Australia's lukewarm relationship with ACL not a problem

Jaime, I thought the point of the article was aimed at the general level of interest in the ACL in view of the fact that Australian teams have been participating for quite a few years now. In the play off game this season the Adelaide crowd against Shandong held up pretty well for a midweek game but was still well below what the club enjoyed in a very successful A League season. I'd be interested in reviewing the stats of 2008 when Adelaide reached the final (if my memory serves me correct) I know that with the exception of the latter stages of the tournament, Wanderers crowds were pretty ordinary for the most part and there are those of us that enjoy the competition scratching our heads as to why the level of interest is not greater here and in some other parts of the region.

they are now as Adelaide united has made it possible to buy a 3 game season pass as part of their genral admission memebership only for an extra $60.00 which is good value in my eyes

Why there is so much crap written in this blog. Why Adelaide United, which reached the finals, is not mentioned? Mr Duerden I dont know who you are but a football commentator you are not. Show respect and you will earn it.......

Now that the two Australian teams are out, the importance of the ACL will be downplayed and future ACL matches will be ignored. While others will wait until next season's ACL, I will be certainly be keeping an eye on it. Another note the comments made by some discussing religious and politics in Asia should be largely ignored as they enforce misconception and are simply dogmatic opinions that are inflammatory to what is a stable confederation. Of all the Asians nations we, as new AFC member, are the LAST country to advocate a split in confederation.

Could not agree with this article more. Your balanced perspective on Australia is the AFC is a refreshing change from the two 'Asia hates us because we are all Anglo racist rapists' and 'Asian football is is full of corupt people' perspectives. Aus has a lot of football development ahead and so does much of Asia,most just that the member nations of the AFC have differing types of development challenges. It's great for Australia (not just football) to be more integrated with Asia. It really is the future. However Australia brings its own unique history and culture to the table - along with the strengths and weaknesses this inherent in this. I am loving the Champions League more and more each year and while it is a slow burner - it has a bright future. Thanks for your writing on this amazing region, our place in it and our collective future.

Because, of course, A league games in the middle of the week in the middle of egg ball season would get compatitively massive crowds

The only way to engage is to have the ACL on free to air. Inclusion of discounted tickets would help if attached to A-league membership!

I enjoyed your post Buddy

We must move to a position where all A-League fans support their representatives. The WSW victory will be chiseled into Australian sporting folklore. A win for the ages. It's not unlike supporting all players in the Socceroos , including all those that play against your team in the domestic competition. I think most people have no understanding of the herculean odds about progressing in the ACL, let alone winning it. When Melbourne Victory and Sydney United played, they represented Australia.

I find the overall attitude to the ACL from many quarters a bit difficult to fathom. The individual club web sites give it little coverage during the season. Governing bodies same. General media, not a lot of interest and as has been clearly stated, season tickets do not include entry, nor vouchers or anything to support the events and with the exception of state of origin it always appears that midweek fixtures are not at all popular. Coupled with that, apparently you cannot have your regular seat, nor even an option to purchase them and it doesn't make for a happy time. When Wanderers enjoyed their successful run a few seasons ago we inquired through the club about away travel but met with very little in the way of organization and help. We did travel to Korea for the away leg of the semi final and the 20 odd fans that made the trip were supplied tickets by the club outside the stadium - we paid face value for them but could have just as easily paid on the gate. The crowd was poor - a crowd of 15000 in a 60000 capacity stadium didn't make for a good atmosphere but we did have a good time especially with some locals that came to support WSW as they didn't like FC Seoul. This season I attended two of the Sydney FC home games at group stage - couldn't get there Wednesday night and again the crowds were not good although Guangzhou Evergrande tempted a large contingent of locals to support them with free entry and T shirts as has been the case at other venues. Here's the bit I really don't get though: in my opinion the football played in the ACL is quite different to A League and is entertaining with plenty of exciting moments. I thought SFC played some really good football in the ties that I have watched and it left me scratching my head as to how they didn't play that way throughout the season. I enjoyed watching Melbourne victory and their two legs against Jeonbuk were highly entertaining and had I been in Melbourne at the time, I would have loved to have gone along to the first leg. Before there is a rush of scribes questioning my loyalties etc let me just say I enjoy watching football and especially the quality produced in the ACL over the past few seasons and I am looking forward to the draw for next year and will travel to Japan, China or Korea to support WSW again. It makes a great mini-break although I accept it is beyond the budget of many followers and perhaps that contributes to the lack of interest. Minimum 10 hour flights, need to spend at least 3 days to make it a worthwhile trip...that is very different from the European competition where you can return the same night from many venues to your point of origin. I'm just sorry now we have no representative left as the only way to watch it will be streaming via some dodgy feed. Would loved to have seen the Seoul v Urawa game a few nights ago which went extra time and penalties!

Agree completely. Draw the line between India and Pakistan. 2 World Cup places for West Asia, 3 for East Asia/Oceania.

Not necessarily. Five years or so ago it was in the Gulf states where clubs would spend exorbitant amounts of money on foreign players. I think the fact that they don't do so now, or at least not as much China, doesn't suggest that the money has dried up in the Gulf, but rather that they don't see a return on investment in domestic club football (within the Gulf states, anyway). When it comes to money and influence in the AFC and FIFA board rooms, the Gulf states are still leaps and bounds ahead of China.

The issue isnt the teams taking the tournament seriously - from what I've seen, every Australian team goes out to win the competition. It is the supporters who seem to take it for granted. Im hoping fans learn to love the mid-week continental games.

Wow. Needing 2 goals to advance past Sanfrecce and Santalab nailing it in the last minutes, Guangzhou's coach running onto the pitch, Al Hilal fans taking out their frustration by punching trees after the match in Parramatta,Church Street Mall at 4am, meeting the team at the airport with the trophy. I'll take WSW's campaign over the 'great wall of empty seats' anyday.

The crowd issue in Australia might be directly linked to footballs relative lack if exposure to the code. Despite sports fans of all codes supporting their favourite, there is always a broader interest in how representative teams from other codes perform at the highest level.. For example I know many AFL fans who will have look at either the Wallabies, or SOO. They are also aware that Jose Mourinho has the coaching gig at Manchester United. In fact right now the story is on the main page of the ABC news web site. In time, a little more 'them against us' marketing about A League teams versus their wealthy Asian opponents will gain traction. But for that to happen, the broader sporting public need to be made aware that the games are on. Every three years or so one million migrants settle in Australia. I have no idea what the breakdown is, none. But just say one third are adult males, that's about 350.000. Increasing over 6, or 8 years, to a total of anything between 750.000 and 1 million adult males. My guess is at least half of them come from countries where football is the main code. In the time that the A-League has been in operation, a minimum of 500.000 men have come to Australia who know the game. To continue this beer coastal analogy, if just 10% of the above 500K, 50.000, could be persuaded to follow an HAL team, it would result in an increase of about 5.000 at each HAL match, 10.000 at local derbies. This ready made market might be worth actively tapping into, as it is a source of new supporters that will never stop. And hey, some might even bring their families.

Best for fotball world to have a middle-east conferation and then a merged East Asian confederation merged with Oceania

I'd say the money influence may have moved address permanently from gulf states to China.

One issue for Australians is that there is no culture of watching mid-week sporting events (other than once off events). People don't like heading to the stadium on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. Another issue is that ACL games are never included in memberships. A lot of people pay for their membership, go to the A-League games since they've paid for them, but don't bother paying extra for the ACL games.

"it feels very much like a “leg-up” for the West Asian clubs " There's no feels like about it. That's exactly what it is. The AFC is a marriage of convenience. The football quality is in East Asia, while the money and political influence is in West Asia. Whether a split is in our best interests or not would depend on the division of World Cup places. My concern is that the current four places would be divided equally between East and West (with the half spot possibly going to East or having to play off against the West for access to it), which would make it more difficult for us to qualify.

One thing the AFC did do that was positive was the abolition of the President's Cup. It has brought many more countries into the AFC Cup (in which some of the clubs from the previous competition have done well, particularly the Filipinos) and which in turn brings many countries closer to the ACL and hence increase interest. What is needed now is for the winner of the AFC Cup to have direct entry into the group stage of the 2017 ACL.