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AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou addresses the media during an AFL Media Conference at AFL House, Melbourne. Slattery Images
“World Game? What a joke! World Cup? Leave it to the English, Italians and the rest of them,” claimed Albert of Melbourne on the Herald Sun website, one of the thousand plus hateful comments that littered sites across the web following the AFL’s claim that they will lose a season if there was an Australian World Cup.
“AFL vs. the World” declared the News Limited press; appearing to cheerlead the squabble between our national game and the world game.
The corresponding article here on The Roar had over 250 comments before the sun had set.
It was an impeccably timed response from AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou; just as the World Cup draw and Australia’s World Cup bid were in the national spotlight, not to mention at a time when the AFL is in its deep slumber.
The AFL has every right to protect its product, and the fact remains this question surrounding the fate of our national codes during the World Cup was one of the biggest question marks that surrounded an Australian World Cup – a question no one wanted to discuss.
It is an immensely complex issue, and without clear guidelines and expectations from FIFA, there can be no clear solution to the issue at present.
But if we are fighting amongst ourselves so fervently, what chance do we stand against the might of the USA and England?
The fact is if we are to stage the World Cup, it’ll require immense concessions from every other code, made more complex by our suitable stadium shortage, and we must, therefore, work in close cooperation to find suitable solutions, not allowing people to hijack the debate and deal in absolutes.
This is only the start. If such extremity continues, how are we going to find a workable solution so all codes can be accommodated?
With each such statement from Demetriou or the like, Australia’s World Cup bid – which was always going to be a challenge – appears even more doomed.
Yes, perhaps Demetriou has exaggerated for effect, but what concerns me most is the dogma attached to this debate. Perhaps this was part of Demetriou’s ploy.
Denigrate the very idea of the World Cup by striking fear into the hearts of his games’ followers.
It’s not only this dogmatic rhetoric of “AFL vs. the World” but also the hatred and ethnic division that’s being attached to these World Cup claims.
Jack, another contributor to the aforementioned Herald Sun article, wrote when putting his case as to why the AFL shouldn’t cave in to FIFA: “Yes it will upset a lot of immigrants, however if you chose to live in this country, its traditions and sport come with the package.”
How very sad there are people who still think like that.
If so many of us ‘sports fans’ are going to denigrate the World Cup – with feelings of bitterness, hatred and contempt – then are we truly deserving host’s of a tournament revered around the world?
Amongst the bitterness and hatred lies one query.
Where has the enthusiasm that greeted the build up to the Sydney Olympics gone?
Arguably, on television ratings and economic worth alone, the FIFA World Cup would be a greater benefactor to Australia – certainly in terms of showcasing Australia to a global audience once again.
Would AFL fans be unable to join in the celebrations of our World Cup? Do the Socceroos not belong to them, too?
For all the protestation and arguing, remember they are two great sports that can co-exist, and there are many who love them both.
The World Cup doesn’t represent an ‘invasion’ – and awful phrase that has been thrown up with its racial overtones – and AFL fans shouldn’t fear its game will be starved by football. And that flawed reasoning can be the only explanation for why the World Cup, compared with the Olympics, is creating such angst.
Commonsense needs to come to the fore here.
What strikes me most in this debate is how insular and one-dimensional Australian society has become – and sport is a microcosm of society.
Despite the huge strides made in our multicultural land, ethnicity and race are still used as fodder in many of the flawed arguments for why ‘soccer’ is not an Australian game. We seem to be unable to deal with such issues with logic, compromise and acceptance, rather so many resort to absolutes – black or white, yes or no.
Dogma and fear are tarnishing Australia’s chances of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.
Sadly, we have become the new America: introverted and overly protective.