Little sympathy for Australian football from rival codes

The soccer fan reveals his domineering tendencies and wish for his sport to dominate the world at the expense of all others. Gee what a surprise!

Another interesting observation I would like to tell you of---in the USA's WC bid final presentation. Former USA president Bill Clinton addressed the FIFA audience with sentences like "Football in the USA has come a long way".. He repeated this line of rhetoric not once, but a number of times during his speech..

Fussball ist unser leben said I’m not advocating “a one sport world” Well you fooled me !.

Koops - finally we agree! I have absolutely no doubt that, by the end of this century - perhaps, even by 2050 - local sports, which do not have a global appeal, will find their niche as "a quaint local activity"- just like bocce, rounders, hurling, caber tossing, etc. I'm not advocating "a one sport world" - there are numerous team sports that are played widely in most countries of the world, including: basketball, field hockey, volleyball, Rugby. Some sports - ice hockey, cricket, baseball are also played across a wide range of countries.

Far from it, the internet has resulted in a big growth in Australian rules football O/S. I like to see diversity, it appears from your post that you dont, ultimately the loser will be you, pity you cannot see that. I like bocce and rounders (school kids game) i like hurling and highland games like caber tossing, , they are all isolated, but great great local community engaging sports, and long may they prosper. Your globalised fantasy world of one sport is quite frankly nauseating.

Yes, AF - significant changes continue to occur across the Australian sporting culture and the most prominent change has been to the Australian sporting vernacular. The Internet has destroyed the artificial information barriers, which have been controlled by the AFL/NRL-centric print media in Australia, and as a result we now see the effects of "globalisation" of sporting conversations. I predict the Australian culture is going to undergo dramatic change within the next 10-20 years - already, some of Australia's biggest retailers, who have thrived within an isolationist environment, are showing signs they will not survive in the era of globalised retailing. The same will occur in sport - sports that have thrived within an isolationist environment will eventually face extinction.

Yes because Prime Ministers are like the pope. They are infallible. "They threw children overboard" "by 2000 no Australian child will live in poverty" "soccer is football" Just sayin'

Fair enough, although i think fussy sees it different.

Fussball-----I now feel vindicated by none other then the Prime Minister of Australia----who is an Aussie Rules devotee.. That settles it as far as I'm concern; there is "Aussie Rules" and there is "Australian Football" Now let's rerun all of those old Qantas TV commercials again... "Qantas supports Australian Football"...

Koops, what you want to call the game is irrelevant. The exchange is what make this so funny. Mitchell could have let the whole thing slip but he could help himself and interjected the PM. "Did I hear right? You just called it football." His heart must have skipped a beat. GOLD! :)

The Prime Minister who is an Aussie Rules fan. Looks like Victorians are beginning to realise there is a whole world out there. Welcome, and as our friends in Queensland would say, where the bloody hell were you!

Fussball ist unser leben said | And, just when I was losing the faith, I find I am, once again, a big fan of our PM, Julia Gillard … Are you for real, seriously, because the PM calls soccer football, you now have faith, anyone can call soccer football and viccy verca. Hang on, i can call soccer football as well, because it is a form of football, does that give you more faith !. Talk about desperation and clutching at anything. And no doubt since the WC bid was so pathetic, she has no doubt dropped that tag, i am sure when addressing the AFL she will use the term football again, i guess that will cause you to lose faith ?.

Hopefully that puts this whole debate to bed, thankyou Prime Minister!

There hasn't been a team called Footscray since 1997, she should have told Mitchell that Footscray don't play anything.

That's the funniest thing I've read all week :)

And, just when I was losing the faith, I find I am, once again, a big fan of our PM, Julia Gillard ... Interview with one of Australia's most celebrated football-illiterates, Melbourne radio shock jock, Neil Mitchell 3AW Radio PM: I have heard of that report, Neil, and it's missed a very important factor, and that very important factor is, of course, we are in the Asian region, and by 2022 75 per cent of the world's population is going to be in our region, and for the future of football, for this to be truly a world sport as they want it to be, they want to see growth in Asia, they want to see more people watching it, more people playing it, more people caring about it, which is why Australia is well placed to help with that by having the World Cup in the Asian region in 2022. Mitchell: Did I hear right? You just called it football. PM: I have been calling football. Mitchell: So what does Footscray play? PM: The Dogs play Aussie Rules, Neil. Source: http://www.pm.gov.au/node/7037

As a South African, FIFA world cup is completely overrated and changes nothing in a country besides making FIFA Billions and throughing the host nation into serious debt.

Rob 1. The FFA needs to work with the AFL & NRL re: sharing venues as much as the AFL & NRL: needs to work with the FFA. Apart from Etihad Stadium, as far as I know, all the A-League grounds are public property that are owned by the variuos State or Local Governments. 2. To become football literate is not difficult. But, in my opinion, it won't happen as a result of some clever marketing campaign; or a couple of visits by Becks or Ronaldo to Australia; etc. It requires first of all an understanding of the Laws of the Game. Then it requires and understanding of and an appreciation for the tactics, the techniques and the physical and mental requirements. This only happens by watching the game or, preferably, playing the game. And, you have to watch crap games also in order to understand and appreciate the great games. 3. I don't know what people mean by "No 1 code". Football is played by more people than any other code so it's No 1 in that regard. The professional league is just a subset of the football market in Australia. 4. In relation to "converts", my attitude is: there are enough real football people in Australia to fill every A_league stadium each week end. I have no qualifications in marketing, but even I know that it is far cheaper to "sell a product" to existing customers than try to convert or acquire new customers. In my opinion, NRL & AFL would have a 70-75% acceptance rate across the Aussie Rules & League fans. That is, in my opinion, of the people, who follow AFL & NRL, 70-75% would regularly attend/watch the matches live or on TV each week. I reckon, the A-League would have around 3-5% acceptance rate across football fans. So, there is a HUGE untapped football market out there already. Imagine if we could increase the "acceptance rate" of the A-League amongst football fans to even 50% - that's 10-12 times the current numbers! PS: Glad to know you're dipping your toe in the football waters and hope you further immerse yourself in the future! :-)

Good article that. Shows that not all AFL people are football illiterates.

Fussball, You say soccer doesn't need the support from irrelevant people, who are involved with an irrelevant sport in Australia...but it did and does. FFA needed the support of the AFL and NRL to provide space in their programming for matches to be played. And, if the game is to grow in this country, it needs those who are football illiterate to become literate to the game. I am first and foremost an Aussie rules follower. But I also love soccer/football, whatever you might like to call it. You need more people like me, as at this time you need people to follow more than one of the great codes in our nation. With the population and demographic change that's occurring in this nation, I have no doubt that soccer will take off. But, I'm certain we are also a long way away from it being our nation's number one code. The global game doesn't need the support of Aussie rules supporters but the local game does.