Australia is not enough.

That is the message from the ever-ambitious AFL as it tries to spread its tentacles across the globe.

The AFL’s latest effort to spread the gospel will come in the form of Saturday’s (Sunday AM AEDT) exhibition match between the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide at The Oval.

The game has attracted minimal media interest in the United Kingdom but as shown by the code’s aggressive forays into NSW and Queensland, the cashed-up AFL is not easily discouraged.

It has its sights set on putting a team in New Zealand down the track and has a new poster boy for its global ambitions in Sydney ruckman Mike Pyke.

The former Canadian rugby union international completed a remarkable journey from project player in 2008 to a key member of a Swans premiership-winning team just five weeks ago at the MCG.

“For me that really crystallised the vision of the wider footy public to see what can be done,” said Tony Woods, the AFL’s international development manager.

“Does the next Mike Pyke come from New Zealand or the US or maybe even somewhere in Europe?”

Always eager to play up any international flavour within the national game, the AFL has heavily promoted the successful conversions of Gaelic footballers from Ireland such as Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly.

However Pyke has provided the AFL with extra encouragement to continue to look abroad for fresh talent.

Woods said the code aimed to double its overseas participants within four years and the number of foreign players on AFL club lists.

“We have set a participation target in 2016 of over 200,000 participants outside of Australia which will make the international segment the third highest behind Victoria and NSW,” Woods said.

“So that will be significant.

“We will set a target that we have up to 38 international players on AFL club lists by 2016 (compared to just under 20 at present), so that is an aggressive target.”