Only football has the potential to unite Australia

Actually, Nemesis, what Peeko said, and he's the one I was responding to, is that "The game has no state boundaries blocking its ascension and has always welcomed every race, creed and gender to its flock." The key is the phrase "always welcomed." That's a rewriting of history. Football didn't always welcome women to the sport: hockey and basketball were open to women playing at every level decades before football was. Yes, it's certainly ahead of the other football codes, but no, it hasn't "always" been open to every race, creed and gender. Not here, not anywhere. And of course I'm serious about the issue of racism in football in the UK. You're right that England wasn't entirely comfortable with its black population in the 70s - and neither was football, because football reflects the society in which it exists. And if that society is racist, then the game will be racist as well. Which is why there are ongoing problems in quite a few places even today. And why its nonsensical to claim that the sport has always been open to all comers. It hasn't. That does not for one minute mean it hasn't changed over the years to become a much more open and balanced sport, because it has, and its certainly been ahead of the football codes in some areas (though the football codes are ahead when it comes to indigenous representation). But that doesn't change the fact that it is simply wrong to claim that it has always been as open as it is today. Or to imply that it's more open than any other sport.

" If the EPL, in whatever guise, representing the home and source of football wasn’t inclusive as recently as the 70s, how can you claim for one second “football” always was inclusive" Are you being serious? Were you alive in the 1970s? England in the 1970s was not inclusive of black people. I tell you what. Now, in 2017, the EPL probably better represents the diversity of the English population than does any other sport. No one is saying football is perfect. What we're saying is Football is more inclusive than Rugby, League, AFL, Netball, Cricket.

dont go hard on punterkins ..... he/she lives in a alternate universe where tin foil hat conspiracy theories rule the day

Yes, Peeko was talking about football being inclusive. I was simply pointing out that it it has not always been inclusive at all. As a matter of fact, I believe that there are those who think that the female component of Australia's footballing community is still not worth as much as the male component, even though the female component has at least as good a record internationally. You'd be one of those people. How inclusive is that mindset? But, to be fair to football, you don't represent the football community. As for my comment about the EPL, surely you're joking. I realize the EPL has rebranded itself but it's still the same animal with many of the same teams as it was 40 years ago. In any case, you're statement that: "Regardless, we are not suggesting “English Division 1 football has always been inclusive”. We are saying Football has always been inclusive:" is utter nonsense. If the EPL, in whatever guise, representing the home and source of football wasn't inclusive as recently as the 70s, how can you claim for one second "football" always was inclusive? That is a non sequitur of the highest order. Or is English football not part of Football? Because the attitudes towards black players were certainly not limited to the upper division at the time. Let's face it, if you make a claim for the inclusiveness of football writ large, it's rather hard to make a convincing argument that the shortcomings of English football didn''t count. It's equally hard to argue that the current problems in Italian, eastern European and Russian football don't matter either. And it's very hard to argue that the world of football has always included significant numbers of female teams at every level. Even today, it doesn't include many fully professional female leagues. Football is becoming much more inclusive, no question, and I praise it for that. But to rewrite history to claim it was always inclusive is farcical.

1) This article was about football's potential to unite Australia. Peeko was discussing "football has been at the forefront of being inclusive in Australia". Netball is not inclusive. Netball is living in the Dark Ages in terms of Gender Equality. Even sports like AFL, who have shunned Gender Equality until 6 months ago, are now more gender equal than Netball. So, give me a break. Leave Netball out of any discussions about "uniting all Australians". Netball does not do that. 2) We are talking about the SPORT called Football. So, to bring up comments about "black players had in the EPL back in the 70s" is a nonsense. First, there was no EPL in the 1970s. It was called English Division 1. EPL commenced in 1992. Regardless, we are not suggesting "English Division 1 football has always been inclusive". We are saying Football has always been inclusive. Why do Aussies find it difficult to understand that sport is not the elite competition. Sport is what people are playing in communities: grassroots.

Yep. Netball is kind of like a lot of sports have been over the generations. Very gender-biased. But it did give women opportunities in sports that a whole lot of male sports didn't offer at the time. Still does, actually. And my point was that women could compete at an international level in netball long before they could compete in basketball , never mind football or rugby or cricket. You're very big on global competition: why would you have an issue with that? Football has been very much midroad when it comes to gender equity - for just about a century, it was pretty much a male-only sport, so the fact that it's come to the table on women's sports in the last 20 or 30 years is a good thing, but hardly "leader of the pack" stuff. Oh, and I recall rather clearly the problems the first black players had in the EPL back in the 70s. So, to argue that the sport has "always welcomed" everyone is simply wrong.

How can anyone possibly include Netball as a sport at the forefront of gender equality? Netball originated as a women's sport. Is Men's Netball even recognised by the International Netball Federation?

Should look at Japan.

peeko - football has not always been as inclusive as you seem to believe. It's way ahead of the rugbies and Aussie rules when it comes to women's sports, no question, but other codes - tennis, athletics, gymnastics have had women competing at the international level much longer. Women's hockey at the international level has been around for over a century and netball for almost 80 years. Basketball had a women's league and a national team in this country decades before football did. So, while football certainly isn't a laggard, neither has it been a front-runner when it comes to women's sports. That's not to criticize football, far from it. But it is to say, don't overegg the cake. Football is doing well when it comes to gender issues, but it's certainly not true that it has always been as open as it is today.

Fuss doesn't have basic English skills, northerner. For example: "That’s not how the Award is defined." There it is again. He still thinks 'the Award' is the title of the award given, despite copy-pasting this directly from the Stadium Business Awards website: "This award recognises the event’s host venue, and thus entries should reference why the venue’s management/operational team deserves special recognition for their delivery." Notice how 'award' is not capitalised here? Just for education purposes: the award is Event of the Year...not 'the Award'. But he studied at the University of Bulgaria, so things might be different there.

Not those who are un-Australian Mister Football brigade.

My apologies Rasty, you are rigth they weren't even English, they were Aussies as a matter of fact they were AFL fans. You & Mickyo are true Aussies you like AFL & Cricket eat meat pies & drink VBs, sorry, i'll butt out this Aussie discussion.

Monster trucks are better than FIFA events I knew it! Common knowledge

Ah, Nemesis - I crack a smile every time I read one of your comments. Here you are, yet again, still missing the point entirely. First, some basic English: "the best sport event or non-sport event, guest event, concert or one-off spectacle" refers to four separate types of individual events that would be eligible for consideration. Sure, the AFL Grand Final would be one such, but the regular Crows games as a group wouldn't be. The Ashes would be, but not the BBL. Which is what I said. Second, you continue to misunderstand, no doubt deliberately, what the award is for, which is for stadium management of an event. The event does not have to be part of a global phenomenon for the stadium to be nominated or for it to win the award. But fear not, if you really believe that this award is all about the game rather than what the Stadium Business Awards say it's about, then football is in excellent company with the events hosted by previous winners, including, inter alia, the "Thomas Rhett Tangled Up Release Party," an MLB game at the SCG, the World Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden, and the Monster Jam at ANZ Stadium. Global events, the lot of them. Actually, though, that last one is interesting: ANZ Stadium wins for an event involving monster trucks, beating out Arena de Sao Paolo which was nominated for hosting, you guessed it, the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup.

That is patently untrue, like any game in any country it sometimes welcomes every creed and colour and sometimes doesn't and still doesn't. It is not some magic fairy land game that is totally inclusive to everyone everywhere, take a reality pill.

Yes, but cycling is not a team sport, that says it all about fuss.

Punter is a underling of the fuss brigade. His agenda is the Fuss agenda, sails dangerously close to un Australian in many aspects.

"This is an industry award in which the industry recognizes superior delivery of a one-off event" That's not how the Award is defined. This is the actual criteria on their website. EVENT OF THE YEAR AWARD For the best sports or non-sports event, guest event, concert or one-off spectacle held at a major sports venue in the last 12 months. We are looking for something out of the ordinary, something special, something that sets a future trend. This award recognises the event’s host venue, and thus entries should reference why the venue’s management/operational team deserves special recognition for their delivery. -------- Did you see the conjunction "OR" before "one-off event"? This means the criteria is not specific to one-off events. It includes any sport/non sport event. The AFL Grand Final is allegedly a massive event. The Ashes Test is allegedly a massive event. BBL matches are allegedly massive events. State of Origin is allegedly a massive event. A-League is allegedly a crap, low-quality competition that is ignored by mainstream Australia. Come on Northerner, I'm sure you can crack a smile ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE.

Haha!!! I can see it too. There a few posters here like that. Little old soccer (a-League even, where Rick says 'Not many know about the men’s professional competitions') wins an award for the Adelaide Oval. I have never been to Adelaide oval, but been told one of the most beautiful ovals in the world, but despite numerous events involving AFL (tiny sport) & Cricket (small in number of nations interested), but it took the lowly A-League (because football is a huge sport around the sport) to attained this prestigious award for Adelaide oval. As Northerner says is nonsensical that some don't see the irony in this.

This is getting nonsensical. This is an industry award in which the industry recognizes superior delivery of a one-off event (for your information, regular AFL and BBL games are not one-offs). It doesn't matter what the actual event is, it's the delivery by stadium management that is being awarded, and Adelaide apparently did a better job of hosting a football match than a half dozen other stadiums worldwide, including a couple of dedicated football stadia, did of hosting their special events. That's what the award is about. So, to go back to your original point, I see nothing embarrassing whatsoever about Adelaide Oval winning an award for delivering a good product. That's what businesses, be they auto manufacturers or stadium managers, aim to do. They're professionals and they no doubt do just as professional job of delivering the regular events as the one offs, but this happened to be a nomination for a one-off. And they won, so good on them. All the rest is your desperate attempt to try to drag a straightforward industry award into your benighted code wars.