If it’s Craig Foster’s aim to convince me to support Australia’s bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022 then he is going the wrong way about it. In a recent article in the Sun Herald and in a conversation with Les Murray on SBS he came off as arrogant and conceited. Even suggesting that other sports don’t matter and that football [soccer] would inevitably take over Australia.
It’s true that soccer (I refuse to call it football) is the only truly international sport, but Foster should not be so arrogant when the local A League is on the decline despite the addition of new teams. Soccer does have the highest participation rates in juniors, yet our top competition can only be compared to the 3rd or 4th division in England.
Les Murray even got in the act on SBS recently, referring to the behaviour of rival codes as belligerent, inconvenient and unaustralian. He even suggested that we try and attain the bid before sorting out what he considers to be minor details. Getting three other codes that garner more support in Australia to shut up shop for three months is not minor!!
These two want other codes to just lie down and let them have their way. They use the examples of other countries and how they would laugh at the situation we have here. We have a unique situation. I can’t think of another country that has four football codes running professionally.
How about stadiums? We just don’t have them. I’ve blogged about it already. Our best are designed for cricket and Aussie Rules. FIFA want at least 12 stadiums of 40,000 minimum capacities, we have maybe 8. We just don’t have the population to make those kinds of stadiums viable. If Foster’s prediction is true, that soccer will take over Australia, then the sport needs to get cracking on some new soccer only stadiums.
For now, all soccer commentators should pull their collective heads in and show the other codes a tad of respect.
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Foster said that FIFA don't care about the other codes. In other words, if the other codes are trying to derail the campaign by acting like sourpusses, FIFA simply won't care. So there posturing is useless.
Sydney stopped and co-operated with the IOC just fine when the Olympics came to town, what's so different about the world cup?
As for the lack of stadiums - new ones will be built, which will benefit other codes in the long term more than soccer.
Soccer fans have suffered for a long time in this country. I think the other codes need to cut us some slack and not try to rain on our parade. We have a sub standard league because of our geographical location and the money that's offered overseas - something that rugby league is only now starting to face with defecting players to Europe & Japan. All we want is to see the best teams and players in the world come to our shores. Whenever a visiting big name team comes here to play they always bring a second rate team. Its a cop out. The world cup will guarantee the best show up.
other codes are rightfully concerned about their own cash flow. No games equals no money. Also stopping the season for nine or so weeks in the middle of the year is way different to when they moved the whole season forward for the Olympics, so no comparison.
New stadiums will be built - to immense cost to the taxpayer.. Dare I mention that we are already in huge debt due to spending sprees by the federal govt.
soccer will eventually earn their standing in mainstream sporting culture (as for dominance being inevitable is a different story), they don't need any free rides from other codes.
But the world cup will inject billions into the economy - more than enough to cover the cost of new stadiums. The English bid's leaked report points to an incremental spend of nearly $11 billion flowing from a World Cup, with an impact on GDP of some $6.4 billion.
And its not like the other codes will go uncompensated. Its clearly been said they will be.
The fans of other codes can surely sit out a few weeks of a single season for this once in a lifetime event.
i tried hard to get into soccer during the last world cup (check other blogs under "soccer" topic). i stayed up late to watch some games and ultimately i was left bored (and tired). Out of 90 mins there may have been 5 mins of excitement for an end score of nil all or 1 - 0. So as for sitting out a few weeks (more like a couple of months) i really would rather not.
i even played soccer for a year. i can't see many soccer players taking a year off and playing my sport.
my once in a lifetime event came in 2005 when i was in Melbourne for the Swan's first premiership in over 70 years. once again, i doubt whether soccer fans would have gave it a second look.
but now soccer wants some slack from other codes??
I'm not against the bid per se. i do see it as unrealistic when it comes to the criteria set out by FIFA. i see Rudd as a driving force behind the bid because he feels it will buy more votes. and i see Craig Foster's comments (to a lesser degree Les Murray) as arrogant in the extreme.
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