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United we stand: fans of all A-League clubs must rally

18th March, 2012
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18th March, 2012
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The last few weeks have shaken the Australian football community to the core. Clive Palmer’s shenaigans have up until recently been a bit of a novelty, a side-show in the wild ride known as Gold Coast United.

Many fans laughed off these little acts of rebellion against Football Federation Australia, such as the crowd cap and the closure of ‘the beach’ active supporter area, thankful that their club wasn’t affected.

However, as we all know, Palmer’s act soon came to affect more then the fans of Gold Coast, and turned heads in the mainstream media.

I’m not going to describe in detail how Clive Palmer has challenged and plans to challenge FFA. No doubt we all know enough about that from the coverage so far. I merely want to raise a question that has been on my mind.

How will football fans be affected by the ongoing dispute?

Palmer’s proposed competitor league, Football Australia, threatens not just FFA’s credibility but the position of everyone else involved in the game in Australia.

Should Palmer decide to launch the ‘Super A-League’ its players are at risk of losing FIFA recognition and the chance to play in FIFA recognised tournaments.

Most worryingly though is what could happen to Australia’s football fans. Namely, division.

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Australia’s football community needs to work together, and after seven years of A-League football, signs suggests that this unity is slowly being established.

Football fans all have common goals, they want to see the Socceroos succeed, they want more fans at the games (regardless of ethnicity), and they want to see Australia produce better football and footballing opportunities.

Palmer needs to learn to work with the FFA and the FFA need to learn how to listen to the fans and even to Clive Palmer.

United we stand, divided we fall.

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