Take Two

Soccer in Australia has had a not so warm welcoming throughout it's history as one of the four football codes. To be rather blunt and succinct, to many the game was for the:

"Sheilas, wogs and poofters."

The three words aptly describe perceptions of soccer within the Australian sporting market. The game that is played by the other. But it is not always all doom and gloom.

The first light in the tunnel came on the 16th of November 2005. After it's routine dispatching of the Oceania qualifiers, Australia had to defeat the 5th placed team of the South American qualifiers. A task that can't exactly be described as a walk in the park. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Montevideo, supported by 83,000 attendees and millions across the nation, Australia ended its 31 year absence from the FIFA World Cup, earning the right to participate in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Not only did this help capture the interest of the mainstream Australian public, but help bring credibility to the code amongst the other three. The success of the national team (nicknamed, the Socceroos) helped generate interest into the newly formed domestic competition, the A-League.

Arising the ashes of the National Soccer League, the A-League commenced in August 2005, striving hard to tackle many of the problems that historically hindered the progression of soccer in Australia. One of the most obvious issues that was addressed was the issue of ethnic-based clubs. Some of the most historic and famed clubs within Australian soccer have been those of ethnic-based foundations. It can be said that these clubs act as proxy embassies for newly-arrived immigrants, many being established as social clubs for those longing the old country. However, many of the old troubles were revisited in Australia, in particular clashes between Balkan based groups such as the Croats and Serbs. For the Football Federation of Australia, it was an utmost priority to eliminate any ethnic tension, in order to appeal to the masses.

Effectively, two main guidelines directed the format of the competition. No ethnic-based links, so clubs such as Marconi Fairfield, Sydney Olympic and Melbourne Knights (each respectively represented by the Italian, Greek and Croatian communities) were barred from entry. And lastly, 1 city, 1 club. The A-League wanted clubs to consolidate support from the entire demographic of their city, emphasizing inter-city rivalries.

This was a successful tactic which saw record crowds of 50,000 for grand finals, 35,000 for regular season matches and an average of 27,000 for the Melbourne Victory in Season II of the competition.

So why the second uprising?

The common consensus within the Australian soccer community is that the FFA's prioritizing Australia hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup saw a neglect towards the A-league. Average crowds since the 2007-08 season, which saw a record average of 14,610, plummet consistently to an all time low of 8,429 in the 2010-11 season. Two expansion clubs, the North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United were folded within two to three seasons. Both of these aforementioned clubs were established to further 'nationalize' the game. However the markets for soccer that these clubs were situated at were barely or not at all interested towards the game. The A-league was facing the unwanted prospect of having to field a 9-team league for the 2012-13 season. Hastily, a Western Sydney team was created to fill the void of the demise of Gold Coast United. The events that happened next were truly unprecedented or unexpected.

The current 2012-13 season has widely been acclaimed as the greatest A-League season, surpassing the pandemonium of the inaugural season in 2005-06. The success of the season can be attributed to two main factors.

1. The introduction of quality marquee players. The signing of Alessandro Del Piero, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono was a masterstroke, that not only gave attention to the game domestically but worldwide, such is the stature of the three marquee players.
2. The fairytale season of the Western Sydney Wanderers. A team build hastily, expected to finish bottom has exceeded every single expectation. About to contest for the Grand Final in 2 days time and finishing the regular season 1st.

The success of this season has truly been welcomed for many soccer enthusiasts within the country, such as myself. It is truly something when the game which has been dismissed by so many for so long has captured the attention of every single Free-to-Air broadcaster and newspaper publication. But this is where the challenge begins. It is a true test of administrative capabilities if the FFA can sustain this interest of the domestic game. It is a test to see whether the spectator-seers of Del Piero, Heskey and Ono will remain after they leave. 

It is a test to let the game grow and to never see a regular season crowd average of 8000 ever again.

- Aaron Wong