TWO teams of GIANTS – one senior and one junior – are helping to turn cricket-mad India into a country of footy fanatics.

The Maharashtra GIANTS, based on India’s western coast, recently took part in the country’s second annual national championships. 

Six teams contested for the OGM Cup in a round-robin tournament organised by the Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI).

The competition took part over three days and showcased the ability of players living in the subcontinent. 

Sudip Chakraborty, secretary general of the ARFAI, said the profile of Australian Rules Football was growing in India each year.

“It has taken a lot of hard work since last years’ national champs, travelling around India continuously and specially making three prior trips to Goa to set up the tournament on totally unfamiliar grounds," Chakraborty said.

"But the best part is the scale of the tournament went up quite high compared to last year, along with the skill and passion for the game on display by the players.

"Now that we have a team of officials together thanks to the ASOP grant, we look forward to a much bigger tournament next year with other new tournaments filling in the year as well.”

The Maharashtra GIANTS under-18 side, who narrowly lost its grand final match to the Maharashtra Tigers by three points, is one of many clubs that have taken on the GIANTS name globally.

Other affiliated clubs include the Dongguan GIANTS (China), South East London GIANTS (England), the North Leinster GIANTS (Ireland), the Zaprude GIANTS (Croatia) and the Skane GIANTS (Sweden).