Australian football in Nauru

in Nauru is Australian football the national kind of sport, because no other kind of sport is there more popular and is more frequently practiced. Also a Nauruan league exists, which is organized of Nauru Australian football Association (NAFA ). The seat of the NAFA is with the Linkbelt oval, the momentarily only football stadium in Nauru. The NAFA consists of the president, a secretary, a treasurer and a representative of each crew. The executive is selected, like the national executive, for three years. Until 1999 was Valdon Dowiyogo president.

The government supports the Gewichtheben at the sport department above all, since in this discipline most international successes were obtained. Besides Australian football and gulf is still slightly supported. Australian football is in Nauru of great importance for the population. There are many young people to do somewhat, since there are not otherwise many alternatives in the spare time, and it leaves thousands of people to it to sharings whether players or spectators. The population is interested also in the professional league in Australia; per week a portion from Australia will transfer. However this interest is not based on mutuality: It is not possible to pursue plays from Nauru by broadcast since the NAFA does not have funds available for transmissions and because the interest in Nauruan Australian football outside from Nauru is to small also.

history

Australian football was played for the first time into the 1930er - years by Nauruan pupils of the school in Victoria. Under these also hammer was DeRoburt, which led Nauru later into independence. The schools Victoria and Geelong in Melbourne were popular schools for the secondary training of Nauruan pupils, who before the Second World War in Nauru no more than the primary training could not lock.

After DeRoburt of Geelong returned, he introduced also few other pupils a Australian football and made it that popular kind of sport, which she today is. He found its preference for Australian football in Geelong, while he completed the secondary training there. He became a large supporter of the football association of the Geelongschule, the Cats, and remained always faithful for him. Whenever it stayed in Melbourne, it visited the plays of the Cats.

1994 protected Kinza Clodumar, chairmen at that time Nauru Insurance corporation, the Australian Australian football team Fitzroy Lions by a seven-year million-agreement the bankruptcy.

between 1987 and 1999 was dominated the national championship by the Menaida of tiger; they won ten Meistertitel in consequence. 1996 played eight crews in the senior league. 1997 were delivered neither with the seniors, nor with the juniors a championship. Sent nevertheless Nauru Secondary School a U14-Team, which to the Queensland junior State Championships was invited. They won all four plays. Afterwards Paner Baguga, the then best U18-Spieler, was sent to one to Brisbane, in order to play at the crew Morningside in the Queensland State football League. 2001 were out-played again no national championship.

leagues and crews

national team

1995 the Nauruan national team participated in the Arafura Games in Darwin , where it won the bronze medal. „The Fregattvögel “(like it were called at that time) was trained by the former player of the Geelong Cats , Mark Yeates.

In March 2000 the national team, now the Chiefs mentioned , participated in the Web of sport Cup in Queensland, with which they won against the national teams from Samoa and Australia. They repeated this success with the Pacific Cup one year later. 2001 won it with the Arafura Games in Darwin the gold medal.

league crews

• the Menaida of tiger are the most successful team of the league. They won between 1987 and 1999 twelve times one behind the other the championship (1997 were not played). The team comes from Buada and Aiwo and plays for the current power station. Their earlier name was Linkbelt of tiger. With René Harris have the Menaida of tiger a prominent fan, that worked in former times also as a sponsor. Further hundreds of fans support those of tiger regularly with their plays.

• the tanks Saints are the second large crew in the league. They won two Meistertitel 1986 and 2000. With the Saints in former times the Coach of the national team, Wes Illig played, and in Australia successful Stürmer Paner Baguga. The Saints comes from Meneng, enjoys there large popularity and has accordingly large catch my shank. The U17 of the tanks Saints won 2003 the U17-Meisterschaft
• the Blues from Anabar and Anetan is a less successful team. A well-known former player is Sean Oppenheimer, founder of the junior league and the largest private business of Nauru, Capelle & Partner. The U14 of the Blues won the first junior championship 1999 against Ubenited. The elite stood 2000 in the final, lost this however against the tanks Saints clearly.
• The Ubenited power is a team, which from the crews Ubenide power and Ubenited came out. Among other things Valdon Dowiyogo played for the Ubenited power. They originate from Ubenide and have as only in all leagues one team each. The U17 obtained the largest success of the association, when she won 2000 the championship.
• The Aces is a team with small ambitions. With them played among other things Wes Illig and Marcus Stephen, of Nauru of most successful Gewichtheber. Probably they come from Anetan.
• The Supercats or also only Cats is an independent team without home district. They have their name from the Geelong Cats, an Australian team, at which already many Nauruer played. The Supercats had 1996 two Australian U19-Spieler in its rows.
• The gust Lions are a crew from gust. They are designated after the Australian team Fitzroy Lions and receive prominent support by Kinza Clodumar. Their largest success was the profit of the U14-Meisterschaft in the year 2000.

Over the team Esso, the Eagles, which are not Frigates and the Yaren Magpies anything well-known.

The season lasts from May to Decembers. The league is as it were isolated from other foreign leagues. Foreigners in the Nauruan league play only rarely; only six Australians played since 1989 in Nauru. 1996 played two players of the Geelong college of three plays for the Supercats. Other foreigners, who played in the league, came from Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji. Also Nauruan players in the professional league in Australia are RSR; so far only Paner Baguga created the jump for short time into a professional crew.

senior leagues

the senior league consists of an elite class with seven crews and a reserve class with five crews. Only two plays per week on the Linkbelt oval can be delivered, since it is at present the only oval in Nauru. The Menen stage is not finished built, and the Denig stage is not suitable for football.

Crews of the senior league (elite):

crews of the senior league (reserve):

no

junior championship aligns junior leagues the NAFA. It organized in former times a U16-Meisterschaft, which was however set off.

Championships for the U17, U14 and U11-Mannschaften organize those Nauru mini football Federation (NMFF). It is not connected with the NAFA. The NMFF was created by Sean Oppenheimer, a former player of the Blues and chairmen of the private business Capelle & partner. Oppenheimer tried with the NAFA to reach an introduction from junior leagues to. It had also sponsors, who 3,000 would have invested dollar for it. But the NAFA knows the demand back.

Therefore Oppenheimer with some Gleichgesinnten started 1999 its own championship for U14-Teams. The Capelle & partner donated balls, leotards, cups and further. They met each week, in order to plan the championship. One planned, enough players for two teams to wars. Instead of the necessary 36 players announced themselves over 400 young people, so that six teams could be formed.

When the championship stood and one played, the NAFA wanted to be integrated thereby; the NMFF rejected however. The population supported the new junior league and many visited the plays. The championship ran from June to November and was a large success. On a surface in Ewa with the seat of the Capelle & partner was played, since the Linkbelt oval was leased of the NAFA.

With the first championship final of the juniors 500 spectators were present, when the U14-Team of the Blues defeated the U14 of the Ubenited power. 2000 were then started a U11 and a U17-Meisterschaft, likewise organized both of the NMFF. The NAFA organized further only the championship of the seniors.

Crews of the junior leagues:

Sponsoring/arbitrator

official arbitrators does not give it; the six arbitrators, who with the Australian football are needed, consist of independent players. They do not have an official uniform; instead they must carry white clothes.

The main sponsor of the NAFA is the Q net curtain, a goods shop, which sponsert the cups. The price for the profit is an air passage to Australia with the air Nauru, which sponsert the journey. The air Nauru is apart from the Q net curtain the most important backer of the NAFA.

See also: Sport in Nauru, Nauruan national soccer team, Menen stage, portal: Nauru

Web on the left of

• Australian football in Nauru (detailed information on English)
• cadre of the national team

This article was taken up to the list of exzellenter articles.