Crystal ball time

[grazorblade]

Used to do these on 442 to look back and have a laugh at how wrong we got things. Give your predictions for what football will look like heading into the 2030 world cup. Will bump this thread in April 2030

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

Who is our best xi?

What is our FIFA ranking?

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong?

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level?

How far do we go at the World cup?

How far do we go at the Olympics?

Who is our best xi?

What is our world ranking?

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics?

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period?

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it?

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for?

How far did we go in these world cups?

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today?

How big is the next tv deal?

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas?

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted?

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium?

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030?

What is our best result in the ACL Elite?

Do we win the ACL 2?

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor?

What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question)

Will the women's a league go full time pro?

NST

Is there a home and away NST?

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment?

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship?

Does Berwick United make the championship or NST?

Will it get sponsorship and a TV deal

Will the FA commit to a roadmap for promotion/relegation (even hybrid or ad hoc forms that include off field criteria or make relegation for apl clubs difficult like the a1/a2 model)

What do crowds look like in the championship and NST (assuming both happen)

Who is the most successful club in this era?

OFC Pro League

Will the OFC pro league allow South Melbourne to qualify for the club world cup?

Will there be more Australian teams in the OFC Pro league?

Forum

How many posts per day will there be (current around 120-150)

How many members will we have (current around 450)

How many regular posters will we have (currently around 55)


Any other wild predictions?

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

Who is our best xi?

For Socceroos and Matildas, are these best XIs of all time or from the playing lists heading into 2030?

 

[grazorblade]

For Socceroos and Matildas, are these best XIs of all time or from the playing lists heading into 2030?

best xi as of April 2030 assuming everyone is fit

 

[Pub League Champion]

I remember looking back on post-2010 WC predictions in about 2015 and seeing how wrong they were. After 2010 we thought players like Vidosic and Valeri would be key players for us, while players who were key to 2014 included Leckie (still with Adelaide) and Ryan (yet to debut for CCM).

Anyway, here are some I’m confident about:

1. No, we won’t qualify for the Olympics.
2. Yes, we will produce three attackers who play in a big 5 league. Two of them won’t play for Australia.
3. We’ll lose to Iraq in the next AC quarters or semis, after Graham Arnold employs a high press off the ball. Japan will beat an Iraq in the final.
4. Despite repeated efforts, South Melbourne still won’t be in the top tier.

 

[patjennings]

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

Yes.

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

5

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

12

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

R32

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

Final

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

Yes

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

Left

 

[HonestSpursFan]

Optimistically whilst still somewhat realistically:

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

Who is our best xi?

What is our FIFA ranking?

1. Two. Nestory Irankunda and Mo Touré are both in the Prem. Standout by our standards though. They’re no Erling Haaland or Mo Salah.
2. A few but not heaps. Jordy Bos is in the EPL, Ale Circati is in the Serie A, etc. Cristian Volpato is floating around the Serie B, Adrian Segečić is still in the Championship.
3. A lot. Some never made it out of those leagues.
4. Round of 32, but got a shock draw with the USA plus a loss to Turkey and a win over Paraguay.
5. Semi-finals.
6. Yes, easily.
7. Resigned after the Asian Cup. Mark Milligan replaces him.

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong?

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level?

How far do we go at the World cup?

How far do we go at the Olympics?

Who is our best xi?

What is our world ranking?

1. Still going very strong.
2. Stay similar. Not as good as Japan but ahead of the others. South Korea remain strong, North Korea falls behind due to the increased money in the women’s game and an unsustainable fully domestic system.
3. Quarter-finals at most in 2027.
4. We won the 2032 Olympics and made the semis of the 2028 ones.
5. Bonus: Joe Montemurro resigns and is replaced by Dario Vidošić who brings in more youth. Daniela Galić and Annalise Rasmussen stick with the Matildas, while Willa Pearson debuts at 18.

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics?

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period?

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it?

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for?

How far did we go in these world cups?

1. I don’t know. While Antonio Arena did choose Australia the Olyroos were without him as Roma refused to release him for the U23 Asian Cup. If we made the Olympics he got picked though.
2. Both.
3. Depends if they expanded or not.
4. Ditto 2.
5. Ditto 3.

I’ll do the rest later.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Used to do these on 442 to look back and have a laugh at how wrong we got things. Give your predictions for what football will look like heading into the 2030 world cup. Will bump this thread in April 2030

Great Idea... OK, here goes nothing


Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world? - no

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5? - 2

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc? - 40

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup? - 12th

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup? - semi

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup? - no

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach? - leave - Muscy

Who is our best xi? - ?????

What is our FIFA ranking? - ?????

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong? - dropped

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level? fall far behind

How far do we go at the World cup? - not very

How far do we go at the Olympics? - ???

Who is our best xi? - ???

What is our world ranking? - ???

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics? - yes

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period? - both

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it? - quarters

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for? 3

How far did we go in these world cups? - round of 16

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today? - declined

How big is the next tv deal? - two guys peddling a generator to project on the side of a barn.

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas? - expands by another 4 teams in SE Asia and NZ.

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted? - No

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium? - Yes and No

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030? - SFA

What is our best result in the ACL Elite? - Semi

Do we win the ACL 2? - No

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor? - Yep but will be much reduced.

What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question) - A near miss will count for 1/2 goal and they will introduce quarter time breaks.

Will the women's a league go full time pro? - depends on what you mean, it is now just not paying well.

NST

Is there a home and away NST? - Yes

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment? - Only as a mechanism to promote into the NST

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship? - Northcote City FC

Does Berwick United make the championship or NST? - Hahahahah, oh you are serious?

Will it get sponsorship and a TV deal - yes to both but very modest.

Will the FA commit to a roadmap for promotion/relegation (even hybrid or ad hoc forms that include off field criteria or make relegation for apl clubs difficult like the a1/a2 model) - Up to NST yes, beyond that, to ALeague, Never.

What do crowds look like in the championship and NST (assuming both happen) - very modest, 1,000 - 8,000 depending on club

Who is the most successful club in this era? - HAHAHAHAHA what a questions... Ill give you a clue, We are blue, we are white we are fucking dynamite...

OFC Pro League

Will the OFC pro league allow South Melbourne to qualify for the club world cup? - eventually

Will there be more Australian teams in the OFC Pro league? - yes, maybe NOT by 2030 though

Forum

How many posts per day will there be (current around 120-150) - similar

How many members will we have (current around 450) - 1000+

How many regular posters will we have (currently around 55) - 100+


Any other wild predictions?

 

[ashtongate]

I correctly predicted all our group game scores in 2018...

But 2030 is a bridge too far for me, I just take things one day at a time now

 

[grazorblade]

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

No, we have a couple of big 5 attackers but not standouts in those leagues

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

Well take how many are capable and divide by 2 for injuries, bad attitude, decline in passion, bad club choices, losing dual nationals and bad luck. I think Scicluna, Circati, Herrington, Irankunda, Robertson, Younis, Dobson, volpato and Bos are capable and a few others are capable of being relegation battlers in 2030 including Alagich, Metcalf, Waddingham, Toure and Mehmeti are all capable. Too early to tell where Arena and G Okon will be. I think a couple of these players are also a bit young and take a couple of extra years. So maybe 4 in the mid table big five and 2 relegation battlers

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

Again take those capable and halve it. Kikianis, Sapsford, Ryan, Peraic Cullen, Kuol, Tilio, Italiano, Badolato, Okon. So maybe 4-5?

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

Round of 32

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

Semi Finals

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

Yes

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

No, but I think Milligan or Aloisi replaces him if they do

Who is our best xi?

I think no one replaces Ryan and Volpato finally declares lol
------------------------------Ryan-----------------------------
-Italiano---Circati-----------Herrington---Bos----
--------------------Okon----Scicluna---------------------
------------------------Robbo-------------------------------
-Irankunda-------Toure--------Volpato------------

What is our FIFA ranking?

22, starts to get harder to climb despite improving on paper

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong?

The same, slight decline of 10-20%

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level?

Slight decline but still competitive for winning the asian cup

How far do we go at the World cup?

Round of 16

How far do we go at the Olympics?

Round of 16

Who is our best xi?

No idea

What is our world ranking?

17

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics?

No . If poppa or the NT coach takes over we have a chance

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period?

Just one because we lose morgan

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it?

Knockouts

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for?

3

How far did we go in these world cups?

Best result is we win a knockout game

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today?

Slight decline

How big is the next tv deal?

Bigger actually, about 30% rise

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas?

Maybe a team gets promoted. You would think they eventually either get canberra or make a more open invitation

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted?

Yes. It is clearly in the APLs interest to do so for a number of reasons. Would also delay momentum for a nst to take the strongest clubs. Then again, APL make weird decisions

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium?

Yes

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030?

Still around 2million AUD

What is our best result in the ACL Elite?

Semis

Do we win the ACL 2?

We make the final and lose

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor?

It shouldn't but somehow it will. But the PFA supporting a luxury tax is a good sign since the pfa seem to get what they want a lot

What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question)

None, just stumbles along

Will the women's a league go full time pro?

No

NST

Is there a home and away NST?

Yes, but nervous about this

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment?

Yes, but only if the h&a happen

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship?

Not really no where but Sutherland look like they are investing big, Also expecting Adelaide city and Olympic kingsway to eventually make a splash

Does Berwick United make the championship or NST?

Yes, but they probably fail to get promoted at least one season so it might come too soon for them

Will it get sponsorship and a TV deal

Yes, SBS mission means they have non commercial reasons to invest. Some passionate football supporters in business probably invest in sponsorship for non commercial reasons too. So it will be funded above market value, still not huge but a boon

Will the FA commit to a roadmap for promotion/relegation (even hybrid or ad hoc forms that include off field criteria or make relegation for apl clubs difficult like the a1/a2 model)

Yes but it will be vague and not enforced

What do crowds look like in the championship and NST (assuming both happen)

1500-2000 in an NST which means championship drops to 800-1100. If p&r to the top miraculously happens that becomes 2500-3000 and 1500-2000

Who is the most successful club in this era?

South Melbourne

OFC Pro League

Will the OFC pro league allow South Melbourne to qualify for the club world cup?

No

Will there be more Australian teams in the OFC Pro league?

Yes they will have 1 more Australian team and 1 more NZ team

Forum

How many posts per day will there be (current around 120-150)

300

How many members will we have (current around 450)

1000

How many regular posters will we have (currently around 55)

100

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

Some predictions I'd have a punt on are as follows:

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

1. Yes, two standout attacking products in Nestory Irankunda and Mo Toure will have made it to the Big Five European leagues.
2. Quite a few players but likely only Nestory Irankunda, Mo Toure and Alex Robertson, along with possibly Jordan Bos and maybe Alessandro Circati will actually get full nineties on a regular basis.
3. Enough players to populate at least one Socceroos playing list.
4. Round of 16 or quarterfinals, where we end up losing to Argentina or Portugal after finishing second in the group behind Turkey and getting the job done in the round of 32 against Egypt.
5. All the way and the Socceroos win the Asian Cup for the second time and first time since 2015, getting the job done over Japan after extra time in the final.
6. Yes.
7. Tony Popovic will be gone by April 2030, either leaving at the conclusion of the 2027 Asian Cup or being given his marching orders between now and then, and in both cases is replaced as Socceroos head coach by Mark Milligan.

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong?

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level?

How far do we go at the World cup?

How far do we go at the Olympics?

Who is our best xi?

What is our world ranking?

1. Crowds will have dropped as Matildas mania dies out.
2. The Matildas will stagnate and fall behind as the likes of Japan, China, North Korea and South Korea only improve further in leaps and bounds, subsequently playing catch-up with the Asian powerhouse nations and increasing the gulf in quality with the minnows.
3. Quarterfinals in what'll be Sam Kerr's last major tournament before retirement, before finishing third in 2031 and going all the way in 2035.
4. Depends on the group but hopefully in the medal places with Skye Halmarick having replaced Sam Kerr as striker for the Matildas by January 2028 following her promotion from the Tillies farm system in the November/December international window this year.
5. Skye Halmarick, Shelby McMahon, Holly McNamara, Amy Sayer, Peta Trimis, Leticia McKenna, Izzy Gomez, Jessika Nash, Winonah Heatley, Ellie Carpenter, Chloe Lincoln.
6. Top ten in the FIFA rankings at least, but after Montemurro is inevitably given the sack as Matildas head coach following a disastrous major tournament campaign.

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today?

How big is the next tv deal?

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas?

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted?

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium?

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030?

What is our best result in the ACL Elite?

Do we win the ACL 2?

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor?

What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question)

Will the women's a league go full time pro?

1. Crowds will have plateaued then declined as the AFL and NRL capitalise on the collapse of football in Australia and crowds for those codes skyrocket.
2. Similar to the current deal with the A-Leagues rights again bundled with the Socceroos and Matildas, but there'll be a bidding war between current rights holders Network 10/Paramount+ and the Seven Network with the latter looking to make a foray back into football and regain broadcasting rights.
3. Yes, to a 16-team comp with Canberra and three promoted NPL sides initially, before further expansion to an 18-team comp with Tassie and a developmental team similar to Young Lions in the Singapore Premier League being added in the future.
4. Yes. South Melbourne, Heidelberg United and Preston Lions are the three sides promoted.
5. Yes, but only for season 2026-27 before Western United fold by May 2027 and are replaced by Canberra. The stadium is finished but they'll never play there altogether or only get one game at most, with Football Victoria eventually taking over the site and turning it into a companion facility to Home of the Matildas.
6. Not sure but it would ideally have increased to a couple million dollars Australian at least.
7. Quarterfinals, where we end up losing to the Saudi Arabian powerhouse sides.
8. Yes, but not with Heidelberg United next season and most likely with an A-League side as Football Australia decide no more teams from Member Federations can play Asian continental football.
9. No. Both are replaced by a luxury tax system similar to the one currently implemented by Major League Baseball.
10. The A-League will expand the finals series to top eight from top six as more teams are added to the comp, and there'll be a new league cup to fill the period in the offseason when Hahn Australia Cup preliminary rounds are ongoing.
11. The Dub will eventually achieve full-time professionalism but well behind schedule and at least three years after the timeframe originally proposed by the PFA in the Ready for Takeoff roadmap.

NST

Is there a home and away NST?

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment?

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship?

Does Berwick United make the championship or NST?

Will it get sponsorship and a TV deal

Will the FA commit to a roadmap for promotion/relegation (even hybrid or ad hoc forms that include off field criteria or make relegation for apl clubs difficult like the a1/a2 model)

What do crowds look like in the championship and NST (assuming both happen)

Who is the most successful club in this era?

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Not sure but possibly Olympic Kingsway or Oakleigh Cannons.
4. No, they'll make neither.
5. Yes but it'll pale in comparison to the A-Leagues deal.
6. Yes, but not by April 2030.
7. Less than 10k but similar to current crowd sizes in A-League Men.
8. South Melbourne who only add further to their long and storied history.

OFC Pro League

Will the OFC pro league allow South Melbourne to qualify for the club world cup?

Will there be more Australian teams in the OFC Pro league?

1. No.
2. No, South Melbourne will be the first and last Australian side in the OFC Pro League as the comp does away with Australian teams altogether.

Forum

How many posts per day will there be (current around 120-150)

How many members will we have (current around 450)

How many regular posters will we have (currently around 55)

1. Around double the current number of posts per day.
2. Between 750 and 800, with South Melbourne remaining the club of choice for forumites in terms of the club supporter rankings.
3. Around 150 to 200.

I'll do the rest of the predictions later.

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

Aloisi replaces him if they do

Would this be John or Ross Aloisi?

 

[grazorblade]

Would this be John or Ross Aloisi?

I was thinking of John

 

[HonestSpursFan]

Time for the rest:

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today?

How big is the next tv deal?

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas?

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted?

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium?

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030?

What is our best result in the ACL Elite?

Do we win the ACL 2?

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor?

What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question)

Will the women's a league go full time pro?

1. Pretty similar I would say, maybe a little bit higher. Dub crowds will be a bit higher.
2. Not sure but hopefully one that can grow the league.
3. Canberra will have a team, while Christchurch, Darwin, the Gold Coast, Hobart, Nouméa, the Sunny Coast and/or Wollongong are other options. I can’t see Southeast Asia joining to be honest. I could maybe see a Pacific team though.
4. Only if pro/rel is introduced. Ethnic clubs won’t let go of their history nor their cultural and local identity to join the A-Leagues (and rightfully so; APIA Leichhardt wouldn’t be APIA if they weren’t Italian, South Melbourne wouldn’t be Hellas if it weren’t Greek, Sydney United wouldn’t be Croatia if they weren’t Croatian, etc, and if I’m going to those grounds I still wanna eat pizza, souvlaki and ćevapi respectively).
5. Yes and probably.
6. No idea.
7. Probably the semis. For the AWCL we’ll win a few.
8. Yeah. If they make a AWCL 2 then also yes (multiple times).
9. Probably tweaked but yeah.
10. I would like to see ASEAN and OFC players exempt from foreign player limits or with a separate limit like some ASEAN countries have, though I don’t know if this’ll happen. Hopefully an expanded season (maybe a league split like Belgium, Scotland, etc before finals?), since we need more games to avoid durability and injury issues when players move overseas to leagues where they play a lot of games (like the Championship where they play 46 games plus cup games). Hopefully more investment into increasing crowds.
11. Yes but not in the PFA’s timeframe of 2026–27. Most likely by 2027–28 or 2028–29.
12. Bonus: Sydney FC Women will improve and win a title while Sydney FC Men will also win a title and a cup (source: trust me lol). The leagues (especially the Dub) will be more competitive and fairytale stories like Central Coast Mariners winning the ALW Grand Final will seem less surprising.

NST

Is there a home and away NST?

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment?

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship?

Does Berwick United make the championship or NST?

Will it get sponsorship and a TV deal

Will the FA commit to a roadmap for promotion/relegation (even hybrid or ad hoc forms that include off field criteria or make relegation for apl clubs difficult like the a1/a2 model)

What do crowds look like in the championship and NST (assuming both happen)

Who is the most successful club in this era?

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Berwick maybe?
4. Yep (eventually).
5. Yeah.
6. Hopefully. I think they’ll tease it but whether they implement it will depend on what the APL suits think.
7. Not as big as A-League crowds but still decent. They’ll be a key part of retaining European culture, languages and traditions to help curb the major language loss seen for languages like Croatian, Greek, Italian, Maltese, etc (on this topic, Asian languages seem to have lasted a lot longer with many fourth gen Chinese speaking Chinese fluently, whereas Italian is rapidly declining and German dropped significantly during the World Wars due to racist policies to the point where the unique Barossa German dialect has almost died out, though it’s being revived). People will come to games for the cultural experience alongside the football. Hopefully this is positive cultural stuff (banter is fine if clearly not intended to offend) rather than straight up ethnonationalism though.
8. APIA Leichhardt or South Melbourne.
9. Bonus: a Women’s Championship comes eventually.

OFC Pro League

Will the OFC pro league allow South Melbourne to qualify for the club world cup?

Will there be more Australian teams in the OFC Pro league?

1. Yes but they’ll probably withdraw from the OPL eventually.
2. Not long term. It’ll eventually become an actual OFC-only league with some OFC clubs opting to play in the Aussie system (similar to how AS Monaco play in France or some Welsh teams play in England and vice versa for example; basically Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix will stay in the A-Leagues despite being from New Zealand while they may be joined by other teams from NZ or other parts of Oceania).
3. Bonus: New Caledonia gets at least one OFC Pro League team.
4. Bonus: a Women’s OFC Pro League will exist eventually.

Forum

How many posts per day will there be (current around 120-150)

How many members will we have (current around 450)

How many regular posters will we have (currently around 55)

1. More but I don’t know exactly.
2. More. Depends on if I can recruit some people. I’m working on it!
3. Ditto.

Any other wild predictions?

1. Willa Pearson will one day captain the Matildas to an Asian Cup title. We’ll be more likely to host another Women’s World Cup than to ever host a Men’s World Cup, but we’ll host both a Men’s and Women’s Asian Cup again too (not by 2030 but by 2070 surely or even 2050).
2. I can’t see the Matildas or even the Socceroos not making future World Cups with the expansions. Maybe I’m too naïve or optimistic since Italy failed to qualify for a 48-team World Cup, but we’ll always be a top side in Asia. The question for both will be how far can we go at the “Olympics and the World Cup”, and “will we win the Asian Cup?”, not “will we qualify?”.
3. Ange Postecoglou will continue winning stuff while Tottenham continue to fuck up. Unfortunately relegation will come eventually for Spurs (the men’s team, not the women’s team, though the men’s team’s relegation may unfortunately affect the women’s team’s good performances and ambitious growth that we’ve seen so far since Martin Ho joined). At least one Socceroo will join a side managed by Big Ange.
4. The A-Leagues continue to get marquee signings. Man United players like Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes have already been watching Juan Mata play for Melbourne Victory so there’s no doubt they’ve been asking him about life Down Under and potentially hoping to play here eventually too.

 

[Charlie]

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

Kind of but he plays for another national team

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

8

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

15 - 20

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

R32, beaten by eventual champions

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

Quarter finals

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

Yes

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

Left after the 2027 Asian Cup and is replaced by the current Portsmouth coach John Mousinho

Who is our best xi?

Maty Ryan, Herrington, Garbowski, Bos, Miller, Okon jr, Yazbek, Badolato, Irankunda, Yull, Toure many players could start but haven’t chosen to represent us e.g Nicoll-Jacuzi, Will Millwood

What is our FIFA ranking?

27

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong?

Roughly the same

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level?

Roughly the same level

How far do we go at the World cup?

Quarter Finals, lose on penalties

How far do we go at the Olympics?

Medal playoff 4th place

Who is our best xi?

Arnold , Rule, Pearson, Hunt, Grant, Cooney-Cross, Wheeler, Fowler, Vine, McNamara, Younis

What is our world ranking?

16

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics?

Yes

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period?

Both

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it?

The 2007 age group goes to the quarter finals without key players who are involved with the men's team like Herrington and Overy. 2009 out in the group stage

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for?

All of them

How far did we go in these world cups?

Nothing crazy, the 2026 and 2027 were probably the standouts

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today?

Increased to a 10,000 average league wide even with a 30 game season

How big is the next tv deal?

Paramount Plus signed a 2 season extension in 2026 worth 65 million dollars.

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas?

0 stadium doubts in Canberra delay a possible men's expansion

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted?

No

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium?

Yes, they return to the ALW in 2027 and then the ALM in 2028

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030?

Just about at the salary cap 3 - 3.5 million aud.

What is our best result in the ACL Elite?

Newcastle Jets play Al Nassr in the semi final at a "neutral venue”

Do we win the ACL 2?

No

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor?

Yes, but multiple teams push for changes to how the cap works

What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question)

More NPL players given opportunities and a return of active support

Will the women's a league go full time pro?

No

NST

Is there a home and away NST?

28 Game 8 team NST season starting this year (2030)

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment?

No it becomes a full time competition in 2030

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship?

North Geelong Warriors, Playford City

Does Berwick United make the championship or NST?

No

Will it get sponsorship and a TV deal

Yes the ABC becomes the broadcast partner and naming rights go to Bunnings Warehouse

Will the FA commit to a roadmap for promotion/relegation (even hybrid or ad hoc forms that include off field criteria or make relegation for apl clubs difficult like the a1/a2 model)

Yes

What do crowds look like in the championship and NST (assuming both happen)

2.2k

Who is the most successful club in this era?

Preston Lions

OFC Pro League

Will the OFC pro league allow South Melbourne to qualify for the club world cup?

No

Will there be more Australian teams in the OFC Pro league?

First nations team enters the competition funded heavily by the government

Forum

How many posts per day will there be (current around 120-150)

200

How many members will we have (current around 450)

670

How many regular posters will we have (currently around 55)

80

 

[HonestSpursFan]

Arnold , Rule, Pearson, Hunt, Grant, Cooney-Cross, Wheeler, Fowler, Vine, McNamara, Younis

Macca Arnold doesn’t even start now. She’ll be 36 by then. Cortnee Vine also doesn’t start now and will be 32.

Talia Younis is a bold one. I think she’s got a lot of potential (provided she leaves Western Sydney Wanderers which I think she will) but I woulda had Daniela Galić and Annalise Rasmussen in over her.

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

Here are the rest of my predictions:

Socceroos:

Who is our best xi?

What is our FIFA ranking?

1. Nestory Irankunda, Mo Toure, Patrick Beach, Alessandro Circati, Alex Robertson, Jordan Bos, Kai Trewin, Garang Kuol, Lucas Herrington, Paul Okon-Engstler, Cristian Volpato (assuming he commits to Australia).
2. Top twenty in the FIFA Rankings at least.

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics?

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period?

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it?

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for?

How far did we go in these world cups?

1. No, the Olyroos fall agonisingly short and fail to qualify.
2. Both of them but we barely make it into the 2029 edition.
3. The Young Socceroos get grouped in both editions.
4. Two or three out of four, with the Joeys definitely qualifying for 2026 and 2027 and possibly 2028 also.
5. The Joeys won't make it out of the group altogether.

Any other wild predictions?

1. Skye Halmarick comes in clutch and scores at the death to win major tournament titles for the Matildas on multiple occasions after we trail at the half.
2. Football Australia disbands the APL and regains control of the A-Leagues.
3. Nestory Irankunda takes a year's hiatus from football to pursue a music career.
4. Green & Gold FC becomes a reputable source in the Australian football media landscape, with the likes of Tony Popovic and Heather Garriock appearing on the podcast, then an actual football club competing in regional Member Federation leagues.
5. Ange Postecoglou makes a triumphant return to the Premier League and wins the Champions League to extend his streak of sophomore season silverware before jumping ship to women's football, where he spends a year head coaching in the Dub then moves back to South Melbourne and retires with his career having come full circle at Hellas.
6. The A-League Men becomes a viable destination for wonderkids from the Big Five European leagues to be loaned out to with Melbourne City and Sydney FC leading the way as Newcastle Jets focus more on homegrown talent, and is eventually on par with Saudi Arabia in terms of world-class player recruitment.
7. Holly McNamara secures a transfer overseas for a world record fee and the top five most expensive women's transfers are all Matildas players.

 

[HonestSpursFan]

1. Skye Halmarick comes in clutch and scores at the death to win major tournament titles for the Matildas on multiple occasions after we trail at the half.
2. Football Australia disbands the APL and regains control of the A-Leagues.
3. Nestory Irankunda takes a year's hiatus from football to pursue a music career.
4. Green & Gold FC becomes a reputable source in the Australian football media landscape, with the likes of Tony Popovic and Heather Garriock appearing on the podcast, then an actual football club competing in regional Member Federation leagues.
5. Ange Postecoglou makes a triumphant return to the Premier League and wins the Champions League to extend his streak of sophomore season silverware before jumping ship to women's football, where he spends a year head coaching in the Dub then moves back to South Melbourne and retires with his career having come full circle at Hellas.
6. The A-League Men becomes a viable destination for wonderkids from the Big Five European leagues to be loaned out to with Melbourne City and Sydney FC leading the way as Newcastle Jets focus more on homegrown talent, and is eventually on par with Saudi Arabia in terms of world-class player recruitment.
7. Holly McNamara secures a transfer overseas for a world record fee and the top five most expensive women's transfers are all Matildas players.

Nestor the rapper? If that were to happen I reckon he would still play football.

The others actually seem (mostly) possible. The last one is crazy if you mean globally but an Australian record for sure. Women’s football transfers are much higher now than ever before and we’re now seeing players go for millions (which we’ve never seen before).

 

[vanlassen]

Socceroos:

Did we produce a standout attacker in the top 5 leagues of the world?

- No. Mo Toure is injured in the Championship and Riley McGree plays semi-regular matches for Middlesborough, who were relegated from the Premier League immediately after promotion.

How many players do we have playing regularly in the big 5?

- At least 7 players (a new golden era)

How many playing in top 2nd tier clubs like Celtic, Feyenoord, Brugge etc?

- Another 10 players in 2nd tier clubs. About 50% getting decent game time.

How far did we get in the 2026 world cup?

- Round of 32. Popovic is praise for how well we played at the world cup and that, if we hadn’t been drawn such a tough opponent in the round of 32, we might have progressed instead of being bundled out with a 5-1 scoreline, which was unlucky and didn’t reflect the true competitiveness of the game.

How far did we get in the 2027 Asian cup?

- Made the final and lost 4-0 to Japan.

Did we qualify directly for the 2030 world cup?

- Yes, easily. Popovic has the opportunity to cap a range of talented youngsters but decides to field a tried and proven line-up in our final two matches including Jackson Irvine, Harry Souttar, Matt Ryan and out-of-form striker Nishan Velupillay. Not all is lost as Alex Grant makes his debut at the age of 36 against Bangladesh.

Did Poppa get fired/leave, if so who is our coach?

- Poppa is still the coach but the wear-and-tear of travelling the globe is taken its toll. People suspect he is picking players based on how well they edit their highlights reels on Instagram.

Who is our best xi?

- Nector Triantis is Australia’s best export by far. He plays week in, week out for Manchester Utd currently battling for a Europa League spot.

What is our FIFA ranking?

- Ranked 30

Matildas

Have the crowds dropped or are they still going roughly as strong?

- Ever since the FFA started charging fans for tickets to watch the Matildas play, crowds have dropped by 80% and now that Sam Kerr has retired, the $10 price tag to watch the Matildas play Estonia on a Tuesday night is too much for even the most diehard fan.

Do we improve with respect to asia, fall behind or stay roughly the same level?

- I guess so. We fall to Japan at the final hurdle but at least we are on the scoreboard.

How far do we go at the World cup?

- Out in the group stage after losing all three matches. We are defeated by a far more technical European outfit, outpaced by a more athletic North American opposition and destroys by a suspiciously masculine CAF opposition.

How far do we go at the Olympics?

- We watch at home with the men’s team.

Who is our best xi?

We are in a rebuilding phase and are still trying to work that at. I seriously think we should recall Hayley Raso but she has retired from football and devoted her life to raising a family and finishing her sixth childrens book.

What is our world ranking?
- 13th? Why not?

Youth teams

Did we qualify for the 2028 Olympics?

- We did not. All our youth talent plays in lower tier European clubs and were not released for qualifying.

How many of the 2 u20 world cups did we qualify for in this period?

- Just one, which we were just happy to be there. Sceptics predicted that we would be bundled out in the group stage and they were proven right. NoMates penis grows an additional half-inch. He is banned for 48 hours for sharing his progress.

How far did our u20 teams go in the world cup if we made it?

- Grouped.

How many of the four u17 world cups did we qualify for?

- The only one we qualified is cancelled due to ongoing conflict between North Macedonia and Greece over the renaming of North Macedonia’s south-west central region, South-West Central North Macedonia.

How far did we go in these world cups?

- We made to the airport before our flights were cancelled.

A league

Have crowds recovered, plateaud or declined compared to today?

- Crowds have picked up since the end of the 2025-26 season. Macarthur have a solid average of 5,000 people, surpassing both Melbourne City and Central Coast. South Melbourne have a bumper crowd of 1,500 for a mid-season VIC NPL 1 match and claim they are now ready for the A-League but without financing from their dodgy sponsors at Shield and First Guardian, are unable to afford the licencing.

How big is the next tv deal?

- YouTube Premium exclusive.

Does the A league expand? How many teams? Which areas?

- The A-league merges with the Singapore Premier League for one season. It does not go well.

Do any grassroots clubs get promoted?

- Wollongong Wolves are parachuted in the competition and rebranded ‘Wollongong United’. They are sued for copyright infringement.

Do Western United come out of hibernation? If so do they finish their stadium?

- Western United attempt to establish Rugby League in Geelong in a high risk, low reward business plan that leads to moderate levels of success when the venture capital firm realises that the real money in NRL is made via pokies and gambling. Western United is moved north of the border and rebranded Wagga Wagga United.

How much is transfer revenue per club in 2030?

- In the millions. 50% of all players are youth players and are sold to the highest bidder. This is particularly lucrative for South East Asian clubs looking to naturalise 6”3’ defenders from Sydney’s northern beaches.

What is our best result in the ACL Elite?

- Still Melbourne City’s 2026 run.

Do we win the ACL 2?

- Every, single, year. The FFA are suspicious that the Japanese clubs are letting us win after they refuse to take a penalty in the dying moments of the 2028 ACL 2 final, clean our change rooms and go home.

Does the Salary cap survive? What about the salary floor?

- The salary cap is now considered a target for A-League clubs to hit, if they just had the money. Melbourne City exceed the salary cap openly, posting taunts directed at the other clubs “You are gonna sue?!? With what money?”.
What major changes do you see happening in the A league (open ended question)

- Topless round for the start of each A-League season. It starts as coaches and players but is quickly changed to players only after the appointment of the A-League first female coach threatens legal action if Patrick Kisnorbo doesn’t put his shirt back on.

Will the women's a league go full time pro?

- No

NST

Is there a home and away NST?

- No

Does the championship continue beyond the current 5 year commitment?

- It doesn’t make it to 2027

Which team comes from no where to become a regular qualifier for the championship?

- Adelaide Utd. Asian teams still struggle to find it on a map

Gotta go back to work now. This has been fun.

 

[HonestSpursFan]

Out in the group stage after losing all three matches. We are defeated by a far more technical European outfit, outpaced by a more athletic North American opposition and destroys by a suspiciously masculine CAF opposition.

Can we not make fun of Africans for being genetically different? Being trans or even gay/lesbian is illegal and dangerous in most African countries (other than some like Cape Verde or South Africa). I agree that women’s sports should be played by women’s athletes but Barbra Banda is a woman.

Anyway, African women’s football has a LONG way to go before it can reach the level of the Matildas. The loss to Nigeria and near loss to Zambia were major upsets. These teams are still fighting for proper facilities and Nigeria win AFCON all the time (though Morocco came close last time and South Africa’s Banyana Banyana won it the time before).

 

[HonestSpursFan]

What is our world ranking?
- 13th? Why not?

So better than now?