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Footy Participation - Implications for North America 
Posted By: Rob de Santos
Date: Monday, 11 April 2005, at 11:05 a.m. US Eastern Time
Hi all,
AFANA is pleased to be associated with the World Footy News site and we share content on occasion. They have recently ran a series of articles summarizing the numbers of players of footy around the world. For North America the numbers included these:
Rank Country Teams Snr Players Jr Players Total
1 New Zealand 22 536 10690 11226
2 Papua New Guinea 64 1920 8000 9920
3 United States 38 855 40 895
4 South Africa 6 160 540 700
5 England 18 435 0 435
6 Canada 14 314 50 364
Some of you have already seen the article on footy in NSW which I previously forwarded to many (see link below).
Some observations: Despite the vast money spent by the AFL and the sponsors of the USAFL and CAFA plus local clubs, the youth participation in the US and Canada is paltry. Assuming these numbers are meaningful (they count players with at least 4 games of experience) that not only raises questions about whether the AFL strategy (which emulates that of soccer) makes sense but whether it's having any impact at all.
Further, there are fewer senior players than we have subscribers on many of our mailing lists (and we have achieved that by internet and word of mouth promotion only). The situation in NSW suggests that it's finally obvious to some at the AFL that the same strategy is failing there.
Maybe I am reading this wrong, but if it's this dismal has no one at the AFL noticed?
More to the point, what can we do to change the situation so that our direction in AFANA is taken seriously as an effective strategy by the AFL? What should that direction for AFANA be?
[By way of explanation, I have always believed that a complete marketing plan to promote and grow the audience for the game, centered around television, was the most effective way to build the game at all levels in North America. More fans generate more players, not the other way around.]
Comments and suggestions welcome.
-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman
 Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Rob de Santos | Monday, 11 April 2005, at 11:05 a.m. US Eastern Time |
 Re: Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Bob | Monday, 11 April 2005, at 11:42 p.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Rob de Santos | Tuesday, 12 April 2005, at 12:15 a.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Bob | Tuesday, 12 April 2005, at 3:28 p.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Rob de Santos | Wednesday, 13 April 2005, at 12:07 a.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Bob | Wednesday, 13 April 2005, at 9:27 a.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Footy Participation - Implications for North America | Rob de Santos | Sunday, 14 August 2005, at 11:18 a.m. US Eastern Time |
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