A team kitted out in blue and white are playing, full of Greeks, everytime they kick a goal, you hear the cheer of the fanbase, the biggest one there. The smell of souvlaki cooking fills the air. You wouldn’t be remiss in thinking that you were at a soccer game played by a Greek constituent.

This wasn’t soccer however it was Aussie rules football (AFL). That’s right. A Greek team playing footy.

Greeks have long been associated with soccer, even here in Australia, and quite fittingly given the significance the sport has in Europe. However, Australian rules football also has a strong connection to Greeks.

Some of the all time greats come from a Greek background, the most notable being Carlton icon and AFL hall of famer Anthony Koutoufides.

One of the biggest Collingwood names ever, Lou Richards, had a Greek heritage and former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou is the son of Greek Cypriot immigrants.

That is just some of the most famous Greeks in VFL/AFL history, from two of the biggest footy clubs and even the top job, Greek influence has spread throughout the sport.

Still, Greeks and footy aren’t correlated together, and it’s perhaps time they are, with a little help from Australian Football International (AFI).

AFI is an organisation established to grow and develop Australian football internationally, with a focus on Footy 9s and community development.

Footy 9s is an alternate version of Aussie rules footy, played with nine a side on smaller grounds.

Recently AFI held the Darwin 9s event, a tournament played between teams representing several nations.

The competing teams were Timor-Leste Crocs, Ireland, Darwin Lions, US Marines (Division 2) and Team Larrakia, Greece, New Zealand, Pacific Chiefs (Division 1).

Greece unbelievably made the grand final, and came up against Team Larrakia.

Greece coach Nikolaos Halkitis spoke with Neos Kosmos about the tournament and the final.

“We went in not knowing who the opposition was, and had a good group of young kids who played footy but never together before. We ended up winning two of our three games to get into the final, we actually beat the team we lost to in the grand final the game before, and the boys were pretty rapt,” he told Neos Kosmos.

“The team had three or four ex-AFL players and the rest were all captains of the premier league sides here in town. So it was a solid team we were playing against. The boys did well, we kept running, but the emphasis was to enjoy ourselves and bring some pride for Greece, fly our flag, which the boys did.”

The former AFL players were North Melbourne premiership player Shannon Motlop, former Port Adelaide and Kangaroos player Daniel Motlop as well as recently retired Steven Motlop, who was only weeks removed from being on an AFL list.

The Greeks fought well, and only went down by two goals in the end against a skilful and dominant team.

Halkitis says with Greeks being more soccer dominant, it was a real ‘eye opener’ to see a group of Greeks playing Aussie rules.

One of said players, Anthony Gianninis spoke with Neos Kosmos about the experience.

Greece unbelievably made the grand final, and came up against Team Larrakia.

“There was probably a squad of maybe a dozen to 15 of us, that all put our hands up to come and have a go. We had a couple of training sessions leading into the event. Most of it was just to sort of get to know each other and, and get to know the rules a little bit because it was a little bit of a different format,” he said.

“Varying in age, from our youngest, who were around 16 and then we had some on our team that would have been in their early 40s.”

Getting the opportunity to represent Greece in a sport mostly only played in Australia is a rare opportunity and one that Gianninis didn’t take for granted.

“It was really cool. We were lucky enough to have all the teams kitted out with their colours and we were obviously proudly in the blue and white,” he told Neos Kosmos.

“Particularly representing your country in any game like AFL, where if it were to get shown back in Greece, they’d have no idea what was going on.

“They did the full play of the national anthem at the start of the game too. But yeah, just the feeling of being around other Greeks playing an Australian game was really cool.”

Gianninis recalls an amusing story about the Darwin 9s competition, one that epitomises Greek culture.

“I remember, one of the funniest things to me was, we rolled in at around 9am, our first game was maybe around 10am. And by the time I got down to the stadium at nine, we already had the souvlaki on,” he said.

“I just smelt it across the whole oval, and blokes were getting stuck into a morning souvlaki before a game. And I just think that’s classic Greeks. And in between games, we’d have the guys who were on the souvlaki barbecues coming over to us trying to feed us.

“I know when I compete, I definitely can’t eat food right there. So it’s just funny, like that’s just Greek hospitality, and it was awesome to see it down at the oval as well.”

The Greek takeover of Darwin 9s was supported by many local businesses and soccer clubs. In fact, two rival soccer clubs, Darwin Olympic SC and Hellenic Athletic Club got together to support the Footy 9s team.

“Both those clubs played a big role in terms of sponsorship, and even bringing in players,” Team Greece manager Laz Gikas told Neos Kosmos.

“It wasn’t just the clubs but, it was the Greek Orthodox community that contributed equally. There were also Greek businesses that put money towards it all also, which made it a great event. We stood out in the competition for funding.”

Earlier this year, in Melbourne, the first ever Greek women’s footy team featured in the World 9’s. This was a major step forward, and they played really well, losing to the eventual division winner in Nauru.

The growth of Greek Aussie rules could potentially be bigger in the coming years, as the coach Halkitis shares an idea he wishes could come to fruition.

“Maybe we could have a chat with some Melbourne teams and get some sort of friendlies going or a Greek tournament every year,” he said.

“That can really publicise the Greeks in footy. Imagine every state has a Greek side and we get a tournament or a mini-Olympics with Footy 9s?”

Speaking of the Olympics, that is one of the ultimate goals of the AFI, to take Footy 9s to the Olympics and worldwide.

AFI CEO Brian Clarke says their ambitions are not just confined to Australia, that they want to take the game overseas, make it truly international.

With no shortage of soccer fields in Greece, the potential for Footy 9s is endless.

“Take the people that are Greek and are passionate about the game, if they want to go back to Greece and holiday and teach people how to play, where are they going to find a field?,” Clarke said.

“But if they can play on a soccer field, and we’ve got a version of the game you can play on the soccer field as well, you kick the ball into the net. People are still kicking, marking, handballing, and enjoying the game.

“I think there’d be a lot of people that have connections back to their home countries. You know, a lot of us are European. I’m European. I wasn’t born in Australia. So like a lot of people, I think the prospect of taking a nine a side version of the game back to your home country is a very attractive one.”

The AFI is calling on the footy fanatics of the Greek community, big things could be brewing for Footy 9s, and Greek Australians could have a major role in the rise of this competition.

“A lot of people don’t know about us… I think that there’d be a lot of people that still haven’t been exposed to it that would, you know, kill to have the opportunity to play,” Clarke told Neos Kosmos.

“Putting the Greek women’s team together for the World 9s earlier this year was really hard. We really struggled to get the numbers together. And that was disappointing because I know how many Greek girls that are playing footy, there’d be an enormous amount of them.

“Unfortunately, the two coaches of the Greek team have stepped down here. One of them is completely burnt out. So we’re going to have to find some new people to take over the Greek team. And that’s pretty crucial. Because with all these teams, it depends on someone driving the bus, you know? So right now, there’s no coach for the Greek men’s or women’s team.

“It’s a huge Greek community. And this thing’s only going to get bigger. So what we want to do is, find someone to put their hand up. Because look, it’s a great opportunity to be involved in something that’s pretty special. You don’t get to play for Greece or coach Greece every day.”

Watch Greece V Larrakia

For more information on AFI and Footy 9s you can visit aflinternational.com