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Opinion

Is the AFC experiment over?

NoMates new author
Roar Rookie
15th August, 2021
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NoMates new author
Roar Rookie
15th August, 2021
63
1319 Reads

Australia are no better off than what we were in the OFC at this point of time.

Our national youth can’t even beat Laos, let alone New Zealand. We refuse to use the three-plus-one rule in our league and have no second division. We are not playing in winter to align ourselves with the rest of Asia.

We are rated just below the Philippines for the A-League standings. We don’t take the AFC serious enough to be there. Do we really need to smash Taiwan 7-0 every few years?

Is Oceania our saviour?

The AFC was the worst thing Australia did – our football in every metric has gone backwards… it has also cost us a load of money for no return.

The argument that I hear for Asia is a stupid one, that it has ‘potential’ – my question is, potential for what?

Potential for football to die in this country?

The logistics of trying to play a competition across the AFC is a huge challenge, even with the east-west split.

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FFA CEO James Johnson

Does James Johnson have a big call to make? (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)

I like the concept of the ACL, but can certainly see why it creates challenges for many involved, especially with squad sizes that A-League clubs have.

The A-League teams four times out of five don’t even make it out of their ACL group. In the earlier years of our participation, interest was high, but as each year goes on, it seems to be looked at with less interest.

This is not unique to Australia, though, as attendances at ACL matches are fairly poor in quite a few countries. Numerous teams also send weakened squads as they prioritise their domestic league matches.

As fas as national teams go, we rarely qualify for youth tournaments, and when we do, we get smashed.

Back in Oceania during the ’90s, Australia made two semi-finals at U-20 level and a final at U-17 level. Overall, it helped our reputation with European clubs in getting Euro moves from that era.

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You can make an argument it started in the late ’80s when Australia beat Yugoslavia at the Olympics too. Look at how well New Zealand did in the Tokyo Olympics.

In fact, look how well they have done in recent under-age World Cups.

The talent drain we got with players taking shor- term money instead of building a career in Asia has made the Socceroos crap.

The Asian Cup Final was great. We would be better off playing the Confederations Cup every four years – at least you’re playing teams like Italy and Argentina.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to give up our epic matches against Qatar and Bahrain… sure, playing Japan and South Korea are good competitive matches but now the OFC will get a spot in the World Cup, there is no reason to stay in Asia.

What about World Cup Qualification? 1974 (AFC), 2006 (OFC) 2010 (AFC), 2014 (AFC), 2018 (AFC) – the Socceroos have appeared for the AFC four times at the world event and only once through the OFC.

When you look at the playoffs between 2010 to 2018, it’s quite possible the Socceroos would have made it just like 2006. Socceroos’ biggest crowds for WC qualifying games have all been for playoffs.

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Australia also have not produced the likes of the golden generation since leaving the OFC.

What happened?

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