Australia v Brazil

[Lignum]

Football already has more participants than any other code.

Thats true. And its funny that some people reckon soccer has a higher participation rate. It does if you include primary school kids. But Football will always be Australias number one sport and soccer will only just have the anual four year burst

[boban]

If you want to pretend that you dont primarily use your hands in AFL, that's fine. If you want to believe that you have higher participation rates, that's fine. We can all stick our head in the sand and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't play football and that AFL is the most popular game in the world.

Read this excerpt from your own (AFL) administration and have a think about it. The full story is at http://www.iafc.com.au/soccer.html

The biggest threat of all to Australian football and the AFL is soccer. At the junior level Australian soccer has been the envy of the other football codes, with over 300,000 kids playing the world game. By contrast Australian football and rugby league manage to attract approximately 170,000 and 95,000 respectively.
Due to a number of factors Australian soccer has been unable to take advantage of these vastly superior numbers, much to the relief of the other codes. These factors include the incompetence of Soccer Australia and the failure of the Socceroos to qualify for the greatest prize of them all, the FIFA World Cup.
That is why we should all be alarmed at recent events. The decision of FIFA to award Oceania direct qualification to the World Cup is an absolute disaster for our game. The failure of the Socceroos against Iran in 1998 and Uruguay in 2002, were greeted with a sigh of relief by the AFL, but this will no longer be the case.
The potential of soccer to adversely impact on our game should not be underestimated or lightly dismissed. The most watched game in Australia in 2002 was not the AFL Grand Final but the World Cup final between Brazil and Germany. Matches involving the Socceroos in Australia have drawn massive crowds, with an atmosphere rarely experienced at AFL matches.

But it is at the grassroots level where the impact of the rise of soccer will be felt the most. If the Socceroos qualify for the 2006 World Cup (and based on past results it is fair bet that they will) then our sport will suffer greatly. How many of us grew up dreaming of playing for our beloved VFL club and kicking the winning goal in the grand final?


Instead, a whole generation of Australian children will dream of wearing the green and gold of the Socceroos and of scoring the winning goal in the World Cup.

I dont knock AFL or NRL, but rather I enjoy watching them and participated in NRL for my school. Conversely, most of their strong supporters seem to unmercilessly knock the real football code at every opportunity. All seems a bit like small man syndrome to me.

[bitingmidge]

All seems a bit like small man syndrome to me.

So where does Footbag fit in?


P

[Lignum]

We can all stick our head in the sand and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't play football and that AFL is the most popular game in the world. .

I think if you read what i said, i never sad that, so quote me properly.

I actually was under the impression fishing was the number one participation sport followed by netball then soccer

I dont knock AFL or NRL, but rather I enjoy watching them and participated in NRL for my school. Conversely, most of their strong supporters seem to unmercilessly knock the real football code at every opportunity. All seems a bit like small man syndrome to me.

Small man syndrome What i said was "But Football will always be Australias number one sport and soccer will only just have the anual four year burst" It dosnt matter how much you love soccer or how many play it around the world,it will never be number one in this country.

[damienhazo]

Wow! That excerpt is an honest, well-written piece of research. I played AR for Assumption and RU for Nudgee and found both games interesting - wasn't very good unfortunately.

What most Aussies don't understand is that football in Europe and from the Mexican border down to the Antarctic, is not a game - it's a religion! The best players are honoured like gods - and paid twice as much. The advertising - be it Coke, Addidas, or Mercedes, streches into the 9 digit range.

Now don't get me wrong, I love watching a game of Aussi Rules or Union, but it's small fries. The stadiums here seat up to 60,000 people, and they're all over the place...

And when mum's little precious takes to the field, you can bet that 9 out of ten are happy the opposition is more interested in kicking the ball than pole-driving Thommy's head into the ground...

If Australia does well in the World Cup, even the little ruffians will show interest in the game. Might be time to get into the sports field modification business...


Damien

[Lignum]

Read this excerpt from your own (AFL) administration and have a think about it. The full story is at http://www.iafc.com.au/soccer.html




.

:mad: You have TOTALY mislead us. The article WAS NOT written by AFL Administration, but written by Brian Clarke from a soccer web site and he was giving HIS interpretation of AFL participation rates based around the exclusion of Aus Kick:mad:

[boban]

I think if you read what i said, i never sad that, so quote me properly.

I know you didn't say that, but your being a little selective there. That last comment was not a direct response but a flipant comment in conclusion. You did however insinuate that soccer is not football and has lower participation rates that Australian Rules football.

Small man syndrome What i said was "But Football will always be Australias number one sport and soccer will only just have the anual four year burst" It dosnt matter how much you love soccer or how many play it around the world,it will never be number one in this country.

And then there's the Asian Cup, Confederations Cup, Olympics and World Cup qualifiers through Asia (within which we are finally a member). AFL will always be popular, but Football will become more so now that the wogs no longer control the national league.

BTW AFL is big in three states only. It will never be the number one sport in NSW and Qld.

[boban]

:mad: You have TOTALY mislead us. The article WAS NOT written by AFL Administration, but written by Brian Clarke from a soccer web site and he was giving HIS interpretation of AFL participation rates based around the exclusion of Aus Kick:mad:

Oh really,

The role of the International Australian Football Council (IAFC) is to promote and develop Australian Rules football internationally.


That's where that article comes from.

[bitingmidge]

I love it when the football crowd turns violent!


P

[boban]

I love it when the football crowd turns violent!


P

You aint seen nothin yet. Hold on, I'm going to get my flares

[bitingmidge]

You aint seen nothin yet. Hold on, I'm going to get my flares

What!!!

We're having 70's flashbacks now???

P

[boban]

Funny you say that, it looks to me like the 70's fashions are back again. Did anyone see Nerds FC tonight.

Time to raid the old man's wardrobe. NOT.

[Shedhand]

OK you bunch of recidivists...who put the sex option in MY poll....:mad:

[masoth]

I reckon Australia has the ability to win against Brazil, but I'd much prefer , in this round, a 1-1 draw. That would almost certainly have the team go to the next round (by finishing 2nd in the Group).
Who know what they might then encounter - beating Brazil this time would have EVERY potential game played in a brutal manner to (ahem, ligitimately) "damage" the team.

[Daddles]

Us beating Brazil would be the worst thing for whoever winds up against them in the final - methinks da Brazilians would be a tad annoyed by being beaten by a team, to quote the seppos, that is 'only there to make up the numbers'. Ah well, I didn't notice said seppos having a successful start (ahh, poetic justice). Japan are the Asian champions - our giving them a hiding will open a few eyes.

Now, imagine this.
The socceroos, on a high after taking out the Japs, go on to beat Brazil.
Japan, rather irritated by being beaten by the socceroos, beat Brazil.
Croatia manage a draw against Brazil.
all of a sudden, Brazil's out of the first round ... and it's all our fault

Richard
hey, I've got all this week to dream, don't spoil it for me