By Effie Caloutas
USA host Papua New Guinea in the Divisional 1 AFL Men’s International Cup at Montrose Recreation Reserve, on Saturday 12 August, at noon.
Papua New Guinea is coming on the back of a 49-point victory over Nauru, while the USA is coming off an impressive 47-point victory over South Africa.
The Eastern Football League will be broadcasting the event on 98.1FM and will be live streamed on the Eastern Football League website. Montrose Football Club secretary Rod Buncle said that having international teams play in local communities gave them more knowledge about what local footy is all about.
“Having international teams come and play in local communities like Montrose gives international teams a taste of what local footy is all about and how they operate,” he said.
The International Cup is played every three years with teams composed solely of amateurs, who must be nationals of the country they represent.
There are currently 18 men’s and eight women’s teams participating in the International Cup.
International Cup media manager Michelle Clyne said that holding the event at Montrose gave local participants valuable experience.
“AFL Victoria give suburbs like Montrose the opportunity to host the International Cup so participants get an authentic football experience.”
This is the second time the Montrose Football Club will host an International Cup after hosting a match between New Zealand and the USA in 2014.
Clyne believes that Montrose will be a great venue to host an International Cup due to the success of the International Cup match between the USA and New Zealand three years ago.
“Montrose held an event three years ago and it was fantastic,” she said.
“We went out to all suburbs to see who wanted to host the International Cup matches and Montrose were very keen to get involved again this year.”
