Over at the big site, Charlie Happell had a great story today regarding the AFL and the A-League at war.
The AFL has a NAB Cup match between Richmond and Collingwood scheduled at Docklands Stadium aka Telstra Dome aka Etihad Stadium aka Collo’s sandpit which conflicts with the A-League Grand Final in which Melbourne Victory will play either Queensland Roar or Adelaide United.
As Happell wrote:
What really is at stake here … is that the AFL has identified in soccer a growing threat to its mantle as the most popular football code in the country.
And they will do all they can to obstruct its growth and hinder its progress in order to retain the AFL’s position at the top of the pile.
Interesting times ahead.
2 Comments
The AFL is scared of the Worldgame and will only get more petrified as time goes on. Hence the constant negative articles (last one in Advertiser 14/3 by Geoff Roach) and refusal to respect wishes of FFA to call the game Football. As the globe shrinks further the Worldgame will take a stronger grip with greater sponsorship dollar, participation and media focus. The handful of old AFL players who now make a living out of AFL will slowly die off and their replacements will learn to accept rather than abuse the Worldgame. The participation rate in the Worldgame is constantly on the increase while the numbers wishing to play AFL are struggling. The FFA have refreshed the brand in Australia and while mistakes are being made, the immense changes require it to cope with unchartered waters. The Socceroos will again make the World Cup which will wip up more frenzy and interest in the game. The juggernaught of the Worldgame will grow and soldier on…regardless and without care for the attempts by the AFL supporters, who feel so insecure that they have to constantly try to belittle Football.
Cant believe that soccer will EVER take hold in australia.The world cup may provide some short term thrills but lets face it we were there a generation or more ago and what has happened since.
Soccer is a negative,often boring game and it will never catch on in the US or australia who both have indigenous football-why play the beautiful game when it is as boring as batshit with players writhing on the ground in pretend agony or diving in the goal square to cheat a score.
But god knows the game needs goals,imagine watching so many draws-no score ina whole game???