Swedish Ravens coach Ryan Davidson will take on the coaching role with the European Crusaders women’s team at the upcoming European Championships in London.
The tournament taking place over 5 days in October is the premier 18 a-side event on the AFL Europe calendar and is played every three years.
The Crusaders team takes the total amount of women’s teams to four with Great Britain, Ireland and Germany rounding out the division. Each team will play eachother once with the two highest ranked teams playing off on grand final day for European Champion!
But the team is not without it’s challenges as Davidsson explained.
The tournament will take place in London at the famed Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Playing Field, the second time in succession the Championships will be played there. In 2019 the schedule has been shortened from 8 days to 5 days to accommodate players wishes around tournament length. There will though be no less of a show on display with record numbers attending the event.
At this stage 3 Swedish players will join Ryan in the Crusade for European glory but the hope is that more will join the cause in the coming weeks as well as more players from across the continent.
Ryan will be supported by AFL Europe stalwart Bridgette Allen on the team leadership panel with more appointments to be made in the near future. Follow the tournament on the AFL Europe Facebook page October 9-12.