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After the last couple of weeks, the last thing on many people’s minds would be trying to strengthen the link between the Australian game and FIFA. But there could be advantages from getting closer not to those who run the game’s administration, but those who responsible for running it on-field: the officials and FIFA’s law making body.
The recent debate about the introduction of goal-line technology is merely the latest development in the evolution of the game.
From the introduction of yellow and red cards, through the tinkering with the offside law, right up to the introduction of goal-line officials, football is a game that is continually moving forward (although at times it represents the tortoise rather than the hare).
The issue with the implementation of amendments to the laws of football is that they need to be trialled somewhere in order to gather evidence upon which to base the decision whether or not changes should be endorsed.
It is in this space that the A-League should step forward and offer to be the testing ground for FIFA.
How the game is officiated is an often overlooked facet, and it could be one where Australia establishes itself at the forefront of the game’s development.
The A-League is played in stadia of various sizes and shape, and the climates are sufficiently different enough for the testing to determine whether new technology and/or systems can work.
The only gaps in Australia’s repertoire of weather may be the absolute extremes of heat and cold (A-League clubs for Alice Springs and Antarctica anyone?), but for a general all-purpose testing of rule changes and technology, the A-League would be a good candidate.
Football in this country would benefit from having the leading figures from the game’s law making authority playing a role in the implementation of amendments. It would also be a fantastic way for players and officials in this country to get some time with the best in the business through FIFA’s Referees’ Committee.
Innovations for the future of the game would become part of the football experience in Australia today. Suggestions like playing the full 90 minutes or miking up the referees, as suggested by Paul Doyle in the Guardian recently, could be trialled in the local game before becoming part of the global game.
The players would not be at a disadvantage when playing teams in the Asian Champions League as such changes wouldn’t significantly change the way the game is played, only the way it is officiated.
Things may get a bit complicated if changes related to aspects of the game like the offside rule, but the players should be given enough credit to be able to handle the changes and adapt where necessary. After all, if the rugby union players managed to get through the Experimental Law Variations, the A-League clubs should be able to cope.
Some extra attention from FIFA on the local competition (not to mention the possibility of some extra funding) would also provide benefits to football in Australia.
While Blatter and FIFA are getting their house in order (or whatever it will be that Kissinger will end up doing), the way the game is played on the field will continue to grow, along with the demands on those who determine the rules and enforce them on the field.
Despite some exaggerations during the presidential debacle about how important Australia is to FIFA as a whole, one area where we could prove ourselves to be a world leader is not in the games that are played off the pitch in Zurich, but in the games that really matter – those played between the painted white lines.
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