Following a request from the Singapore Wombats to all Asian footy clubs, the Swans President sent out the following email to those on the list:

In what threatens to erupt into a major diplomatic incident between Australia and Australians in Asia (and their ever growing number of friends), the Australia Television Network has banished coverage of the AFL to TV’s wasteland hours – 1am in Vietnam!

That’s right: Friday night football and Saturday night football can now be viewed at 1am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Around the footy grounds across Asia, everyone is speaking of similar woes. Various representatives of the Swans and the other Clubs in Asia have fired off emails to the Australia Network, DFAT and the AFL. So far, in Football’s 150^th Year, all have been played with a straight bat (that’s our point; it’s not cricket!).

Today the Singapore Wombats emailed (see previous posting below) all the Asian Presidents asking us to exhort our email lists to register our displeasure with people of influence or the Australia Network directly on their website at  

If there is a good thing that is coming out of the controversy that has engulfed the Australia Network, it would be that this incident has galvanized the footy clubs across Asia to publicly speak with a louder voice – as one.

Ladies and gentlemen, this crisis could be a seminal moment in the development of Asian football. For all our sakes, let’s just hope that there aren’t too many families who have to suffer in the process.

Again, the website you need to email right now is