We lost the battle for the 2022 World Cup, and the failure to do so should only inspire us to the one thing that is still better than hosting a World Cup: winning it. That will start in Qatar this January with the Asian Cup finals.
I see Johnny Warren smiling up there knowing something we are yet to experience, and at the same time we are learning along the way what football is all about.
Life and football are not always about fairness: you can only try your best. Perfection is impossible.
Goals are hard to achieve, rewarding when we do and disappointing when we don’t. In order to get a result, one goal is enough.
Yet there doesn’t always have to be a winner and loser.
These are some of the reasons as to why football is the world’s game. For the way it is played on and off the field transcends into everyday life experiences and emotions. Football brings opposites together and can remove religious and political stigma.
This January marks the fourth year since Australia was accepted into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Qatari, Mohammed Bin Hammam, the President of the AFC, had struck a deal with Frank Lowy, chairman of the FFA for the inclusion of Australia into Asia.
These two men are complete opposites, yet one of the same. One is a self-made billionaire, Israeli Jew, who spent time in a refugee camp and was a former fighter in the Israeli Golani Brigade.
Bin Hammam, on the other hand, is a devout Muslim that was born into prosperity. His country of origin, Qatar, does not recognise Israel as a state.
The irony to all of this is how a Jewish and Muslim man could see beyond their political and religious beliefs for a united and better future for Asia through football.
Is it just coincidence that both men would then go on to challenge the other for the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup?
Is it coincidence that the Australian and Qatari national teams could met in the Asian Cup finals just four weeks later?
We may have been out-muscled in the race for 2022, but the time is right, for the Australian national teams to reveal who is the real superpower of Asian football. To be placed in the history books as the football Kings and Queens of Asia.
Could it be our destiny that the Asian Cup be handed over by the very man that approved Australia as part of the Asian Confederation in the first place, and in the country of his birth?
The same man that out-played Frank Lowy in the battle at Zurich?
Like always, it’s only a game, but with football there is always something more to it.
midfield general
Guest
Hehe cringe-worthy comment fussball that's what I think but dare not say it aloud! I have to remember about the contiki demographic to put someone down at work
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I don't understand why AFL fans are allowed to write unnecessary, repetitive, negative and inflammatory posts about Football; yet football fans are no longer allowed to comment about AFL. They're not Fussball. Please report anything that falls into the categories you mention. Thanks for the help. Roar Mods
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Cpaaa-----we already have some silverware that the Matilda's won.. We are Asian Champions of coarse; we can't dismiss that achievement too lightly.. I know you are a big supporter of the gals as well and it was an oversight... :)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I'm with you Cpaaa and, in 2011, will be planning my holidays around our various National Football Teams. Unfortunately, I can't make it to Qatar in January - I can't believe people don't refer to the international football calendar before choosing their wedding date! But, have tentatively planned to escape the Melbourne winter and A-league off-season by heading off to Germany in Jun-Jul for the FIFA Women's WC and then my 1st trip to Colombia for the FIFA u20 WC, which will showcase the next generation of the world's football superstars. I should make it back home just in time for the kick-off of the 2011 HAL season! 2011 is shaping up as the biggest year ever in the history of Australian Football - I don't recall ever having our Australian Football teams involved in so many tournaments in the one year.
Andyroo
Guest
We have been champions of Oceania a few times Seems someone didn't receive there "gory days of Oceania" DVD for fathers day :P
Cpaaa
Roar Pro
thanks for the comments Gents. I was disappointed with the Roar admin this morning for changing my original title suggesting this was yet another article about the World Cup. Just wanted to add that in a year where Australian Football has had plenty of highs and lows this will be our first real chance for some genuine silver wear since the Vietnam War in Saigon of 1967. I to have given up hosting the World Cup...for now. I guess its also what makes the Australian Football scene so beautiful. there is still so much to achieve, internationally and at home.But instead of getting to far ahead of our selves, a victory in Qatar will be just the injection we need post WC Fifa defeat. ps- I have never in my life intended to visit Qatar, and until recently had to look up the exact location, but because of Football, this January it may become a reality. Im taking time out to see the beauty of our world from a different angle. a 3month trekking tour of Asia for me starts 17th of January. if Australia make the AFC finalfinal, ive promised myself i will be going to Qatar, and hopefully see history in the making when Australia is crowned Kings of Asia. Like Ronaldo said " Football takes me many places", that goes for fans as well.
Australian Football
Roar Guru
"you continue to denigrate Australians, are the soccer supporting countries superior as they can appreciate “the beautiful game” ?" An astute observation..
whiskeymac
Guest
well truth be told there are a lot of bogans here.... but there are "heaps" overseas too. how else britneys success?
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Hope Jimbo make his return sooner rather than latter. He has been conspicuous by his absence... Jimbo, I think you have served your one weeks suspension----time for you to make your long awaited return to the ROAR..
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Heartbeat-----all I can say is you have put your comment on the right Tab---every Aussie Rules devotee will read it.. I don't think they will stop their bashing of the beautiful game tho . There is a real fear of it deep down in their subconscious.
punter
Guest
While I agree there is alot of negative bashing AFL, have a look at some AFL supporters in the both the football & RL tabs with their negative bashing of those sports. So these sorts of things happen to go both ways. So abit hard to only feel sorry for one side there heartbeat.
Australian Football
Roar Guru
There's no lack of support for Football in Australia. Australia has the highest participant rate of all codes. It's just the lack of a fair go for Australian Football in the main stream media. Particularly in the Melbourne AGE and the Melbourne Herald..
peeeko
Roar Guru
thanks for the tip, i am giving up on surfing because Kelly Slater is a nobody. i will no longer follow the wallabies because they are nobodies. americans should stop following the NBA because Lebron James is a nobody. Cricket supporters should switch to soccer as it is only played in 8 countries. the irish should no longer play gaelic football. let people support whatever sport they please and dont judge them because they appreciate something different to the mainstream world sport of football. a certain faction of soccer supporters in this country have this huge chip on their shoulder about their sport being "the world game" Congratulations but dont ridicule other sports, we are free to decide upon which sports we like the only reason you would "hate" othersports is because you are insecure about the lack of support for soccer in this country
peeeko
Roar Guru
you continue to denigrate Australians, are the soccer supporting countries superior as they can appreciate "the beautiful game" ? you seem to think of Australia as an island of bogans, trust me they are in every country. What do you think of Americans as they prefer baseball and gridiron to "the beautiful game"? is india full of " bazzas and shazzas" who prefer cricket as they can not appreciate the beautiful game?
heartbeat
Guest
I can never understand why so many soccer supporters on all these online forums, 442, roar, twg, constantly get on there high horse and bag AFL. I love both sports equally. And i love them because they are so different. AFL has a lot of things soccer doesn't and vice versa. So stop whinging about the fact that most aussies think a geelong v pies game is the biggest sport in the world. Because the AFL game and product is outstanding and worth the adoration of the 100,000 who go the G to watch it (and the couple of million watching on tv). Soccer is a younger game in AUS and totally different to AFL/NRL. Your negative bashing of these sports is not helping anyone.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
vin I had the same impression in Germany 2006. My mates & I were sitting in the stands at Kaiserslautern watching the game against Japan and were embarrassed by the juvenile and uninformed comments being made about the game, the tactics & individual players and it was easy to tell many in the crowd were football-illiterates and had absolutely ZERO appreciation for the Beautiful Game. From what I've been told, "the Fanatics", in particular, are very much "the Contiki-demographic" and we made sure we never mixed with them and their typically obnoxious drunken Aussie behaviour - I know every country has this type of bogan/trailer park trash, but, for some reason at WC2006, I only witnessed extremely embarrassing behaviour from Australians. Having said that, the Aussies we met from the G&G Army knew & loved their football; as did the multitude of football groups & families, who were not aligned to any organised tour.
Roarchild
Roar Guru
I’m ready to hand the keys over to the next generation now. The only three from the golden generation (i.e. guys that will be 32 or more in 2014) that stand out to me as worth preserving with are Wilkshire, Cahill and Schwarzer. I can’t see us winning the Asian cup with Neil and Kewell jogging around in a 4-4-1-1
vin
Guest
very true points, unfortunately Hosting the world cup wouldnt have the effect on soccer here that everyone thinks it will. the problem with people here is most of them are part time soccer supporters, or support whenever their country is playing no matter what sport it is. They have an NRL team or an AFL team, and then they like a bit of soccer especially when the national team plays, bunch of part timers. I went to sth africa, and i lost count how many wallabies jumpers i saw, wallabies, not socceroos jerseys. alot of the finatics i had a chat with knew nothing about football, or the players that played for the socceroos, they were australia supporters, not football supporters. a world cup here wont change and of that, dont forget, there are 208 nations who would love to host a world cup, most of them would desperately need the world cup to lift the profile of the local competition aswell, so we are just another country that needs it just as much as everyone else.
Roarchild
Roar Guru
Qatar and Bahrain aren't exaclty best mates so I will believe it when I see it. I hope it happens though as that would be the only way moving the World cup to January would be justified and for the fans tog et anything out of this world cup. If it happens then the actual world cup will be nothing like their bid at all (the stadiums for Africa etc) ...it's for the best but what a sham of a process.
vin
Guest
the 2022 will be spread out in the gulf, its obvious its already happening, they have 12 years to customise this tournament to make it a success and prove everyone wrong. there will be a stadium in Dubai (UAE), Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. they should have done this in the first place and save every other bidding nation the effort in bidding, we all knew they saw Qatar as an entry and starting point to host a world cup in the middle east.