, this fusion allows AFL Colombia to genuinely represent the country. This is not simply an implanted sport but a local variation of an established sport, with both sides open to learning from each other.
Yeimi pays tribute to the coaching: “Like many people, when I arrived I didn’t know much about the sport, but when I got to know everyone I learnt a lot, not just on the field but as a group. Before anything else, what I love is the way that we’ve been taught about the sport. We’re not a team; we’re a family learning everything together. We’re completely united.”
What makes this even more surprising is that for many years Aussie Rules wasn’t even so much Australian, but Victorian. Expansion used to be thought of in terms of Perth, Darwin or Sydney. That the sport is now flourishing as far away as Colombia is testament to the work put in by the local community.
The teams train together and the coaches are responsible for both the male and female players. There’s a real sense of camaraderie between them all and they assure me it’s the same with the players from other regions. Yeimi says, “We’re all very competitive and open to learning and trying new things.”
Tim explains that this can get a bit heated, though not to the level of, say, State of Origin. “It’s the first time that Bogotá and Medellín have played together in the same team. When we have our representative games, sometimes things can be a little bit fiery, a little bit of a scuff up here and there. But as soon as the game stops, everyone’s back to being best friends.”
How to get involved or watch the Transatlantic Cup
In terms of the Transatlantic Cup, you can tune in here to watch via a livestream here. If you’re looking to play, get in touch with AFL Colombia via their Instagram. They’ll tell you where your nearest club and training is and set everything up.
Tim makes it clear that everyone’s welcome; “We are very excited to receive not just Colombians but people from all over the world. If you want to make the national team, you have to be really in shape. If you just want to have a kick and have a game on a Saturday it’s open for everybody.”
The last word should go to Yeimi, who only started playing five months ago, yet is completely hooked and an enthusiastic ambassador for the sport. “My invitation to people who are interested is: try it! If you don’t try, you’ll never know.”
AFL Colombia can be reached at @AFLColombia on Instagram and there are four training sessions a week, including Saturdays at the Country Club
The Transatlantic Cup can be found on this link. All times given here in Colombian Standard Time.
The women play France (Aug 2nd, 1pm); Great Britain (Aug 4th, 9am), Ireland (Aug 6th, 11am)
The men play Ireland (Aug 3rd, 8.30am); France (Aug 5th, 1pm); Great Britain (Aug 7th, 1pm)
The play off dates are Aug 8th (women) and 9th (men) with the finals on the 10th and 11th.
