The AFL today confirmed that Essendon and Hawthorn will compete for the 1999 Australian Football Cup at Foster's Oval in London on Saturday, October 9.

The Australian Football Cup, by far the biggest Australian Rules Football event ever staged in the United Kingdom, returns for yet another year to build on the phenomenal success of last year's event.

With a combined television audience of almost one million and a capacity crowd of 12,000 partisan supporters at the Foster's Oval, the 1998 Australian Football Cup demonstrated that a great Australian sporting tradition can be replicated in London and reaffirmed that support for Australian Rules Football is strong and thriving in the UK.

Ian Collins, the AFL general manager football operations, said "The 1999 Australian Football Cup will be a thrilling encounter between two outstanding AFL sides."

The Bombers are currently top of the AFL premeirship ladder and the Hawks boast one of the most solid and loyal supporter bases in the country.

Both teams are looking forward to focussing on the exciting prospect of going head-to-head for the 1999 Australian Football Cup in London."

The event will receive extensive television coverage. It will be shown live on Channel Seven Australia whilst in the UK it will be seen 'as live' on SKY Sports and Channel Five.

Richard Moore is the managing director of public relations company Capitalize which will oversee the promotions of the Australian Cup for the next three years.

"Both the AFL and Capitalize are excited about the prospects for AustralianRules in the UK over the next three years, beginning with this year's match between two excellent sides," Moore said.

Tickets for the match are now available from First Call on 0870 906 3838.