Whatever they think – really think – of Australian football’s bid to host the World Cup, the AFL and NRL have made one point bluntly clear this week. If football wants their support, or at least their compliance, then football will have to work damned hard for it.
Within a day of Football Federation Australia (FFA) heavyweights returning from a successful bid presentation in South Africa, the AFL had fired the first shot of a public campaign that has dominated this week’s sports headlines.
“Footbrawl,” was splashed across the front page of Monday’s Herald Sun.
Apparently, the MCG could be lost to the AFL for an entire season if it was a World Cup venue.
That would mean the loss of an entire AFL and clubs would fold as a result.
It only later emerged that the long-term unavailability of the MCG was an initial FFA idea, no longer being considered.
No matter. The tone of the week was set.
As the AFL’s well-planned campaign unfolded, the media was soon asking the NRL for their opinion and just as predictably, league’s response was the same.
“We are happy to try and work together but the price of that cooperation cannot be such that it puts the future of our clubs at risk,” league chief executive David Gallop said after a Friday meeting with the FFA.
“We have to be able to operate effectively for our own clubs’ sake.
” … There is only so much disruption our clubs can endure and still remain viable in the years that follow.”
The AFL had already made their feelings clear to the FFA in a letter sent to chief executive Ben Buckley on November 24.
In the correspondence, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou wrote of their “extreme disappointment with the lack of accurate and consistent information” regarding the Cup bid.
It is understood that were it not for the fact that Buckley is a good friend and former North Melbourne teammate of Demetriou’s and also an ex-AFL executive, this week’s media campaign would have been much more intense.
Not surprisingly, the AFL have suffered some public backlash this week for their hard-line stance.
But they have shown several times on major issues that they are quite prepared to wear some PR flak if they are convinced they are right.
They defied the then-Liberal Federal Government on their illicit drugs policy two years ago and they were willing to force the AC/DC concerts out of Etihad Stadium in their dispute this year with that venue.
Demetriou might sound like a hot-head in public, but he is no dummy.
He knows better than anyone that the FFA need the major Australian football codes, just as the AFL and NRL cannot afford to be publicly off-side with a World Cup in this country.
Another wily old operator, Etihad Stadium boss Ian Collins, wrily observed this week that “if there’s a will, there will always be a way so that people can work through things”.
There are also big potential benefits for all Australian football codes if a the World Cup goes ahead here in 2018 or 2022.
Major stadium work – such as the proposed $150 million retractable roof on ANZ Stadium in Sydney – will have to proceed for the tournament to work.
And there are obvious drawbacks, primarily the massive free kick football will get in the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of Australia’s next generation of footy stars.
Nine or 13 years might seem a long time, but football’s world governing body FIFA will decide next year on who hosts the two tournaments.
In the view of the AFL and NRL, paramaters must be set now.
The international media have taken up this story and no doubt FIFA will be looking at this week’s events with interest.
But it is no decisive blow to Australia’s World Cup hopes.
Anyone who has bought a house, or any union official, will tell you it is simply all about negotiation.
You make your hard-nosed ambit claim, then try to find some sort of middle ground.
“I think every country has issues that it has to deal with, logistical, operational, scheduling issues, stadium issues,” Buckley said after Friday’s NRL meeting.
“This is just one of those operational issues that each country has to work through during the course of the bid so I don’t believe over time it will have a negative impact at all on our bid.
“I think there’s a genuine spirit of cooperation and goodwill.
“We at no time want to disadvantage any other competition and we’ve always said that that we’d be open and transparent and we reinforced that commitment today.”
Cooperation? Goodwill? Genuine?
Let’s reserve judgment for a few months.
Redb
Roar Guru
I just posted the poll to show a) a reworded question can bring a different response and b) it's not all one way traffic. The A League is an excellent barometer of true support for soccer as a spectator sport. Craig Fosters and others are trying to tell us it is the biggest sport in Australia, the national game. Essendon or Collingwood get more to one game that a whole A League round regularly. The FFA know their A League product is weak they are hoping for a Tiger Woods effect on soccer crowds. It is in their best interests to suppress the AFL and NRL and even destroy 1-2 clubs if they can by making the hosting the WC event so unworkable for the AFL and NRL that their seasons in that year are severely limited as well as the lead in period. You still dont get it, most support the WC bid but not at all costs. Come and play but be FAIR. Redb
Punter
Guest
Funny how when the polls are in AFLs favour, you take notice. While I don't take much notice of polls, I sometimes think you equate the following of the A-League in this country as the only football followers this country has. I think you underestimate the following of football in this country & the underestimate the following of a world event, which the football WC is.
Redb
Roar Guru
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/demetriou-not-afraid-to-get-others-offside/story-e6frf9io-1225809978084 Article on Demetriou's stance. 3 cheers keep it up. Tell those corrupt FIFA and FFA people to come and play but be fair. Redb
Redb
Roar Guru
Tifosi, KB, others Take note. Poll in the Herald Sun today: Is FIFA making unreasonable demands? 73% YES. This is before the soccer internet ultras get to the poll to skew it. Re-word the question - different response. Redb
Redb
Roar Guru
No wonder then Kurt why the AFL was angry that the FFA proposal included the previously agreed MCG AND Etihad stadium. I dont know how many times it needs to be stated that the AFL had already agreed to the use of its biggest stadium for an extended period of time, but it needed Etihad's capacity to maintain some form of season. The FFA ignored its own purpose built stadium in Melbourne and went for the option that would cause maximum impact on the AFL. Redb
Kurt
Guest
Pretty fair summary. One thing I don't quite understand is why you'd actually need two stadiums in the same city in the first place. Is it purely a case of wear and tear on the surface? I would have thought the MCG could easily handle 8 games over a 4 week period if they had sufficient time to lay a new surface, thoroughly prepare it etc. Any more than that in the one city would just seem greedy.
How was it an outburst from Demetriou? He was merely speculating on what would result from 'rectangularising' the MCG, which the FFA had considered, but hadn't bothered to let anyone know. Given the lack of information from the FFA, one cannot fault him for exploring the outcome to an AFL season if the 'rectangular solution' were undertaken. How did Howard use "wolf whistle" strategy (that's not even the correct term for it) and how on earth is that relevant to Demetriou's comments? "While the AFL makes all the right noises about the ‘AFL not beating up on soccer or being unsupportive of the World Cup’ it unleashes a sentiment about ‘us and them’" Care to back that up with a quote, or is it just your bias blinkering your views? With regards to your tinfoil hat-esque theory on media collaboration: public interest comes first, then media interest follows. It doesn't start the other way round. Kind of funny you see on The World Game and other similar sites, entrenched hatred for traditional mainstream media, purely due to this perceived bias.
AndyRoo
Guest
Your only using registered players with those stats..... so it's not apples s apples Dave1 AFL's registered players include auskick and school players. Football doesn't count school players (est 260k), futsal players and in queensland I know they don't count QCSA players which at around 50 clubs must be at least 10k players maybe 20k
katzilla
Roar Guru
Mate 1. Because some Soccerhead trying to say its so doesn't make it the national sport. 2. Nearly 20 Million people in this country can walk, is that then the national sport? Because that clearly has the highest participation rate. Or I guarantee you more then 1 Million people in this country swim, is that then the national sport? Participation at grassroots level doesn't make it the 'Official' National sport. Otherwise its 'Walking' all the way to the bank. That is until breathing becomes a sport.
JF
Guest
We have known for a long time that soccer dominates junior participation. This by no means makes it the national sport, 'national sport' implies a strong cultural connection to all, we simply do not have a single sport that connects with the majority of the population. The closest sport we have is cricket, it has strong participation, it does not have any social or geographical barriers and the national team has a strong connection to the populous. It is plain arrogance for any football code to claim they are the 'the national sport'.
Midfielder
Guest
Lots of talk and lots of anger ... for me it is simple..the AFL & NRL have every right to protect their relative positions and demand reasonable compo for costs or lost of revenue... further that the Dome has always been off the table... It is fairly simple if Melbourne can only provide one stadium for between 6 & 8 weeks, i.e. the MCG then we say thank you Melbourne for providing a stadium... I have no idea why the debate is outside these lines... The arguements will be about the amont and type of como... i.e. is building new stadiums part of it or outside it..
Redb
Roar Guru
The poll results would indicate that the AFL is the main target of the soccer fanatics. That is why it was listed in the Soccer Polls section of the AGE website. The Herald Sun poll for the first day ran 60% against cancelling an AFL season. i think it shows the tall poppy sydrome is alive and well in this country. It also shows the giant chip soccer fans have about the AFL. The majority of AFL fans would not have voted becuase they would have a warm and fuzzy approach to the WC. If you asked them if it meant their club may no longer exist as a result then you might have stimulated a bigger response. At the end of the day clearly the FFA had not ruled out the $130M rectangularisation of the MCG proposal which would have the potential to cancel a whole AFL season, Buckley held a press conference by 11am that morning. He had to act quickly. 3 cheers Andrew Demetriou - many hate you but you are standing up for our game and our clubs. Redb
SJ
Guest
pH, that article is laughable. He claims that FIFA pocket all ticket sales revenue and do not give a cent of WC revenue to the host nation for a start. Actually ALL ticket sales have gone to the host nation since France '98. After the last world cup, the Germans had over AU$90 million of profit which was injected into their local national football association and the Bundesliga. And that is ignoring all other related profit to retailers, tourism etc. If you want to read the rantings of an unstable and ignorant AFL man who hasn't even checked his basic facts, by all means check out what "Mr Football" aka Pippinu has to say.
Dave1
Guest
only in NSW and Queensland and youd expect that to end with the growing popularity of AFL http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4156.0.55.001Feature+Article1May%202009 '.......Australian Rules football recorded the highest participation rate in five out of the eight states and territories as well as the highest number of participants in those states and territories. These were Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Australian Rules football was less popular in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. Participation in soccer (outdoor) had the highest participation rate and the highest number of participants in New South Wales with 4.1% or 219,800 of the population aged 15 years and over. This was more than half of the total participants in Australia (419,600) for soccer (outdoor). The lowest participation rate for soccer (outdoor) was reported in South Australia with 1.4% or 17,200 persons........"
Dave1
Guest
AD was suprised by the reaction? how do you know that? and what backlash are you talking about?
football
Guest
Tifosi The quality of the A league has improved dramatically this year, but most Football fans especially the Euro snobs dont understand quality having grown up on a diet of EPL. Both the NRL & AFL would have been surprised by the public response this week.
pH
Guest
check out this blog post - http://barklystend.blogspot.com/2009/12/australian-government-supports-foreign.html . There are two issues at stake: 1. the FFA/Govt world cup bid. 2. the FFA using that bid to financially cripple its competitors. the first is fair enough and would be wonderful if it succeeded. the second aim of the FFA - which stated or unstated will be a result of their current bid - is shameful and in breach of trades practice and if govt supports it - well you seriously have to ask do we live in a democracy? so all sports fans and australian citizens should consider the second as well as the first aspect. in this sense Demetriou is quite right to be incensed, as is Gallop of the NRL although he's saving his powder for hardball negotiations with the FFA. the FFA bid is flawed - but they're on a winner either way - if we get the World Cup they decimate the AFL, NRL and to some extent the ARU, if we lose then they got a fair bit of money from the govt and get to blame the AFL and NRL as un-Australian. a great political ploy by the FFA. What the Sports Minister should do is take the bid back to the drawing board and negotiate with the AFL, NRL and ARU as well as FFA in working out a compromise all can live with. That will cost even more money though.
NCB619
Guest
What's playing backyard cricket got to do with anything. And, no, I don't think the soccer that you've played counts as grassroots, so Springs, I think you can officially say you are not a soccer player. And yes, Springs is right about soccer in his region. In terms of local coverage, I'd say soccer and league get equal coverage, despite their being more soccer clubs / players. 5% of Australia plays soccer then? Still doesn't make it a national sport. If anything was to be a national sport in Australia, I would give the nod to Aussie Rules, as it is a sport solely developed within Australia. But I still think that we, as a nation, does not have a national sport, due to sports being dominated by regional popularity, and almost equal popularity and representation (except soccer).
KB
Guest
Springs, did I mention to you I played back yard cricket with my brothers as well..? You can settle the argument by publishing a link of AFL or Cricket participants on this thread...
Springs
Roar Guru
So soccer is not the national sport because lots of 5 year olds play it in the schoolyard.