03 February 2015
The AFC Asian Cup in Australia was a fantastic tournament, but is it really as unexpected as many think?
One of the pleasing things about the success of the Asian Cup that finished on the weekend is how many people have written articles or spoken about how good the Asian Cup is, and how football can bring people together like no other sport.
It was also pleasing to hear a sports journalist on the ABC on Monday morning who offered that: “If you were a 15-year-old who could kick a ball, why would you play AFL or rugby league when you can play for Australia in genuine competition, and possibly earn as much in one week as you can in a year if you’re good enough?”
Well, yes.
And then I read this.
“If I was a betting man, I’d be prepared to back our code.
“The progress we’ve made in the years since I played my first national league game is significant – and it has been achieved in the timeframe of one generation of players. I believe many key indicators of success are in place which confirm this.
“The future of our game lies in the many things I have just outlined: media, money, quality; giving priority to our national team; and becoming closer to Asia.
“However, the real strength of our game is in our own backyards. The hundreds of thousands of young people who play football will increasingly have exposure to the worldwide popularity and appeal, and career potential, that the game offers through the accessibility and emerging prominence of the internet and pay TV. Unlike me – who didn’t see a football match on television until I was 10 and could not really relate to the odd match of the day in then remote England – the playing fields of the world are not only on TV screens, but also on personal computers. I am hopeful that young people who play our game today will be influenced by this more global view of the world and will want Australia and themselves to be an important part of it.
“If this is the case, we stand at the brink of being the sport of the future in Australia: the sport for the 21st century.”
Or rather, re-read it.
Because it wasn’t written after the 2015 Asian Cup, but seventeen years ago in 1998 by Frank Farina in his playing biography My World is Round.
As an event, the Asian Cup tournament was almost six years in the making. Well done to all those who have played a part in those years.
But as part of the pantheon of Australian football, the success of the Asian Cup was not because of the three years of its organisation or six years of its planning. It was decades in the making.
Even without the Socceroos winning, it was something to savour for all those who have pulled on a green-and-gold shirt before; or who have put up nets, sizzled sausages, painted dressing rooms or coached kids; and it was a wonderful demonstration of all that we value about our cultural and linguistic diversity and history.
While it was an opportunity to welcome many new fans to the game (and let’s hope they stay), the Asian Cup was really for the true believers. It was football as we know it.