Following in the wonderful tradition of the late 1800s, Collingwood are set to undertake a tour of a foreign country and play a game of footy by the local, or at least a hybrid, set of rules.
The business savvy Eddie McGuire is already over in Dubai in preparation for Saturday night’s game, promoting the brand of the biggest football club in Australia.
Remember, in the 1800s local rules were really the rule of thumb. And touring teams might play by rules A one week and rules B the next. Rules were in a constant state of flux, games were evolving. In some cases, the administrators might dictate the direction those rules would take. In other cases, the players.
Would it right to say then that Soccer, which is the most global of all football codes, is the game that will still be dominant for the next 100 years? Or are we just waiting for an explosion of a new code, a new variant, or a thus far mostly hidden local delicacy. Could the oft-maligned and still evolving “International Rules” hybrid form the basis of a code of the latter half of the 21st century? At what point does the world tire of ‘sporting McDonalds’ and actively seek out the ‘sporting new quick cuisine’.
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John Ryan said | February 9th 2008 @ 6:37pm | Report comment
I don,t know what you have been smoking but your seriously deluded.
AFL the next big world pleauseeeeeee
Michael C said | February 9th 2008 @ 11:12pm | Report comment
Every now and then, the next ‘big thing’ starts out from a cottage in the suburbs of some city somewhere in the world. The nature of business is that the big boys often do the ‘predictable’ really well. But, the real innovators often come from the SME sector.
The same logic then suggests that Soccer is the global beheamoth, at present. What happens from here? Total domination, all the world play one sport only, totally homogeneous. That’s one extreme. The other extreme, is that something else creeps up.
Now – AFL ain’t never going to do it – if, for no other reason, that most of the world don’t have grounds big enough – hmm, although how many cities have polo fields???
But – on those little rectangular pitches – well, the Gaelic/Australian hybrid, as it continues to evolve could actually be a game that catches on more so, first from Ireland and Australia, in America and then out to the world.
Given that I referred to ‘International Rules’ and you replied with “AFL”, I think you might not be fully aware, international rules is more Gaelic than AFL, really, it’s almost only the presence of (limited) tackling that makes it less than Gaelic.
DJ of Sydney said | February 10th 2008 @ 12:00am | Report comment
There is a section on convictcreations.com.au that suggests that Gaelic football/international rules is probably the best sport to be the world game. And although im an avid australian football lover i tend to agree.
Gaelic can be played by pretty much anyone as it caters for all types of players.
It is second on my list of favourite codes, and i think it will be a huge international sport in the next 20 years, as it is already widely played in the US, and Australia and probably many other countries as well.
I will have to see a few more games though to see if i put my support behind international rules or gaelic, but i truly believe that soccer does have a major competitor in waiting.
Midfielder said | February 10th 2008 @ 12:26am | Report comment
MC if it makes you happy then believe, but send me your supplier’s name.
DJ …mate…. the best sport in the world………..mate…………but if it helps believe.
Just as an aside to both MC & DJ, you have both on various posts stated many problems football will face in Australia to even approach the shadow of AFL. I accept you view …………but if what you say is true…………then the same arguement must apply to AFL * 1, 000′s in world domination and within 20 years DJ.
DJ of Sydney said | February 10th 2008 @ 12:37am | Report comment
Midfielder have you seen a game of Gaelic. It pretty much appeals to football and soccer fans, maybe even rugby code and gridiron fans as well.
You can use feet and hands, and its aerial as well as being able to be on the ground.
Gaelic is currently an amateur competition and has only recently (like football) just begun to try and expand overseas, unlike the other codes. When i say huge international i mean it will draw large crowds in countries like US, Aust and Ireland regularly, and then will begin to spread much like MC said.
Yes is may not have the international appeal of soccer yet, but as it gets it it will become more and more appealing to the masses and will eventually challenge soccer maybe within 100 years maybe not.
As for footballs world domination, even the most deluded person on earth would not think of it becoming THE world game within 100 years., maybe A world game within 200, maybe.
westy said | February 10th 2008 @ 1:04am | Report comment
What concerns me is that professional Australian AFL teams or representative teams stuggle to win and lose to amateur Irish teams. Sometimes we have resorted to outright violence to succeed.. I would have thought superior professional skills would win through or is it evened up because its a free for all and anybody can play and win. In Football the soceroos beat an amateur Solomn islands by scores of 7 and 11 to nil respectively. The results in international rules sadly do not reinforce the superior fulltime professionalism of AFL or its professional skills. Its actually counter productive in a sense.Either the international rules detract from the superior professional skills of AFL players or the training of amateur gaelic footballers who have civilian full time jobs must be very good and the AFL should immediately investigate.
Cruiser said | February 10th 2008 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
Australia is a drop in the ocean, on a world perspective. What we do, or don’t do, is of very little consequence.
Sorry Eddie (and Sheeds), but don’t give up ya day job.
Anyway, since when did AFL want to be global? All the active ignorance of the “current” world game (and Australia’s participation in it) surely contradicts any genuine desire to be non-insular and embracing of other cultures and ideas.
Oh…it’s about money…gotcha!
MC, nice thought about the International Rules Code. Who knows, i won’t knock it just yet. Just cos the last 200 years has been a Football monopoly on a Global scale, doesn’t mean things won’t change by the next millienium.
ruckrover said | February 10th 2008 @ 10:36pm | Report comment
If you look at http://www.worldfootynews.com you’ll see that Aussie Rules has a bit of a cult following around the globe sprung up in the past decade. Small, but something to build on nonetheless.
Gaelic football has started to be taught in English and European schools and some want to see it as an exhibition sport at the London Olympics – after all it is very popular in Nrthn Ireland and that is part of Great Britain hosting the Olympics.
Gaelic football is basically soccer with hands and as one of the world’s last remaining truly amateur codes would at least have that going for it in the tarnished Olympic philosophy. Gaelic football has more chance than International Rules of eventually supplanting Soccer as World Game over a century or two, but is mired in Irish nationalism. That is changing however as Ireland modernises and becomes even a multicultural country. International Rules raises the profile of Gaelic football particularly in Britain and Europe.
Soccer is the undisputed World Game now and for decades to come. But a game like Gaelic football could rival it over a couple of life times.
ruckrover said | February 10th 2008 @ 10:40pm | Report comment
Probably also worth noting that when the oldest football club in the world, Sheffield(Melbourne FC were the second), were first playing, they played by rules much akin to International Rules – with handling and marking of the ball in general field play. It was only when Cambridge Uni started playing and wanted less handling of the muddy ball and happened to have the most reps present at an early meeting of the Football Association – that banning of hands in play began and this process wasn’t complete until well into the 1870s. So in that sense Soccer is younger than Gaelic and Aussie Rules.
ruckrover said | February 10th 2008 @ 10:41pm | Report comment
And also younger than Rugby too.