THE AFL will weigh up partnering with cricket in a bid to take the game back to the United States.
As the NRL wins plaudits for its season-opening double-header in Las Vegas, the AFL have been prompted to explore another foray into the country.
This year’s ICC men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in the United States and the Caribbean in June, has provided the league with a level of venue suitability it has long lacked when it comes to playing games in the US.
The ICC has shortlisted three oval venues in the US for the mid-year tournament, with Miami, New York and Dallas expected to host matches. In January the cricket body unveiled a modular design proposal for the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island, New York.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon told the AFL Record in an interview to be published in full for the Round 1 edition, that the league would monitor the Cricket World Cup and the venues it establishes in the US.
“I'd be interested in what they're doing there,” Dillon said.
“I think there's opportunities for the AFL in the United States at the right time, and there's also other opportunities internationally.”
The AFL hasn’t played a game in America since a 2006 pre-season practice match between North Melbourne and Sydney at UCLA.
Over the years there have been 15-a-side games at Honolulu Stadium and Portland’s Civic Stadium, while Geelong, Collingwood, Essendon and Hawthorn have played in Miami.
GWS has made no secret of its desire to be the first club to play for premiership points in the USA.
