Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has delivered a withering verdict on the prime minister and other politicians who he believes are happy to wear Matildas and Socceroos scarves but still won’t fund Australian soccer.
The national men’s team coach chose his eve-of-match address before the prestige England international at Wembley Stadium to tell his international audience about what he believes is the severe under-funding of the sport back home, compared with AFL.
Saying Australian soccer still had nowhere to call its home, he also reckoned his old friend Ange Postecoglou, who’s flying high as Tottenham boss, had a point when suggesting in an interview earlier this week that soccer will never become mainstream back home.
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has hit out at politicians over a lack of Australian football funding.
Asked if he could ever foresee the day when soccer was at the heart of Australian sport, Arnold said on Thursday (Friday AEDT): “I’d love to see it – but I don’t know if I will.”
He even had a dig at Anthony Albanese. “We see the prime minister and the governments, they love coming out to watch the Matildas and the Socceroos with scarves on – but they must lose them when they go home.
“I’d love to see it (soccer at the heart of Australian sport) but I don’t know if I will. There was a great legend in Australian football many, many years ago called Johnny Warren, who said ‘I told you so’ (that soccer would become really big) and nothing’s really happened since then either.
“We have a sport in Australia, AFL, which is, as Ange said, the Indigenous sport which is the biggest in the country and, at the end of the day, there’s a lot of funds and a lot of money put into AFL, but it’s only played in one country.
“And we’re playing in a world sport and we don’t get anywhere near the resources or the help that sport does.
“Whether you can believe that or not, we don’t have a home of football. When the Socceroos come to Sydney to train, we have to train on a rugby league field where they remove the posts and put soccer posts up, that’s the truth.
“We are the highest participation sport at grassroots and don’t have a home of football at all. The last three, four days, where’s England been? St George’s Park (England’s national football centre), a place that inspires players, a place where it’s a home, a place where you build a culture – and we don’t have anything like that.
“After the World Cup, I said hopefully this will make something change and we’ll get government funding and help to inspire the kids’ lives and fulfil the kids’ dreams.
“We’ve had so many great footballers that have left the country because they’ve had to earn a living elsewhere to fulfil their dreams – Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Timmy Cahill, (Mark) Schwarzer, all these guys – and this generation is going to be the next.”
Of the prospect that the 2034 men’s World Cup will pass by Australia and go to Saudi Arabia, he added: “I’m not in the detail of 2034 but I will say that it would help the sport enormously to have a World Cup in Australia.
“And I think we showed that we’re great hosts. There’s a lot of work to do, but I do think with the generation of kids coming through, we can reinvigorate the sport.”
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
and......who is to blame for that?? It's easy for Arnold to have a crack at the AFL - - however the old VFL bought land, built and 100% owned VFL park and have transitioned into 100% ownership of Docklands (Marvel) (all with no Govt money but a lot of Govt interference which blocked the VFL Park expansion and relocation of Grand Final). AFL has effectively built the MCG (rebuild since 1990). Over in Adelaide the SANFL owned/built the old "Football Park" (at West Lakes). The thing about the Sydney mentality seemed to be sports with either private owners or Leagues clubs funding very localised clubs/venues. So...........if you want something then find a way to pool resources. Have a governing body actually empowered to do something; and then go and partner with the Govt if you can't do it all yourself. This public whinging and bleating by soccer heads is actually pathetic jealousy. They happily play Soccer matches at the MCG (hosting the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd, Greece etc) and take the cash........what do they do with that cash?? And seriously - - the Socceroos are in town how often?? A dedicated facility? Come share Latrobe Uni with the Matilda's.......I drive past that every day and how often have I seen a Matilda there????
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
I agree Grem, we can then use these stadiums for ALeague GFs and internationals without ever having to go to oval stadiums.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Yes, I agree, but 40K is a minimum FIFA requirement for WC, although we may never see one in OZ, but who knows for sure? I don't buy into having small stadia, the extra cost of 10K is not that insurmountable. And it will be there for any blockbuster football event we might like to stage in Canberra. Spread the game across the nation---pretty sure the Matildas would sell it out if it was there right now.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Just build 40000 stadiums and use a curtain at the top when you have 20000 crowds as was supposed to happen at Allianz. It’s cheaper to bite the bullet at the start than pay exorbitant prices to make it bigger later.
Garry
Roar Rookie
nah Canberra will do - dont need any more anti-NSW conspiracy theorists
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
If they build a new rectangular stadium in Canberra then it has to be designed in a way that it is at least upgradable to 40k capacity. I believe they're talking about a capacity of around 30k in Canberra. We don't want another situation like AAMI Park where the cost of upgrading it is prohibitive due to the design of the roof. I say this since we're talking about potentially bidding for a men's world cup where the minimum capacity of a stadium is 40k.
Grem
Roar Rookie
It’s hard for these “footy” guys to call the historical and visually obvious game - fff , fffooot, ffootbaaa soccer!
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
Also, if you're going to quote someone Cugel, don't edit it. Either quote exactly or don't quote at all!
chris1
Roar Rookie
Sydney is the home of football in Australia so that's where it should be.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think he actually followed Newtown, so I think he’s more a Johnny come lately.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think the highest rating sports show in television ratings history is football and that happened recently. Plenty of people obviously follow the Matildas and Socceroos. Football is more than one competition. It is made up of the A Leagues (male and female), National teams (male, female and many junior versions of them), it is in a real World Cup, an Asian Cup, it is at the Olympics and it’s all over the world. There’s a lot of fragmentation, unlike games like rugby league and AFL. Enjoy what you enjoy (especially the footy that’s played 95% of the times in the hands) and I will do the same. Hopefully the government can fund some lounge chairs, fridges and televisions for all those people watching “footy”. I don’t think what I previously wrote was unfair, so why are you on here trolling?
Cugel
Roar Rookie
" And the team sport in Australia with the most participation is soccer" So presumably people then quickly lose interest, grow up, and then watch cricket and footy.
Brendan
Roar Pro
To be fair to Anthony Albanese, I think the PM is a Rabbitohs fan, first & foremost. The NRL are happy to own that.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
40K specific rectangle football stadium in Canberra — build it and they will come.
Waz
Roar Rookie
With the Matilda’s being in Melbourne now it’s a moot point - but if each state has facilities to support their State based academies (which is happening, the young Matilda’s have three bases nationally not one) they can be used by various national teams. Everyone though seems fixated on a “home”
Grem
Roar Rookie
With male and female national teams and a number of youth teams for each gender - a proper training base in each state would be needed and used. The home - I’d personally love to see Canberra.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Every State needs a “home of football” with infrastructure to support national teams. The logical place to put the Socceroos would be with the Matilda’s in Melbourne - no point in doubling costs just to please NSWs lol
Steven Harris
And now start the argument of where to put it..obviously somewhere in NSW.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Sport is important to many Australians. While many of these people may only watch sport, a lot of people also participate in sport. And the team sport in Australia with the most participation is football. I have heard Graham Arnold speak before and he doesn’t want to take money from other sports, but wants a fair share for football. Football is also one of our few sports where we really have to compete against the world. Our Socceroos and Matildas do a great job in this most difficult sport (over 220 countries and 300 million playing the game) and based on their results we are a football nation. More and better grounds and dressing sheds for grassroots and a home for the Socceroos and Matildas isn’t too much to ask for.
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
Wow! I prefer union and league over it so I actually didn’t realise that Australian soccer has no home. That’s crazy! And sad! It’s the most popular sport in the world by a mile and there is no base for it in our country. Wow! That really needs to change