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All successful sporting codes that are dominate in a country or region they play in are supported by a strong regionally based domestic competition. The EPL, and the NFL (US) all have a massive domestic competition.
Australia has two strong domestic competitions in the AFL & NRL with a third in the A-League trying to lift its profile so it to can enjoy what being a strong domestic competition brings.
Football has two assets and two liabilities in its quest to lift its profile in Australia. The assets are first the biggest player base and second it is the world game. The liabilities are two entrenched local domestic competition in the AFL & NRL, while there is also little or insignificant media and government influence.
The truth is known by all but spoken by no-one as fear of political correctness takes over.
Positively 4th Street is arguably one of Dylan’s greatest songs. Two verses from it sum up what I think is happening and is very apt:
“You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, “How are you?” “Good luck”
But you don’t mean it
When you know as well as me
You’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once
And scream it”
Neither the NRL or AFL want football to have a successful local domestic league. It is very reasonable to assume this as it would take away from their market. Football wants a strong domestic local competition.
Taking the Football side, it is true the World Cup will bring heaps of benefits to Australia; to many to list. Additionally, there are many opportunity for connections by Government & Business to work with their Asian counterparts that nothing else could come close to. Finally Australia as a sporting nation has never had the world’s biggest sports event.
But we all know the World Cup will bring an advance in football’s domestic competition by many years. My time clock says in 30 or so years football can and will be a major domestic league. The World Cup will reduce this to around 20 years. The FFA will never say this bid has something to do with growing the A-League. How this must infuriate the AFL & NRL boards.
The AFL & NRL should come and say we don’t want the World Cup because it will help football. They can’t – so they say other things like a one off event with 12 years notice; no, too hard and we cannot arrange a 4 week break mid season.
What follows then is shadow boxing, spin, and hype, to say things that the networks groups say is acceptable.
So in the words of the great Dylan: “Why don’t you just come out once … And scream it”
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