Umpiring at the Axios Euro Cup

Picture Derek Clarke

By Michael McCormick

The Axios Euro Cup is back again for the tenth installment of this annual fixture on the European footy calendar and it promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Formerly known as the EU Cup, the event will return to its inaugural location – London – for this milestone year.

The fast-paced action that the tournament is becoming renowned for will entice large crowds on the first Saturday in October. As it is just one week after the AFL Grand Final, footy fever is sure to be high and the best 9-a-side teams will be looking to wrestle the trophy away from the hosts.

Every great match of football requires exceptional umpiring and hence we will need a strong panel of local umpires to enforce the rules of the game.

Umpires are of upmost importance throughout these events as they encourage safe, fair and free flowing play. In previous years we have seen all-European umpiring panels take the big stage and exceed our expectations and we hope for much the same in 2014.

We are currently looking for field and goal umpires to umpire this lightning tournament across a number of fields and groups.

AFL Europe Umpire Development Manager, Shane Hill explained that the demand for local umpires at marquee events increases with each passing year.

“With the number of local players ever increasing, now is a great opportunity for our indigenous umpires to demonstrate their ability to competently and confidently conduct matches of Australian Football,” stated Hill. “With better umpires come better games.”

If you would like to register to umpire this event, then please click through to Eventbrite.

“Field and goal umpires involved at this tournament may one day go onto umpire a future International Cup in Australia or the Easter Series right here in Europe,” continued Hill.

If you will be in London for this great event, come down and support the third team – the umpiring team – as they seek to ensure safe, fair and flowing play throughout the tournament.

As a reward for excellence, the 2014 Golden whistle will also be awarded to the best all-round umpire of the tournament.

If you have further questions about getting involved in umpiring in Europe for this event or with your local competition, please contact umpires@afleurope.org. Alternatively, you will find additional information in the umpiring portal on our website.

#umpiresweek #betterumpiresmeansbettergames #thethirdteam