African Sports News - Adam Bailey

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Michael's Musings - The Rise of Football (Soccer) in Australia

June 13th 2007 09:33

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Yesterday marked the first anniversary of a remarkable day in Australian sport, when the Socceroos came from behind to defeat Japan 3-1 in their opening World Cup game in Germany. Behind for most of the night, a double in the last 10 minutes from Tim Cahill and an injury-time special from John Aloisi wrapped up the result for Australia.

It was the start of a remarkable few weeks for Australian football supporters. Australia proved to be more than competitive despite going down 2-0 to Brazil, then twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Croatia. That draw was enough to get Australia into the knockout round, where we were so cruelly defeated 1-0 with an injury-time penalty by eventual champions Italy.
The response of the Australian sporting public was remarkable. Green and gold was shown everywhere - flags in cars, posters in shop windows. Australian ticket allocations in Germany were sold out as thousands of Australians made the pilgrimage to Germany. TV ratings set night-time records - despite being played at 5am on SBS, the match against Croatia draw higher TV ratings than the NRL State of Origin at prime-time.

It was certainly a remarkable transformation from where the game was a few years ago. The Socceroos were racked by under-achievement, and players with ability rarely made themselves available. At a domestic level, the old National Soccer League was torn apart by mediocrity, ethnic violence and incompetent administration that made the sport's reputation a joke.
But with a strong administration, a re-formed Football Federation of Australia had worked wonders to transform the game. Australia has moved into the Asian Confederation, which ensures a steady flow of meaningful games that the top players will make themselves available for. The Asian Cup in July will see the Socceroos in tournament action again - and with no Asian club having made the top 16 in last year's World Cup, there is a real possibility Australia could win the tournament at their first attempt.

But international competition, even at the elite levels, is only for a few weeks at most. The key to ensuring the sport remains popular and viable on an ongoing basis is in the national league, and that has been a key strength. The bankrupt NSL is gone and unlamented; and in its place is the A-League. Instead of representing minority ethnic communities, clubs are representing their city - one club for each of 7 cities plus the traditional sporting rivalry against New Zealand is maintained.
Attendances have been strong and growing. Sydney FC won the first title, averaging close to 20,000 fans through the gates per game and over 40,000 to their 1-0 win over Central Coast in the grand final. This was surpassed in the second city when Melbourne Victory were forced to relocate to Telstra Dome after outgrowing Olympic Park; and more than 50,000 were on hand when they comprehensively defeated Adelaide United 6-0 in the grand final.

Football has come a long way. The win over Japan a year ago was a step along the way, and the continued support the game has received is a great sign for the future of the game.