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Australia's Tim Cahill celebrates after the World Cup group D soccer match between Australia and Serbia at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, Wednesday, June 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Last Friday something remarkable happened in Cape Town. I was sitting at a pub basking in the sunshine after the Netherlands had defeated Brazil, with a number of friends from the Australian media who are sticking out the tournament in South Africa.
As we sat along the Cape Town waterfront enjoying a drink, a middle aged man walked by with an Oranje scarf.
Hardly a remarkable occurrence considering the amount of Dutch fans that had based themselves in Cape Town except, this scarf wasn’t just orange, it also had the words “Brisbane Roar” written on it.
While the others around me started sarcastically singing “there’s only one Ange Postacoglou” I was focused on stopping myself from falling out of my seat in surprise.
I’d been in South Africa for 30 days, travelled to every Socceroos game, stayed in accommodation that was packed with Australians but this was the first piece of A-League merchandise I’d come across.
I’ve seen Bayern Munich tops, Evertonian colours, Atlético Paranaense scarves, “Come Play” beanies and even a vintage Collingwood Magpies jersey, but no Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC and certainly no North Queensland Fury representation.
It’s no surprise that a five-year-old competition, filled with brand new teams, hasn’t yet found the same kind of traction as the 110-year-old Bavarian giants that it’s fans feel obliged to represent their club even while supporting their national team.
Yet it’s also good to be reminded that Football Federation Australia left behind the game’s history when it launched the game’s brave new “it’s football, but not like you know it” dawn.
Meanwhile it took Adelaide United, currently still under the control of FFA, until 31 days before the new A-League season to find a new coach.
At the same time FFA CEO Ben Buckley was too occupied in South Africa spruiking its World Cup bid to keep much of a watchful eye.
However, for a change, I’m not going to blame Buckley or anyone else at FFA. Don’t get me wrong, the delayed process in finding a new coach for Adelaide United is another piece of poor management but the reality is the custodian of Australian football, FFA, is a small organization.
While it would be nice if they could at least ensure the few things they do tackle are done well, Buckley and co can’t do everything. Not yet anyway.
It’s why I couldn’t care less for the “Australian football is on the rise” or “Soccer is still a lost cause in this country” articles.
Let those who want to enjoy populist hits online and newspaper sales duke out this dull tale.
There’s plenty left to be done to repair the damage of years of administrative mismanagement of football in Australia and all of us within the football community need to keep an eye over FFA during it. If you see something you dislike speak up. Open, transparent and healthy debate will help see the game fulfil the great Johnny Warrens words of “I told you so”.
The fact is I can’t wait to get back to Australia in a couple weeks and I’m as much excited to see first hand the birth of Melbourne’s second A-League club as I am at watching it’s predecessors duke it out in the Victorian Premier League.
Football is football and, in Australia, we’ve still got plenty of it. I saw a guy in Cape Town who reminded me of as much.
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