AFL CEO Andrew Dillon has revealed that two clubs have "expressed interest" in being involved with India in the future as the AFL explores potential opportunities for growth in the region.

Speaking to 7 News, Dillon shared that the Richmond Tigers and GWS Giants were the teams willing to get involved, though an international game taking place in India is not an immediate priority of the league.

However, Dillon did not rule out the possibility of a game in the country down the track, a match that would take on a similar vein to the AFL's previous international growth attempts in New Zealand (2013-2015) and China (2017-2019).

Australian Rules football is currently played in 11 states in India at a grassroots level, which Dillon intends to help grow during his trip, with scheduled meetings to take place with international broadcasters. The AFL will also aim to understand how to "better engage the Indian diaspora in Melbourne".

"Within India we've got teams playing out of 11 states at the moment," Dillon said on Sunday.

"We want to get that up to 20 states so Australian Rules football can be recognised as a national sport in India. That's our first growth target."

The AFL launched social media pages across Instagram, X and Facebook with the username "AFL Desi" in December, 2024, with a bio reading "Desi heart, Aussie footy. Bringing AFL to the South Asian fam."

Desi is a term for people, cultures, and products originating from the Indian subcontinent - primarily India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh - and its diaspora.

The content was led by a group of young Desi people, also featuring highly regarded sports media star Bharat Sundaresan on multiple occasions, aiming to highlight and educate the population on the game of AFL.

The pages indicate that this latest international venture from the league has been at the forefront of their plans for growth for a significant amount of time, and Andrew Dillon's trip to Mumbai is the latest step in that process.

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