When the first wave of wogs came to Australia in the 1950s and 60s, the vast majority clustered together in places where the climate was familiar and there were enough friendly faces from back home to ease the transition.
By and large, that meant the big cities.
The wogs, of course, brought with them round balls. Soccer balls, they were called back then.
Clubs were soon formed. South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Marconi, Adelaide City. These were Australian football’s pioneers.
It naturally follows that ever since, the game has always been focused on the metropolitan areas, because that’s where the wogs went and where the trendy new-dawners who have carried the A-League into mainstream consciousness now reside.
As a result of its historic spread, football has never truly embraced regional areas.
The reasons why are understandable, but there’s no reason why that can’t – or shouldn’t – change now.
After all, the FFA itself recognises there is a potential development goldmine in the bush, where – to put it rather bluntly – there are far fewer entertainment options on offer for kids. Unless you really, really like picking oranges.
The first edition of the National Curriculum declares “large cities are much less effective, per capita, at generating talented athletes than are regional localities.” There is research that suggests the same is true in parts of Europe and South America.
This is consistent with what is known as the ‘Wagga effect’, a theory that accounts for the disproportionate amount of elite sporting talent that has emerged from the sparsely-populated regional areas of Australia.
Why has Wagga Wagga, for example, been able to produce so many sporting greats like Wayne Carey, Michael Slater, Paul Kelly and Peter Sterling? Insane strike rate for a city of around 60,000, right?
The theory goes that out in the bush, where there’s less people, youngsters are generally exposed to senior sport earlier than they would in a big city.
Meanwhile, the FFA is ploughing through the state leagues, this week sorting out the National Premier League-related mess down in Victoria. Finally.
But while it’s mostly good news for the grassroots in Melbourne that the political standoff is over, the bush has silently copped the raw end of the stick once again.
The NPL backflip comes too late for the consortium based in Wodonga, which claims there is now not enough time for them to get everything up and running for a 2014 start. It is likely the same in nearby Shepparton, a rare country stronghold for football.
There was initial resistance from Melbourne to the idea of a regional presence in the NPL, so it’s worth watching this space.
In Western Australia, despite ambitions for it to happen, no regional teams will be part of next year’s inaugural NPL season. All the NPL clubs in SA and NSW are metropolitan. Queensland is the sole exception to the rule.
Until some bright spark invents a teleporter or a high-speed rail network happens, distance will remain a legitimate obstacle and a regrettable reality of Australia’s geography. But if the AFL and NRL can find so many stars in the bush, surely football can do better.
Granted, plenty of Socceroos have come from regional areas, like Frank Farina, Josip Skoko and Steve Corica. But imagine how many more could follow if football was to become ingrained in everyday life to the same extent as the stereotypically ‘Australian’ sporting pursuits.
There is one other place in the bush that bucks the trend – Griffith, a city of approximately 25,000 in the middle of southern NSW, where your correspondent currently makes his home.
You may remember it from the second season of Underbelly. Many have unfortunately only heard of it for that reason.
Were it not for the miracle of irrigation there would be literally nobody here. But the establishment of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in the 1910s provided a lure for many to start new lives on profitable farms in purpose-built towns, transforming a desert into an oasis of opportunity.
Amongst those who took the lure were many migrants from southern Italy, most of whom moved straight to the mini-Calabria of Griffith and surrounds.
Positioned almost equidistant to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, this place really is one-of-a-kind.
It is said around 70 percent of people here can lay claim to Italian heritage. That’s obviously where the city’s mafia ties come from. But that background also brought with it culture, and football.
There are clubs here with decades of rich history, as much pride as you’d find in any of the exiled NSL sides, and one rivalry so heated and brilliant it could lay an honest claim to being one of Australian football’s best-kept secrets.
Venture inside the clubrooms and the locals will regale you with stories of uber-talented players who never reached their true potential – some because they never wanted to leave the comfort of home, but many who never got a break at the top level or were not exposed to the right coaching in their key formative years.
No doubt there are countless similar tales told in Mildura, Rockhampton, Shepparton and Coffs Harbour. So imagine what could be possible with a little more help to bridge the gap for those who are already so dedicated.
And they are dedicated. They travel for tens of thousands of kilometres a year, all for the love of football.
It’s great to see that Melbourne Heart will host an A-League game in Albury next year, and the word is FFA chief David Gallop will hold one of his trademark town hall meetings to discuss the myriad issues that plague bush football while he’s there.
That should just be the start. While the FFA continues reform of the game at all levels, it will be missing a trick if rural areas are thrown into the too hard basket – especially when so many other sports are making the exact same mistake.
For all we know, the next Australian superstar could be practicing stepovers in an orange grove right now – and they deserve as much of an opportunity as any kid from the big smoke.
Tom
Guest
Why must discussions on the history of football must always start with the racist term wog. When I was growing up it was used to offend me and it did. I still find the term offensive. I'm sure we would all still find it offensive if going to an a league match was described as a sport attended by wogs. I don't understand why people with European heritage have to legitimise racist terms and make racist Australians feel comfortable now and the past . Entertainers and sports people of European ancestors described themselves by this racist term to gain favour from racist Australians.
Jayden
Guest
Don't remind me, I was part of two of those matches :(
Shark
Guest
Midfielder you have obviously missed the point and gone on a personal vendetta. Come back to what the story is about. Nordster is correct it highlights the opportunities regional football can give. The story is to open the view that the governing bodies need to embrace and start structuring regional football in Australia. I will argue in doing that, football will grow exceptionally. The NPL initiative will twofold into further tiers of competitive football across OZ when FFA take the lead everywhere like they are with the NPL in Victoria . That leadership will result in a broader talent base for the A-League and National teams not to mention the marketers it will bring to the game when they can see the commercial benefits a strong and well structured supply chain from the grassroots to the elite that will then have a true pathway and flow through every community and region of Australia. Full credit to Vince in bringing this story to the public domain.
Johan
Guest
The a league plays a match every fortnight in regional Australia – it is called Gosford. I do agree though that there should be games in regional areas, particularly in Qld. Think rocky bundy and the Sunshine Coast. In NSW orange Bathurst and dubbo.
Johan
Guest
Perhaps Townsville too on reflection- after all they once had a team all to themselves lest we fail to recall the north Queensland Fury.
Johan
Guest
The a league plays a match every fortnight in regional Australia - it is called Gosford and is a small town of 20,000 people. Don't be fooled by the local council nonsense that it is bigger they hugely inflate the population to try and attract investment. I do agree though that there should be games in regional areas, particularly in Qld. Think rocky bundy and the Sunshine Coast. In NSW orange Bathurst and dubbo.
williun 2
Guest
wogs of the 50`s did not bring Footbal to Australia, it was played here before us Wogs (if u want call Dutch folk a wogs) arrived here,I wont talk about the City becuas many wogs stayed in the Bush. NOW IN 1913 Albury council approved and gave permission that A local team of British association football could be played on a Park in ALBURY, SIR. THAT IS 43 YEARS BEFORE US WOGS ARRIVED. plse research your facts. Oh I arrived in 1955 from the Netherlands
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Nice story and perspective, Miroaust. Thanks for sharing.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Part of the reason a return of the Fury would be good. I'd love to see NQ represented with games oscilating between Cairns & Townsville. I've also written elsewhere that Cairns should really host an annual game with a domestic/Asian based Socceroos against Solomon Islands or Fiji. A good chance for the coach to run the rule over some players and also get some green & gold action into regional areas.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Agreed, BD. There's nothing at all wrong with liking a bit of spice in your food and brass in your music. Commendable in fact.
brian drian
Guest
I take being called a Mexican as a massive compliment. They are fantastic, warm and cultured people. By using that term, people of qld and NSW are aligning themselves with USAians. Do you really want to do that? ¡Viva el grande y hermoso pueblo mexicano!
sunshine
Guest
Ahem, Wollongong.
Miroaust
Guest
I'm a southern European from the 1960s wave and I started playing junior soccer in Newcastle in 1970. Let me tell you, most of the work and hard yards came from the Anglo parents. The coaching, the car pooling, the running of the junior clubs in the 1970s was mainly the preserve of the Anglos around Newcastle. Why? Because the wogs were still getting established and were all too busy working. The Anglos kept it all running. From the 1990s the wogs became much more involved as less were doing double shifts and the steelworks were down sizing. The sad thing in Newcastle has been the complete loss of identity of some ethnic clubs, but today the powerhouse club is Macedonian backed and supported, albeit with only a handful of Macedonian players across the three grades. The Anglo players have taken the club to glory in the past ten years. Sorry gone a bit off message. The Anglo heritage in this region is immense and football belongs as much to the Anglos as it does to the wogs. The present and the future belongs to all of us and that is reflected in the Jets fanbase. I am certain the same applies across the A League and while it pains me to admit it, the dropping of ethnic names was a prescient policy. What has all this got to do with regional football? Well, I'm a wog but I am in the same camp as Midfielder. The true fathers of football in Australia came from the coal fields of Newcastle and the Hunter and they were Scots and Poms. But yes, the 50s and 60s wave of wog immigrants too things much further. Yes, half the Socceroos came from Western Sydney, but there is a high school in Lake Macquarie, Booragul, whose class of 1977-79 produced the best high school team EVER in the country with more than half becoming Socceroos. Their leader of course was Craig Johnston who reckons in his biography that he was the worst player in the best player in the best team in the world, Liverpool circa 1980s. Sells himself short, half the managers polled in the then 1st Division, put him as the player they would most like to sign. So again, what has all this got to do with regional football? Lake Macquarie is regional, Booragul were the gold standard for footballers 35 years ago and they were all Anglos. Having said that the second best player I ever seen in Australia was Peter Katholos, from the same era and a wog if ever there was one. But the best was Johnston.
Boban
Guest
What about Cairns? Cairns has produced Frank Farina, Steve Corica, Michael Thwaite, Adam Sarota, Shane Stefanutto & Ben Halloran, which is significant considering Cairns never had a team in the NSL and has been completely overlooked by the A-League.
realfootball
Guest
The US film crews who came out there to shoot the Mission Impossibles and their like used to call Aussie crew "Mexicans with cellphones".
Australian Rules
Guest
"If you come from an AFL state be prepared to be shocked "... Yeah I bet those folk down in Vic still cannot fathom how the Victory, Rebels and Storm...and thousands of community grounds for that matter...share fields and facilities. What a bizarre concept for those mexicans.
Vince Rugari
Expert
The only reason I even brought up the 50s/60s wogs, midfielder, was to make the connection to the geographical spread of the game. That is precisely the reason why it's a much more city-focused sport in Australia. Like David Gallop says, you fish where the fish are - the fish are in the cities. But the whole point of this article is that there's plenty of fish out in the bush, if you're willing to do the work to catch them. I've read my opening remarks numerous times and the only thing I'd change in retrospect is the word 'pioneers', to maybe use a word that doesn't so expressly imply they were the first ones.
nordster
Guest
Ah yes Mid but thats working within the current level playing field paradigm ;) Lower the bar a little and more areas come into play. Provided travel can be subsidised of course. Maybe DG could sell it to Govt as a regional transport stimulus package. I am joking but that would probably work these days...
Vince Rugari
Expert
That was Hanwood FC, and they had Joey Schirripa - former NSL young player of the year and almost-Sydney FC star playing. And they lost the Griffith grand final this year!
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Port Pirie is in the South Australian State League. They'll make the NPL if they get promoted! There are also sides there from Woodside & Gawler however they are both fairly close to Adelaide.