Rugby league is big, AFL is bigger. Rugby Union, with it’s international reach, is bigger still. But the incredible profile of football will be proven (yet again) to Australian audiences on Wednesday when Sydney FC play Urawa Red Diamonds in the Asian Champions League in Sydney.
Urawa are the Manchester United of the East. They have an enormous following and their playing roster is valued at around US$25 million. The match on Wednesday will be watched in 23 million homes in Japan and 98 million households across Asia. And, that’s without the massive audience in China, who won’t be watching because local broadcasters will be televising matches involving Chinese teams. The game will, however, be watched in countries such as Thailand, Korea, Indonesia and across western Asia and the Middle East.
The Asian Champions League is the Asian equivalent to the UEFA Cup, a huge competition which stirs both club and patriotic emotions. Just less than a million people attended the 26-game competition last year, while more than 130 million watched on television, a rise of 150 per cent on the previous year. There is plenty of space in Australia for numerous popular sports. Australia’s A-League had average crowds of over 14,000 last season, putting it 13th in the world list of most popular football leagues.
The AFL gets more people to its games. However, when it comes to international competition, football has no peer.
sheek
Guest
Australia is truly down under when comparing the popularity of its Football codes to the rest of the world, where the inverse law applies. Football/Soccer is the most popular game in the world. In Australia, it was 4th media-wise (although usually 2nd participation-wise). The game is now rapidly eclipsing Rugby Union. Rugby Union is the 2nd most popular Football code in the world. In Australia, it was 3rd media-wise (although always 4th participation-wise). Now rugby is in freefall, & rapidly becoming irrelevant. Rugby League is the 3rd most popular Football code in the world. Indeed, it has very little traction internationally. But it is number two in Australia, & remains huge on the east coast. Australian Football is virtually non-existent outside of Australia. But it is now the number one Football code throughout Australia - media-wise, participation-wise, sponsorship-wise, attendance-wise, etc. The A-league has attracted huge support at most levels in just 2 years. i expect the sport to grow exponentially as sportsfans become more familiar with the players, & as we attract more quality players to the A-league, both Aussies playing overseas, & overseas players themselves. The 2 rugby codes are in danger of becoming extinct as mainstream sports. Union, because of its stubborn adherance to archaic & cumbersome laws, rendering the game "unwatchable". league because of its inability to attract new fans outisde of traditional tribal areas.
Bob McGregor
Guest
Ho hum! Still no comment since posted on March 18? Who won? They certainly won't rate bigtime in Oz until Football produces more scoring in a game. Perhaps if the goal posts were made slightly wider and higher by about 6 inches - more scoring could result? Then it would gain my attention! A skillful but boring game until more scoring results.