Football has always had player numbers – ‘the sleeping giant’ is the most common term used to describe its player base.
But no one in football seems to know how to connect to the player base. How to connect to the committees that run the park teams. How do you connect to the broader family who have a family member that plays?
So many ideas have been tried. Very often a massive effort fails and my guess is because there are so many folk from so many different backgrounds, with so many interests. There is no one size fits all.
Three (maybe three and a half) separate and identifiable events have and are about to happen that, when combined, may provide the one thing that everyone could have in common, thereby providing that hard to measure community support beyond the local park.
The three and a half events are:
• The re-drawing of the playing schedule so it starts and finishes later.
• The free-to-air SBS broadcast of the A-League, with Socceroos World Cup qualifiers and finals on a one hour delay.
• The Australia Cup.
• The half is a rise in standards and Western Sydney Wanderers playing in the Asian Champions League.
Playing later in the season means when the park teams are in preseason and in their first few rounds, the A-League is being played.
I have always through there was a disconnect when A-League matches were played outside the winter park teams playing times.
When we started in September, most park teams had finished and the NRL and AFL were in the last rounds and finals – the peak of their interest.
The revised schedule has the A-League peaking in the preseason and early rounds of the park team matches, resulting in a connection between playing and the professional league.
The broadcasting of the A-League will add another dimension, when for the first time ever football will be broadcast on free-to-air, allowing more people to connect with their teams.
Being on SBS 2 is not ideal from a viewer finding sense, but should be excellent regarding presentation. Soccereoo World Cup qualifiers should rate well and could provide the key to people finding SBS 2.
Could the Australia Cup [AC] provide the cement binding render, giving the park team something to connect them to the A-League with local rivalry thrown in?
Assume team A from a town is playing team B from a neighbouring town to see how far it can progress. Even if you assume you cannot win their will be some pride in how far your local park team progresses in the AC.
The half is represented by an acceptance that the standard is reasonable. WSW should get crowds and media to the ACL, thereby promoting the A-League.
Finally into this mix, the 2014 World Cup, and 2015 Asian Cup and 2015 add the Matildas, which should help ramp up the coverage.
In summary, can the AC provide that common thread linking the huge diversity of people playing in the park teams and their families?
Are the fundamentals in place? Is the A-League of a high enough quality to be on FTA and playing at least part of its season in the winter playing season?
Given people will have to find SBS 2 for World Cup, does this mean the issues of finding the A-League should be solved? Will the World Cup, AC, and Matildas add to the overall coverage?
Am I right to conclude we football folk are about to enter a very important two years, which will hopefully/finally/optimistically/expectantly, start to connect the park teams to the A-League.
Mazzalenko
Guest
Thanks for that Midfielder but I must respectfully decline your invitation to go on that forum. I'm a Victory supporter and member but I spent one season on that forum and I quickly formed an opinion that people on there think they are intellectually and morally superior in their opinions and thoughts to everyone else plus you needed to be 'connected' with the NT or ST and know people on that forum before they took you seriously. Admittedly the season I spent on that forum was season 2011/2012 during the Kewell to Victory era and the 'spud' Durakovc being our coach so a time of upheavel and general whinging by the fans on the forum. Actually I remember seeing your avatar on there so I knew your name 'Midfielder' was familiar from somewhere
nordster
Guest
FFA should be congratulated for actually proposing to do the thing properly, with pretty much any club having access to it. Provided they follow through ...it will be fantastic to see Budgewoi FC knock off the Jets :)
Midfielder
Guest
Mazzalenko Thanks for your kind words .... Recent press in Melbourne has been terrible ... have a look at the MV forum... I will post you onto a page and you can read as you want... both forward and back... http://www.melbournevictory.net/forum/showthread.php?52147-Smell-that-It-s-fear.../page295
Midfielder
Guest
Kasey Doing the football media rounds... gotta read the whole thing...CCM's Daniel McBreen re-tweeted ... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHi8fsTCcAA7M0_.jpg:large
Mazzalenko
Guest
Great listen thanks for that Midfielder....I'm not from NSW so dont know how often 2GB mention our code but I do recall Alan Jones mentioning during the 2006 WC how good it was for Besciano & Grella to play against Italy the country of their parents/grandparents birth and listening to the way he talked with Niell it was as if they were long time friends, so your right, the 'smart' media folk are getting on board. But the key word that someone mentioned above in a post is the word PERCEPTION and that is how certain peopel in the media view our game. Thier perception is skewed towards not being interested in our game but it seems from here in VIC that the code has come of age in NSW with certain people there in the media changing their perception of it. I think it all boils down to what opinion each media pundit has on our game. Some are into it and others arent pure and simple. However I got the laugh at CH7 wanting to broadcast the All League Allstarts v MANU and the Victory v Liverpool game. I mean it seems they dont care much for our game but then want to rid on this bandwagon that is those two games in July. I just dont get what they are trying to pull with this angle?
Football United
Guest
Why do we care what the media think? they will twist it anyway they can regardless. Midfielder is correct, there was no ethnic tension at that match, just silly kids acting dumbs
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Nice touch there with Lucas appearing on Alan Jones and giving something back to the game while he is here. ADP is doing some kids holiday clinics in Sydney too. The value of people like Tim Cahill, Lucas Neil, Mark Schwarzer and ADP and others in bringing the game to so many young Australians cannot be underestimated and is to be applauded.
Midfielder
Guest
Interesting the smart media folk are getting on board... Fossil AM 2GB are not know as friends of football ... but Alan Jones has supported football for a while now and he always talks in facts even if the news is bad ... but he sticks to facts not rubbish... An example is an interview with Lucas Neil yesterday... Fuss you will be amazed ... this is Australia's leading broadcaster ... http://www.2gb.com/audioplayer/8407
Kasey
Guest
I'd love to see FFA 'reward' SBS for their loyalty to football over the undoubted $$ on offer from 7(I still hate Seven!) or 10. The SBS broadcast would be a great way to advertise the new SBS2 channel featuring the HAL.
Franko
Guest
Having said all that. The liklihood of crowd trouble at an Adelaide United vs Modbury match, or Sydney FC vs Manly is much lower than some of the fixtures listed above. Why is that? Passion?
Franko
Guest
In some sense I agree midfielder, I honestly don't think the trouble at King Tom has much to do with Croatian pride/independence or whatever. It is anti-social behviour by some kids, but ethnic tensions are the vehicle they use to act out. The justification for their poor behaviour is 'old country' troubles, the reality is that they are just troublemakers. That makes no difference to the media or the FFA.
striker
Guest
Kasey the King Tom incident was the fault of the the police who overreacted even the court case was dropped, the media will put anything on its first news relating to football because they want to damage the code especially now thats our code is killing some air time of the two major codes.
Kasey
Guest
Mid& Striker: do you think the mainstream media will make that distinction? Perception is everything in the modern 24 hour media cycle.
Kasey
Guest
Johnno, do you remember the WSW trial game at King Tomislav? Let me refresh your memory of August 2012: http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/violence-rocks-soccer-match-between-sydney-united-fc-and-western-sydney-wanderers/story-fndkzvnd-1226456110281 http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/gallery-e6frfkp9-1226456125785 that was 'just' a trial game..imagine if it had been an FFA Cup game under the full auspices of the FFA? mud sticks and we have already seen that the MSM don't care much for the truth or details when there's a chance to smear all sokkah fans/games:(
Midfielder
Guest
Franko Way over the top .... please replace ethnic with anti social behaviour by some kids....
Johnno
Guest
More fear mongering Kasey, admit it you don't want to give the old ethnic teams a chance, and re-introduce them into the mainstream. Pity the FFA don't share your views, and that is good, onto the NPL and the FFA and south melbourne FC, (not hellas those days are over 20 years ago Kasey "wake up")
Midfielder
Guest
Breaking News... as reported on the MV forum... TV networks hold talks over broadcasting Manchester United and Liverpool Australian tour games TWO free-to-air television networks have held talks with football chiefs about broadcasting July's blockbuster exhibition games featuring Manchester United and Liverpool, with Football Federation Australia understood to be seeking close to $1 million for each match. United will play an A-League All Stars side on July 20 at ANZ Stadium, with Liverpool facing Melbourne Victory at the MCG four days later. Both are expected to be televised in the face of massive ticket demand. The bulk of the 82,000 tickets for United's game have already gone. As tickets for the Liverpool game went on sale yesterday and were snapped up almost instantly, it's believed channels Ten and Seven are interested in the free to air telecast. In 2007, Ten paid more than $1 million for LA Galaxy's game against Sydney FC, but that included an exclusive interview with David Beckham.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
A great idea though 2015 may need a rethink as the AFC Cup is from the 9th to the 31st of January with the semi-final played on Australia Day. It would make a truly superb lead-up to the AFC Cup though, with the final played on January 1st or some-such.
Kasey
Guest
You know that football is going through a good time(all-star game and Liverpool exhibition games both sold out in minutes, record crowds in the HAL, ratings/memberships on the up) when the Herald Sun sinks to new lows to link violence in ‘all’ sports to sokkah fans as they did yesterday..not just a single Opinion Piece mind you...the editorial:( just when you might think they should be focused on the finals of a very good domestic football season that still has Victory involved?
Jacques
Guest
Well said. It's the exact thing I'm scared of too. I know I'm being negative here but I can see ethnic tensions arising and the anti football media jumping on that.I hope I'm wrong