"Can you smell the fear?", do the other football codes in Australia (AFL,NRL), genuinely fear football?

[NicCarBel]

Indoor arena funding incoming:

The race to build Australia’s next indoor arena

Calls for Melbourne to build a new 20,000-seat indoor arena have added another potential project to a growing wave of arena development around Australia, as cities look to attract major sporting events, international touring acts and professional teams.

www.austadiums.com

In the words of the great DEEEEJAAYY KHALED:

Another one?

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

The only way football becomes mainstream here is to win the World Cup or host it.

I disagree. Not least as the only way we'd ever win or host the WC (men) is by building such a powerful football culture that a critical mass within the wider community wanted it here.

No, the job is to unite behind the one vision and build the culture. And that takes all of us.

 

[Football us life]

"No, the job is to unite behind the one vision and build the culture. And that takes all of us."

Should be ingrained into every boardroom, every federation meeting, every club AGM. That line needs to be football's default setting....

One vision. Shared ownership of the story. Everything else is secondary.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

The only way football becomes mainstream here is to win the World Cup or host it.

USA has hosted two of them and it seems to have had a minor bump in crowds... lets see what its like next season though.

 

[Football us life]

USA has hosted two of them and it seems to have had a minor bump in crowds... lets see what its like next season though.

The 94 World Cup really helped the creation of the MLS and without that tournament the professional game in the US would probably look very different today.

MLS struggled for years, attendances were modest for a long time, and it only gradually worked its way into the broader sporting conversation over the following three decades.

MLS today is stable, expanding, pulling decent crowds in a lot of markets, and has enough of its own infrastructure to feel permanent.

It has survived early losses, built "soccer-specific" stadiums, kept it's ownership relatively patient, and slowly normalised the sport into American culture.

It's a build it and they will come situation but I don’t think the recent World Cup will have too much effect on the trajectories of it's growth because it was already set by the years of patient building that came before.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

The 94 World Cup really helped the creation of the MLS and without that tournament the professional game in the US would probably look very different today.

MLS struggled for years, attendances were modest for a long time, and it only gradually worked its way into the broader sporting conversation over the following three decades.

MLS today is stable, expanding, pulling decent crowds in a lot of markets, and has enough of its own infrastructure to feel permanent.

It has survived early losses, built "soccer-specific" stadiums, kept it's ownership relatively patient, and slowly normalised the sport into American culture.

It's a build it and they will come situation but I don’t think the recent World Cup will have too much effect on the trajectories of it's growth because it was already set by the years of patient building that came before.

If anything is to drag football into mainstream American consciousness, I think the pro/rel in USL leagues might just be the ticket... More clubs, more dramsa, more grassroots connection.... who would have thought?

 

[Football us life]

If anything is to drag football into mainstream American consciousness, I think the pro/rel in USL leagues might just be the ticket... More clubs, more dramsa, more grassroots connection.... who would have thought?

I read an article somewhere saying the reason why English football has become quite popular in the US was because of the promotion and relegation battles you get throughout the league....

The Premier League is the shiny product, but a lot of the deeper attachment comes from the knowledge that the whole pyramid is alive.

And as celebrity driven and packaged as they've become Wrexham was a catalyst for a lot of it.

The documentary series turned a lower-league Welsh club into something millions of casual American viewers actually cared about. Suddenly promotion battles, local identity, the grind of the pyramid, and the emotional weight of a club that feels like it belongs to its town were being watched by people who’d never previously given a second thought to League Two or the National League.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

I read an article somewhere saying the reason why English football has become quite popular in the US was because of the promotion and relegation battles you get throughout the league....

The Premier League is the shiny product, but a lot of the deeper attachment comes from the knowledge that the whole pyramid is alive.

And as celebrity driven and packaged as they've become Wrexham was a catalyst for a lot of it.

The documentary series turned a lower-league Welsh club into something millions of casual American viewers actually cared about. Suddenly promotion battles, local identity, the grind of the pyramid, and the emotional weight of a club that feels like it belongs to its town were being watched by people who’d never previously given a second thought to League Two or the National League.

Exactly my point... Sure American sport is, in the main, franchise heavy razzle dazzle MLS.. but speaking to a few suppliers in the states I am friendly with they all follow random English lower league sides for, quite often, obscure reasons.

 

[LFC]

I don't know.

yep this is the prob with the current 2 - FA and APL, imo 2 wrongs don't make a right and our history proves we've hardly made it right but for a small % - hence struggle street commercially and respected.

Pro and rel for the increased competition.

Absolutely ONE DAY - a major WIN not just for us devoted supporters and it will plant the seeds AND those other 2 major codes have nothing to compete with P/R.

Individual clubs doing a better job reaching fan bases.

well talking Pro for they have/had the resource the previous AL directive focussed on that a lot down to association affiliated Clubs.
Free ticks thrown about etcetc the usual kind of hand outs.
Coaching clinics/key player appearances you know the usual milk whatever you can approach.
That didn't last because the comp can't even convert enough local football families/players - they can't read the room it lacks connect.

The failures of the Lowy administration led to the APL. People welcomed this, but I was always worried when you consider the people involved. I think the APL has been no better.

Both entities only care/d looking after themselves, football is a business as its developed into the modern age and not, the bigger picture they can't see where the big schools of fish actually are doing their own thing for the bait is not to the liking.
As Mono mentions we have thousands of clubs and countless passionate football players/supporters/volunteers/fams/euro viewers who live and breath football ! - show a vision of connect/bang the Feds into place and work under 1 banner not State to State/open the door, start unity, I think we'd be pleasantly surprised by the growth bit by bit but its got to be a long term goal, forget the mainstream outlook or WC win that ain't gonna happen in the first place, correct a Pro 1 and 2 start with that and add pieces as it develops the way I see it.
What is there to lose compared to the past years ?!

There might not be space for more than 2 codes. But footballs space at the moment is a very low point.

There is always space to take from market leaders no matter the commodity.
Perfect to start from such a low point.

 

[LFC]

I read an article somewhere saying the reason why English football has become quite popular in the US was because of the promotion and relegation battles you get throughout the league....

The Premier League is the shiny product, but a lot of the deeper attachment comes from the knowledge that the whole pyramid is alive.

And as celebrity driven and packaged as they've become Wrexham was a catalyst for a lot of it.

The documentary series turned a lower-league Welsh club into something millions of casual American viewers actually cared about. Suddenly promotion battles, local identity, the grind of the pyramid, and the emotional weight of a club that feels like it belongs to its town were being watched by people who’d never previously given a second thought to League Two or the National League.

correction re Wrexham, wrong.
Sunderland Till I Die was a massive USA Netflix success long before them.
American viewers and sports fans gravitated to the raw, unfiltered look at failure, heartbreak, and club mismanagement rather than the polished glory typically shown in sports documentaries.
The Netflix series introduced the realities of English lower-league football, relegation, and working-class club culture to millions of viewers across North America who previously did not follow the team or the EFL Championship.

 

[Football us life]

correction re Wrexham, wrong.
Sunderland Till I Die was a massive USA Netflix success long before them.
American viewers and sports fans gravitated to the raw, unfiltered look at failure, heartbreak, and club mismanagement rather than the polished glory typically shown in sports documentaries.
The Netflix series introduced the realities of English lower-league football, relegation, and working-class club culture to millions of viewers across North America who previously did not follow the team or the EFL Championship.

Yeah I forgot about the Mackems grrrrr!

 

[Cunningstunt]

I disagree. Not least as the only way we'd ever win or host the WC (men) is by building such a powerful football culture that a critical mass within the wider community wanted it here.

No, the job is to unite behind the one vision and build the culture. And that takes all of us.

The world cup bid was probably one of the biggest errors for Lowy. Not the substance of the big (which was dreadful) but wasting time attempting it. It was never going to happen, he didn't pay off enough people, and they dropped the ball running the Aleague trying to win the bid.
I'm skeptical getting to host it would do what we want. People would be interested in the event. It would be 2000 Sydney Olympics level interest. But it would be one off. Eg what is the legacy of the WWC? Very little, interest in the Matilda's has waned and I expect it drop off further as this generation retires. When I talk about being mainstream, really I mean club football, local clubs and football culture being embedded in the culture. I don't see a lot of translation between the WC and club football. It seems like maintaining the current mainstream culture and just allowing a small football sugar hit (similar to EPL sides playing here) then back to the regularly scheduled codes.

 

[Cunningstunt]

What is there to lose compared to the past years ?!

A professional club competition.

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

A professional club competition.

Definitely agree that we need a professional club competition especially for the women given the recent success of the Matildas and the fact that we still have to go with a semi-professional model which means that we are falling behind other nations.

 

[LFC]

A professional club competition.

it is broken but the front door and owners able to absorb the loss's in the meantime the game is left floundering floating in the middle of the ocean waiting for a massive Westpac surf rescue copter
It is holding back the whole friggin game ! 2026 and we still are pinned down with semi Pro NPL.
Graz bring up the W side, its in even deeper poop - the Matildas fab train can't even float it.
Seriously you either sink or swim, black or white, yet you all want to hang on breathing through a straw.
A business man myself perspective I'd be working on my back up plan ready to launch whereas the FA sit on their arse's appeasing to groups who only care about themselves and 13 Pro M Clubs, weak wimps bugger the below.........where is the crying emoji.
This is the state of our game - its a business model that needs the steam roller through, I get it if was way back in 1970 but '26.

• Total Participation: 1.93 million participants (including clubs, schools, social formats, futsal, and inclusion programs).

• Outdoor Football: ~640,000 registered/affiliated outdoor participants.

• Women and Girls: Over 231,000 participants across outdoor, futsal, and social formats.

• Broader Community Play: AusPlay and broader national reports estimate that over 1.7 million people engage in structured club or venue-based football formats annually.

• A-League Men / Women: The top professional level features 13 men's teams (including New Zealand) and 12 women's teams in the premier national competition.

• National Premier Leagues (NPL): There are nearly 100 clubs competing across the second and third tiers of state-based divisions.

• Community Clubs: The Football Australia Play Football registry lists over 2,200 community clubs supporting grassroots participation across every state and territory

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

The world cup bid was probably one of the biggest errors for Lowy. Not the substance of the big (which was dreadful) but wasting time attempting it. It was never going to happen, he didn't pay off enough people, and they dropped the ball running the Aleague trying to win the bid.
I'm skeptical getting to host it would do what we want. People would be interested in the event. It would be 2000 Sydney Olympics level interest. But it would be one off. Eg what is the legacy of the WWC? Very little, interest in the Matilda's has waned and I expect it drop off further as this generation retires. When I talk about being mainstream, really I mean club football, local clubs and football culture being embedded in the culture. I don't see a lot of translation between the WC and club football. It seems like maintaining the current mainstream culture and just allowing a small football sugar hit (similar to EPL sides playing here) then back to the regularly scheduled codes.

I think the WC, if we'd got it, would have been a massive shot in the arm for the game - not least that it would have inspired a generation of athletes to choose football over other codes. The event itself would have been the best thing (sporting wise) ever to happen in this country - let's not forget the WC utterly dwarfs the Olympics by pretty much any measure.

It might have been only a short term sugar hit but it could well have built such a strong product (and interest) by now that football might have become very strongly entrenched as a major third code in Oz.

It's the potential loss of (a disproportionate share of) the best athletes that causes AFL and NRL to lose sleep.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

I think the WC, if we'd got it, would have been a massive shot in the arm for the game - not least that it would have inspired a generation of athletes to choose football over other codes. The event itself would have been the best thing (sporting wise) ever to happen in this country - let's not forget the WC utterly dwarfs the Olympics by pretty much any measure.

It might have been only a short term sugar hit but it could well have built such a strong product (and interest) by now that football might have become very strongly entrenched as a major third code in Oz.

It's the potential loss of (a disproportionate share of) the best athletes that causes AFL and NRL to lose sleep.

Having said all that, I have zero doubt that if we'd got it we would have fucked up the legacy, no mattter how good the actual event was.

 

[Quicky]

If anything is to drag football into mainstream American consciousness, I think the pro/rel in USL leagues might just be the ticket... More clubs, more dramsa, more grassroots connection.... who would have thought?

It's almost like it's a tried and true formula.

 

[patjennings]

The world cup bid was probably one of the biggest errors for Lowy. Not the substance of the big (which was dreadful) but wasting time attempting it. It was never going to happen, he didn't pay off enough people, and they dropped the ball running the Aleague trying to win the bid.
I'm skeptical getting to host it would do what we want. People would be interested in the event. It would be 2000 Sydney Olympics level interest. But it would be one off. Eg what is the legacy of the WWC? Very little, interest in the Matilda's has waned and I expect it drop off further as this generation retires. When I talk about being mainstream, really I mean club football, local clubs and football culture being embedded in the culture. I don't see a lot of translation between the WC and club football. It seems like maintaining the current mainstream culture and just allowing a small football sugar hit (similar to EPL sides playing here) then back to the regularly scheduled codes.

The Men's World Cup is on a completely different level. The Sydney Olympics attracted over 100,000 international tourists, the 2015 Asian Cup around 15,000, the 2023 WWC 86,654 and a mens World Cup would be expected to bring in 5 to 6 times the number that the Sydney Olympics attracted across the 39 days.

The USA thought the SuperBowl is bigger and did their best to destroy it.

I don't think we would ever host it alone, 48 teams is just too big) - but 7 Australian stadiums, Eden Park, Singapore national stadium and 5 Indonesian stadiums would mean we would get over 50+ games of a 48 team World cup (slightly less than a wholly Australian hosted 32 team comp).

Divide it to an east and west cluster where Perth singapore and Indonesia all have a similar time zone.

 

[BA81]

The Men's World Cup is on a completely different level. The Sydney Olympics attracted over 100,000 international tourists, the 2015 Asian Cup around 15,000, the 2023 WWC 86,654 and a mens World Cup would be expected to bring in 5 to 6 times the number that the Sydney Olympics attracted across the 39 days.

The USA thought the SuperBowl is bigger and did their best to destroy it.

I don't think we would ever host it alone, 48 teams is just too big) - but 7 Australian stadiums, Eden Park, Singapore national stadium and 5 Indonesian stadiums would mean we would get over 50+ games of a 48 team World cup (slightly less than a wholly Australian hosted 32 team comp).

Divide it to an east and west cluster where Perth singapore and Indonesia all have a similar time zone.

Realistically, this is the only way