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Football in Australia, only for the converted

Roar Rookie
18th October, 2017
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Roar Rookie
18th October, 2017
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1772 Reads

Derby time. Colour, bragging rights, singing and three points up for offer.

This A-League derby is symbolic of the code’s problems. All tip and no iceberg. It has not captured the imagination of the wider Sydney public.

Nine months ago the Wanderers ended Sydney’s unbeaten run. But who would remember. Football talks to itself in a self-congratulatory mood.

As highlighted by The Roar’s Mike Tuckerman, A-League crowds are a concern. Mike hit the nail on the head when stating, “If pointing out where the A-League can improve is purely an act of navel-gazing, then it’s also an exercise in preaching to the converted.

The ‘converted’. That’s the A-League’s and FFA’s hidden problem. When the issue arose last year surrounding flares, supporter groups and spectator safety, the converted, the insiders, all circled the wagons. ‘Don’t criticise us’, ‘it’s our game’, ‘you don’t understand football blah blah blah’!

Football in Australia is a closed shop. Only for the converted.

As a father of five, families are busy entities. School runs, sports training and the odd family outing and I can tell, a trip across Sydney on public transport for a sporting fixture is the last thing any mum wants. And from a parental view, the RBB scares parents away from taking their kids to the footy.

That a supporter group requires police supervision both on public transport and in transit to the ground is truly a disgrace, but I digress.

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The A-League suffers in the same way the NBA regular season does. Predictable games, long season. Only insiders really care enough.

Yes, we get the obligatory Wanderers or Sydney FC junior player to the local training night.

But until football opens up its circle, it will forever only get 25,000 to the ‘Big Blue’ or flares and aggressive behaviour from the RBB at the Sydney Derby

Go to work and discuss football with the ‘converted’. It’s an exercise in futility. We outsiders don’t understand the game. Too technical you see. 4-3-3, 3-4-3. They make it sound like a NASA workshop.

But what do we get in reality. Parking the ‘bloody bus’! On Saturday Night, Jose Mourinho, that tactical genius, went to Anfield with absolutely no intention of going for three points. Destroyed what could have been an ‘el classico’, English style of course.

My beloved Liverpool denied again.

Away from ‘the beautiful game’ nonsense, football has the same strengths and weaknesses as any other sport. The converted would have you believe ‘the beautiful game’ is out of the sporting commoners reach and understanding.

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Ever watched old episodes of The World Game on SBS with that feeling, they really just want to chat among themselves. ‘Please go away viewer, we are having a private convo here”

Yes, the Les Murrays and Johnny Warrens brought wogball to the public’s attention. However, football in Australia is too introspective, meaning, it remains a closed shop.

Football’s reach needs to become broader. The local competition is stagnant and needs reviving. Here’s five ideas for football to consider.

1. More pre-season games versus local clubs

2. Introduce an A-League 7-a-side tournament played five times a season, once in every state. Consider it the A-League version of the BBL or rugby sevens.

3. A penalty shoot-out competition played at every A-League game. Winning club over the season wins $1 million.

4. A Promotion/Relegation system with the State Leagues.

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5. New regional teams (Darwin, Wagga, Townsville, Tasmania)

Ah! Can you here that chorus again? ‘Don’t criticise us’, ‘it’s our game’, ‘you don’t understand football blah blah blah ‘!

Just like ‘The Everest’ at Royal Randwick on the weekend, ‘build it and they will come’. The recent adage regarding cricket is instructive for football. Fathers take their sons to Test cricket, sons take their fathers to the BBL.

Football, it’s time to open up the circle.

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