Football in Australia has a rich history stretching back to the 1870s. Yet since 1955, when a professional league composed of mainly ethnic-backed clubs broke away from the local district associations, football has never been capable of making itself mainstream.
In spite of this, football managed to attract a huge player base. The belief was that with so many players the game couldn’t fail, but fail it did.
Football failed because it failed to make itself mainstream.
When Frank Lowy took the reins in 2004 he understood more than most that to make football sustainable it had to become mainstream, and it’s pretty close in present day.
Sports reporting and public conversations all indicate that at the end of the last A-League season football was an accepted part of the sporting landscape.
But cracking the mainstream has largely gone unnoticed. One of the biggest and most important aspect is the league playing deep into the AFL, Super League and NRL seasons. Season nine finished in early May, and A-League 10 will play into late May. That means from late February to mid May, football is head-to-head with other codes, something deemed impossible even two years ago.
But the single most important aspect of the football growth over the past nine years was the development of a conceptual framework which everyone connected with the game could play a role in.
FFA identified and developed early on the broad concepts to operate. First was to take football to as many people as possible, second was to improve the technical standards and third was to develop systems and structures that were practical and would help unite the various warring football tribes.
There is no distinct line in the sand signalling when football reached mainstream credibility. In fact it still struggles at times, but is very close.
Key to the conversion process will be the continual investment in the conception framework of technical improvement, spreading the game and system and structure improvements.
Another foundation block is the free-to-air coverage SBS is providing. Increased coverage and rating growth is critical moving forward.
I feel in many ways sorry for SBS, as they remind me of the team that fought and scraped its way from third division and now has the same players in the first division.
Do you show loyalty to all players or let some go? History has taught us to stay in the first division many of the players need to be let go for better players.
Given SBS’s investment in football and the overwhelmingly positive contribution made, you assume they know they need to lift the performance of their broadcasts. You cannot have a 12-week W-League winning the rating 25 per cent of the time.
SBS need to follow the advice they have given the A-League clubs. They need to treat the A-League as a commercial product and compete with Channel Seven and Channel Nine, and need to be ruthlessly study their audience.
My fear is they won’t. SBS need to look at performances and look beyond keeping friends on as presenters.
The conversion phase is well placed in schools with the FFA’s Whole of Football School Strategy, and the success of the Socceroos will further influence its development.
Football in Australia has systems and structures in place, a national domestic competition and a national team with respect. The World Cup has also been reported in the media for what it is, and has featured on free-to-air as well as Fox.
The conversion phase is under way, with an estimated two million people connected to football. If football is capable of converting anywhere the percentage of its player base as rugby union, rugby league and AFL, then strong growth can be expected.
bryan
Guest
"Home & Away" isn't shown in the Summer!
bryan
Guest
I strongly disagree with you ,Fuss! 10 stuffed up Basketball when they had it,& made a botch of the AFL when they (& 9) had it! At least 7 made a special agreement with Fox to show all the WA AFL games FTA in Perth during the normal season. They rolled over on the NAB Cup,but I'm grateful for small mercies. The 7 Network do have the grunt to go "nose to nose" with Fox on these things,whereas SBS doesn't,& I have sore doubts about the other Networks.
bryan
Guest
Fuss,at the moment,the Glory are absolute rubbish,but if all their games were on FTA ,I would probably watch them. I would,however,be very unlikely to watch other team's games. In the AFL,Fremantle were lousy for a long time,but I watched them--------again,I probably wouldn't watch Melbourne. or GWS in non-Freo games. In both cases,I have let the side down-------A true AFL or "A League" enthusiast would watch every game he could.. I also would be unlikely in the extreme to watch EPL games,so I guess I'm sort of supporting your position.! :)
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Tyler is a better commenter then the rest of the SBS crew put together.
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Why is it a problem if Kalac refers to Croatia as "we"? I personally can't see any issues. Then again I refer to Australia and Ireland a "we" so I may be slightly bias on the topic.
Midfielder
Guest
Agree a good mix of broadcasters...
BrisbaneBhoy
Guest
Double post
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
That is a good mix of broadcasters by format. Plays to their relative strengths and the games needs.
Hand of God
Guest
Totally agree with the comments surrounding SBS - with the exception of Foster and Lucy Zelic, the broadcast team is very average. And the lack of cameras on the pitch is an issue too. Plus it needs to be on SBS 1.
Midfielder
Guest
Cpaaa That's funny ...
Post_hoc
Guest
I am a volunteer coach at a grassroots club, coaching my son, this is my first year. The first thing my club did was provide access to a grassroots certificate course, and the National Curriculum. I am an avid watcher of Football, but hadn't played since a school ki when we still had heavy leather balls. But watching football and then learning the Curriculum worked for me, seeing it in practice. (I also have the advantage of B Level coaches in my Family to learn off. The Leopold Method site has also been a great learning tool. I think Nordster is way off the mark here, my club is a new grassroots club, the executive are smart enough to know their limitations (we don't have Premier League teams or anything) so we don't have senior coaches, so those gaps are filled by offering access to groups like Sydney Football Group that can give greater technical coaching, and allow us coaches to develop the structure and fundamentals.
Cpaaa
Guest
Channel 7 has showed faith in football with the all-stars but it also suggests that 7 only backs occasion events. My ideal world looks like this: Match of the Round- Channel 10 A-League-Fox National Team –Fox live and 1hr delay SBS FFA Cup- Fox and SBS Asian Champions League- SBS I also cant understand that broadcasting networks have multiple channels yet it seems that secondary channels are harder for people to find than an address in a new estate. A great read Mid and also the comments that followed. Ill also like to add much to your disappointment is that I think you, as in the Central Coast Mariners ,and SBS have a lot in common. Battlers, constantly punching above their weight, not quite the mainstream, theres a soft spot there for all football fans, we want them to do well, relying on the community, budget cuts, a lot of good work done by people whose names are always in the background. If CCM was a tv staion they would be SBS...well look at that , a 3 letter abbreviation as well. :o)
Socrates
Guest
“In Europe scouts are all over the place,seems in Australia they only go on camping trips.” very true. No, in a Australia, we tell parents that their kids are good enough to play at a higher level, but all they need is to play for a NPL club ($1500) and join an academy ($40 per/hr). FFA and State Federations are lazy.
Alessandro
Guest
Haha you'd think they'd have something positive to contribute then...but alas
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Ho hum the ol' 422 pommy sanction rag. I stop reading that rubbish 3 years ago, because of all pommy cronies running the organisation... Not a good example of unbiased pommy journalism is it..? All with an axe to grind, because of Foz's anti British football coaching methods and comments... I mean how predictable is it..?
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
"In Europe scouts are all over the place,seems in Australia they only go on camping trips." very true. The thing with Europe is that any kids live and play football within 50km of a professional club. Everyone knows everyone and if the kid is any good at 10 or 11yo, he will either be scouted by an educator from a pro academy or his coach will encourage him and his parents to enrol him in a pro club. Then you also have schools which combine football and studies for teenagers who aspire to become pro. The teen combines both until he is 15-16 then if he is any good he may integrate a pro academy, if he is not, he can go back to pursue normal studies or do something else. All people know its in place and as a kid (I played football from 12 to 15) we knew what we had to do to get there. Official competitions with P/R and other cups (we even had a national cup for all kids categories) also help make the sport looks more professional: we have similar comps to our idols. Again, I agree with nordster, most kids/parents who play football here do so as 'an extra curricular activity". It could be mixed netball or beach volley, it just happens to be football. until it changes, the overall level will be poor imo.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Again this is exactly what I have seen and experienced here too.
My mate James
Guest
Why not have Simon Hill and Craig Foster doing the call? I know not everyone is fond of the Foz but it would bring back memories of their UCL commentaries during the mid-00s.
Kasey
Guest
I think the full Brazilian is a poor mans Santo Sam and Ed, but it gives a few game and lame joke highlights and I do like hearing Servet Uzunlar's points. Better than Thursday FC!
Scott
Roar Pro
Thanks for informing me about Austria. I don't know as much as you about it. I only know the guys from Rapid come up every year and our guys go do win there every year. https://de-de.facebook.com/HammarbyUltrasAlteGardeRapidWien/photos/a.563510736995482.129728.563510043662218/563528080327081/?type=1&source=11