Australia - good day/bad day

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Good Day

AFL - Andrew can grin and gloat he has his MCG back in 2022.

NRL - No chance of losing revenue due to a season break.

Gold Coast - there should be more federal funding for their CG's since none will be tied up in the World Cup preparations.

FIFA - they are not silly enough to buy Australia as a new frontier. They just got two blank cheques signed over to them.

Bad Day

Soccer - this will not destroy the game in Australia - nothing can - but it will be a blow and enevitably will keep it as our third or fourth tier football code.

FFA - the pressure is on them now to make the A League a competition that can retain our best players.

Perth - kiss that new stadium goodbye until Subiaco starts crumbling (more).

Olympic Bids - the $50 million spent on one vote will surely make the Government and AOC extremely gun shy in the short term. I doubt Brisbane or Melbourne will get a look in for decades to come.

[LuigiVercotti]

Good Day

AFL - Andrew can grin and gloat he has his MCG back in 2022.

NRL - No chance of losing revenue due to a season break.

Gold Coast - there should be more federal funding for their CG's since none will be tied up in the World Cup preparations.

FIFA - they are not silly enough to buy Australia as a new frontier. They just got two blank cheques signed over to them.

Bad Day

Soccer - this will not destroy the game in Australia - nothing can - but it will be a blow and enevitably will keep it as our third or fourth tier football code.

FFA - the pressure is on them now to make the A League a competition that can retain our best players.

Perth - kiss that new stadium goodbye until Subiaco starts crumbling (more).

Olympic Bids - the $50 million spent on one vote will surely make the Government and AOC extremely gun shy in the short term. I doubt Brisbane or Melbourne will get a look in for decades to come.

Good Day:

Julia Gillard - played her part in the bid but unlike KRudd wasn't as intimate with it...she stayed home, avoided the fall out and even got to show off her acting licks (urgh...that voice would strip paint)

SBS - no future Aussie WC means Nine, Seven and Foxtel won't be hammering at the door to get WC broadcast rights. They'll stay with Les and Fozzie

Asian Cup 2015 - Australia will win this (we're the only candidate) and no doubt there will be a bit of 'suck on this' from FFA to the AFC, Bin Hamman and MaFIFA

Rugby Union: The 2011 WC in NZ will get lots more attention and won't be unfavourably contrasted with a Australia 2022 WC

Australian Football Media (e.g. FourFourTwo) - another story to keep the pages printing and or the websites browsed as cricket and Christmas dominate the next few weeks

Bad Day:

Ben Buckley - his vision and ability within the FFA must be questioned...first off there is the problems with the A league now the WC bid goes belly up. How can an ex-AFL guy bring the right message and passion to the sport

Generation Next Socceroos - another 12 years of away WCs to qualify for, with evidence on the board that our current generation wont be able to transition to the next without some serious problems

Holger Osieck - The Socceroos coach was brought in partly as a way of paying back Der Kaiser's evangelical support for Australia's bid (well that's how I see it ). He will need to win more games now to make sure the FFA don't say ta ta between now and 2014.

MaFIFA - lost the opportunity to take on and erode the power of three rival codes in arguably the most sports mad country in the world whilst having a safe and capable base to continue football's growth in the Asia-Pacific area.

Septic Blather - He's been shown who really runs MaFIFA now...it's Bin Hamman and Sung-Moon. I give him 1 more WC before he's gone if that

[Detroit]

Haha I like it. But yeah, the AFL and NRL executives and team owners are secretly partying down under. Probably somewhere in the Australian Outback, where the rest of the nation cannot see them.

Plus, the city of Gold Coast took a vacation and are partying with the AFL and NRL.

Oh and the 2015 cricket world cup for Australia/New Zealand is good.

Though the team will get better playing those qualifiers, as Asia will be really strong by the time 2022 qualification rolls around. So good day for their chances of advancing in their world cup.

[Sir Rols]

Good Day:

I won't to worry about investing any emotional capital in supporting Oz bids for a while now. It's gonna be decades before we have a realistic shot to land an Olympics again or crack through a FIFA WC. And the Gold Coast will set us up for the Commies for almost as long as well.

[LuigiVercotti]

Good Day:

I won't to worry about investing any emotional capital in supporting Oz bids for a while now. It's gonna be decades before we have a realistic shot to land an Olympics again or crack through a FIFA WC. And the Gold Coast will set us up for the Commies for almost as long as well.

Yeah...I get where you are coming from Rols. It's almost a relief to have no local bids to support, dealing with the roller coaster of emotions. Instead we can sit back and either praise or pillory all those bids from Johnny Foreigner

Having said that I wonder if there won't be a push for something like the IAAF World Champs down the road, and of course with 2015 AFC Cup a certainty we can show Hamman's Hacks what a real championship should feel and look like.

[Sir Rols]

And also ...

Good:

We've finally graduated into a mature football nation now we've learned to loathe FIFA.

[LuigiVercotti]

Just had a thought...anyone know if the FFA might be looking for a Women's World Cup bid? Canada has 2015 so maybe 2019 for a Matilda's WC?

[Sir Rols]

Just had a thought...anyone know if the FFA might be looking for a Women's World Cup bid? Canada has 2015 so maybe 2019 for a Matilda's WC?

They haven't won it yet - the decision's not till March next year according to Wikipedia. Enough time for us to make a late bid and crash the Canuck's party?

[Alexjc]

alas Australia...not enough $$$$$. Still with such a dysfuncional organization that is FIFA, you may have dodged an expensive bullet.

...Oh and don't give up on bidding big stuff, you've got to have something to look forward to!

[Aronious]

The fatal blow for our bid was not having an Australian on the Ex-Co.

If the AFC President were an Australian, even with Qatar in the race, I sense we would have won or at least made it to face of with the US.

It may be opportune to wait until we have more regional power until bidding again.

[LuigiVercotti]

The fatal blow for our bid was not having an Australian on the Ex-Co.

If the AFC President were an Australian, even with Qatar in the race, I sense we would have won or at least made it to face of with the US.

It may be opportune to wait until we have more regional power until bidding again.

The IOC and the AOC gives the FFA model for future bid success (assuming we ever want to play footsies with MaFIFA ever again).

Step One: Get an equivalent FFA rep into the MaFIFA hierarchy as per Kevan Gosper or John Coates in the IOC

Step Two: Play the African card by using seductive 'aid' as a means to stopping the influence of a wealthier and more politically active rival on the continent (as we did to Beijing for the 1993 vote)

Step Three: Defend the membership of MaFIFA from accusations of corruption and voting collusion whilst possibly condoning it behind closed doors

Step Four: Agree to build an entire new expensive and potentially redundant precinct dedicated to the glory of the relevant body (some would say that Sydney Olympic Park is an underused graveyard that was all about the IOC's demands for bigger and more impressive playground for the membership to preen about.

For now let's concentrate on hopefully playing and beating the Qataris in the next AFC Cup, and then get someone to start a move into the heart of darkness that is the upper echelons of MaFIFA

[stevie]

Argh! Gutted! We kiwis were really gunning on having the world cup right on oour doorstep.

[Detroit]

Well let's see how the 2015 Asian Cup goes. With likely no other bids, this could be a golden opportunity for Australian soccer.

And just for good measure, maybe they beat Qatar in the Asian Cup final?

[Faster]

The IOC and the AOC gives the FFA model for future bid success (assuming we ever want to play footsies with MaFIFA ever again).

Step One: Get an equivalent FFA rep into the MaFIFA hierarchy as per Kevan Gosper or John Coates in the IOC

Step Two: Play the African card by using seductive 'aid' as a means to stopping the influence of a wealthier and more politically active rival on the continent (as we did to Beijing for the 1993 vote)

Step Three: Defend the membership of MaFIFA from accusations of corruption and voting collusion whilst possibly condoning it behind closed doors

Step Four: Agree to build an entire new expensive and potentially redundant precinct dedicated to the glory of the relevant body (some would say that Sydney Olympic Park is an underused graveyard that was all about the IOC's demands for bigger and more impressive playground for the membership to preen about.

For now let's concentrate on hopefully playing and beating the Qataris in the next AFC Cup, and then get someone to start a move into the heart of darkness that is the upper echelons of MaFIFA

Your last point is a little off, considering the IOC told Sydney to scale back the size of the Olympic Park, something the Australians didn't listen to.

[Sir Rols]

The Good News is with eight years till the next bid campaign even comes up, and 12 till we’d be eligible under current rules, so a lot can happen and be done. And, honestly, you’d need that time at least to be able to pick yourself up after being caught like kangaroos in the spotlight and being summarily dispatched with the humiliation of a single vote (with only Beckenbauer loyal at the end). A bloody good reminder that when it comes to FIFA, we’re really a very small fish in a large and ferocious pond.

Bad News is the next time we can front up, we’re gonna in all likelihood have to face the bullet we thought we’d dodged this time – China. And on the results of this foray, we’re gonna have to come up with a more compelling case for hosting than “we’ve shown a bit of flair at staging these big sports events, and we think we’re pretty fun and likeable and can show you a good time” to get past the “story” they’ll be selling. We’ve got to be able to show that we’re credibly deserving.

The two bedrocks that will underpin any chances at all again in the future will have to be the A-League and the Roos themselves. Let’s face it, soccer isn’t ever going to be the dominant sport here. Nor should it have to be – we, like the US, have our own traditions and passions. But Aussies have shown that at the international level, they can more than hold their own against more traditional football powers with their support of the Socceroos. The A-League, at least still at this stage, fuels off the fortunes of the Socceroos. Let’s just hope that the great goal of joining the AFC – that we’ll get better and more consistent competition and start to build our experience and prowess – pays off. It’s up to them now to fulfil that promise. The Asian Cup next year and in 2015 will be good campaigns for us to show if we can be as good as we fancy ourselves to be and that we can at least be powers within Asia. And that Australians can start passionately embracing the team more than just every four years.

As for the A League – I reckon that rather than looking to expansion within the regional centres and second teams within the big capitals, they should also take a leaf out of Rugby’s Super 14’s book and look to more of an international concept. The A League already bridges Asia and Oceania with the Wellington team – let’s expand on that, bring back a second NZ team from Auckland. And Singapore have been apparently suggesting interest in joining as well. As a national league, we’ll always be dwarfed by the giants overseas. As a regional league, it could get a whole lot more respected … and interesting.

And before we bid next, we’ve got to look long and hard at ourselves about why we want to bid. Is it because we have a passion for sport in general? Can we really claim we have a passion for soccer? Or do we just like hosting prestige events?

[Alexjc]

Good analogy Rols,

Lets focus on a local regional competition. And build up a mass tournament from there.

Australia and for that matter NZ have their own 'national' iconic sports. Like the US and Canada, really don't consider Football anything above an 'ex pat' played event. Most players in Australia have Mediterrainian or Eastern European names. In NZ, mainly ex pat UK. The only time Football gets a mention is around 18 months before a WC and usually during qualification time.

As for missing out, well this was a true case of Australia being blindly naive, ie thinking that it hosted major sports events so should automatically be a front runner. (Same could be said for England) Considering that the three major English speaking Sports nations were turfed out so spectaculary could speak lots...Internationally, politically?

...Prehaps revenge on all three for starting an uncontrollable War in the Middle East?...Who knows?

[LuigiVercotti]

Your last point is a little off, considering the IOC told Sydney to scale back the size of the Olympic Park, something the Australians didn't listen to.

First off the last issue was part of a purely ironical post, secondly the original plans for Homebush included a velodrome (which was shifted as part of a reduction in the scale of the area) and thirdly the NSW state government and OCA made a conscious effort to actually humanize and redevelop the original Homebush plans in a manner which were antithetical to the grandiose visions of the now much less used Athens and Beijing Olympic precincts (for reference read the UNSW Press publication 'Staging the Games' edited by Richard Cashman. Finally there is considerable public opinion in this city that still regards Sydney Olympic Park (even within the context of its short and long term ubiquity as well as the actual achievements represented in the hosting of events during the games) as an expensive paean to the Olympic movement's disconnect with everyday social needs...a standpoint I may take issue with on some grounds however it is real and has support.

[Sir Rols]

Good analogy Rols,

Lets focus on a local regional competition. And build up a mass tournament from there.

Australia and for that matter NZ have their own 'national' iconic sports. Like the US and Canada, really don't consider Football anything above an 'ex pat' played event. Most players in Australia have Mediterrainian or Eastern European names. In NZ, mainly ex pat UK. The only time Football gets a mention is around 18 months before a WC and usually during qualification time.

As for missing out, well this was a true case of Australia being blindly naive, ie thinking that it hosted major sports events so should automatically be a front runner. (Same could be said for England) Considering that the three major English speaking Sports nations were turfed out so spectaculary could speak lots...Internationally, politically?

...Prehaps revenge on all three for starting an uncontrollable War in the Middle East?...Who knows?

Oh Alex, I agree and readily admit, we were incredibly naive in this race.

I still remember, though, the outraged wobbly you chucked the time I dared use the word "naive" to describe Abuja's bidding efforts and "ambassador" recruitment policies.

[Alexjc]

...I still remember, though, the outraged wobbly you chucked the time I dared use the word "naive" to describe Abuja's bidding efforts and "ambassador" recruitment policies.

Nah...I think that was your estranged GB partner, JJ.

[Sir Rols]

Nah...I think that was your estranged GB partner, JJ.

You reckon? As a reminder, check here Abuja Reaction from post #9 on.

[Alexjc]

Holy F##k Rol;s I did too...

Absolutly humblest Apologies

Sh#t that was a flashback not worth visiting again - did I really say all those things

[Aronious]

As for the A League – I reckon that rather than looking to expansion within the regional centres and second teams within the big capitals, they should also take a leaf out of Rugby's Super 14's book and look to more of an international concept. The A League already bridges Asia and Oceania with the Wellington team – let's expand on that, bring back a second NZ team from Auckland. And Singapore have been apparently suggesting interest in joining as well. As a national league, we'll always be dwarfed by the giants overseas. As a regional league, it could get a whole lot more respected … and interesting.

That's not a bad idea actually.

Including somewhere like Singapore could be a real boon for a country I believe doesn't have any major domestic competition (even with teams in Maylasia?)

Perhaps further expansion to included teams from SEA (hint hint: Thailand!) could be a long term option. I'm not sure bigger countries like Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia would be interested in abandoning their local competitions in favour of a regional competition with a reduced number of teams from their own turf but its probably more financially logical.

My guess is by the time Australia comes around to bidding again, we might even seen a more robust politcal/cultural alliance between Australia, New Zealand and a lot of SEA countries. Maybe not to the extent that the EU exists, but still a much "closer" region. Especially between Australia and Indonesia.

Indonesia could well be one of the biggest global economies in a couple of decades and being our closest neighbour, we'd be incredibly foolish to ignore them...despite our rather cautious past.

[LuigiVercotti]

That's not a bad idea actually.

Including somewhere like Singapore could be a real boon for a country I believe doesn't have any major domestic competition (even with teams in Maylasia?)

Perhaps further expansion to included teams from SEA (hint hint: Thailand!) could be a long term option. I'm not sure bigger countries like Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia would be interested in abandoning their local competitions in favour of a regional competition with a reduced number of teams from their own turf but its probably more financially logical.

My guess is by the time Australia comes around to bidding again, we might even seen a more robust politcal/cultural alliance between Australia, New Zealand and a lot of SEA countries. Maybe not to the extent that the EU exists, but still a much "closer" region. Especially between Australia and Indonesia.

Indonesia could well be one of the biggest global economies in a couple of decades and being our closest neighbour, we'd be incredibly foolish to ignore them...despite our rather cautious past.

No, no, no and NO regarding South East Asian teams. Remember how the NBL got all excited about the Singapore Slingers?They were going to be part of the brave new media popular Australian national basketball league. Now the Slingers are nowhere to be seen in Australia whilst the NBL struggles to find again the level of support it had during the glory days of the Wildcats, the 36ers, the Bullets and the Kings.

And by the way, heard of the ACL? Remember Adelaide United's run to the final in 2008? Heard that with the expansion of the A league from 10 teams to 11 and then hopefully to 12 with the addition of Sydney Rovers next year we will get a third team into the knock out stage and hence be engaging with those very teams from Indonesia, Malaysia, the K league, the J League etc etc without having to actually integrate them into our own competition.

As for NZ's status in the A League with the Wellington Phoenix the FFA needed special permission and a unique arrangement from the AFC (yes, Bin Hammam's empire) for the Kiwis to contribute a team. This isn't an arrangement to benefit the A League beyond our local shores in Asia; it's all about incresing the sales value fo A league TV rights to Foxtel.

The first best way that the A league can move forward is to reconcile the division that still exists between the new fans that were brought onto the soccer bandwagon around the 2005/2006 season with those who have been around since the days of Morwell Falcons, St George Budapest, Parramatta Melita Eagles, KB United etc etc. Sure, the old guard of soccer in Australia was wrecked by some pretty damaging ethic rivalries however there is a huge groundswell of supporters out there who still feel disenfranchised and resent the Ben Buckley/Frank Lowy FFA. If this means establishing a proper second division and cup contest that allows the likes of a Sydney Olympic taking on Melbourne Heart in a Cup final, so much the better.

Also forget about engaging SEA clubs until the likes of the NQ Fury and GC United get their act together, preferably with the support of the FFA in conjunction with supportive local commercial interests and fans. Forget expecting a team from Bangkok or Suribaya taking on Perth Glory and drawing a crowd, let's see the Clive Palmer owned Gold Coast filling Skilled Stadium with fans from say the Brisbane Roar in a real passionate local derby a la Everton Vs Liverpool or Chelsea Vs Arsenal. The standards may not be the same but the passion for the teams could be if given the right directions and support.

Engaging with the AFC via the Socceroos qualifying via this grouping is a great win for the local game. The participation of A League teams in the Asian Champions League is also hugely beneficial. But looking at SEA teams becoming part of our own domestic league is a dud idea that will add only more expense to Australian (and 1 Kiwi) clubs that are yet to fully engage with the entire domestic soccer fanbase.

[Detroit]

Maybe Papua New Guinea?

But instead of putting half the league in Sydney(every sports league in Australia does that) they should go to Tasmania, Auckland, and possibly Christchurch. Keep it regional. And to make everything easier, just make NZ bid to Asia

[LuigiVercotti]

Maybe Papua New Guinea?

But instead of putting half the league in Sydney(every sports league in Australia does that) they should go to Tasmania, Auckland, and possibly Christchurch. Keep it regional. And to make everything easier, just make NZ bid to Asia

You're joking right?

First off PNG has no credibility whatsoever as a location for anything relating to the A league (or even the Z league for that matter ). The national sport of PNG is Rugby League and as demonstrated by the failure of the Kumuls in the recent RL Four Nations then if they suck as badly as they do at the sport they care about then why the f would they even be remotely competitive in a sport they give stuff all interest in. Plus Port Moresby is one of the most crime ridden capitals in the Asia-Pacific region which would be a nightmare logistically for any A league team to go to. If you want to start building hypothetical interest in a Pacific Islander football nation take a geek at the Solomon islands; they have a far more impressive history (including dumping the Kiwis out of qualification) when it comes to football.

Secondly Sydney is not where 'half the league' is (the only sport where this silly comment is justifiable is in the NRL which was built around the old NSWRL Sydney comp). As it stands with the A League there are two teams in Melbourne and two in Brisbane/Gold Coast, which easily outbalance the single solitary team from Sydney (and since the Rovers wont be going ahead then the Sky Blues at Sydney FC will have this market to themselves for sometime yet). The AFL, the NBL, the Super 15, the W League, etc etc are all sports competitions/leagues where there is no evidence whatsoever for 'every sports league in Australia does that' comments.

As for NZ perhaps if you knew anything about the A League you might recall that the Wellington Phoenix actually originated as a result of the first iteration of a Kiwi presence in the domestic comp, the New Zealand Knights. The Knights played out of Auckland and were a disaster, lasting only two seasons and coming last in each season. Their crowd average in the last season was a paltry 3,000 odd. For the FFA to countenance splitting the NZ market (which is ultimately outside their influence anyway) with a team in Auckland, as well as the establish Wellington and perhaps a third team down in Christchurch is sheer bloody stupidity.

Finally as long as NZF can be guaranteed the financial certainty of qualification via Oceania (hence coming up against piss-weak teams from Vanauatu, Tahiti, PNG etc etc) they have no imperative to come over to the AFC. Additionally with the reduction of qualification places for the AFC that will happen in 2022 (there is no way UEFA and CONEMBOL will allow the AFC a full fifth place in 2022's build up) the Kiwis are better off staying with their almost 1/2 guaranteed place via an AFC play off.