tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/socceroos-6106/articlesSocceroos – The Conversation2023-08-11T08:01:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113382023-08-11T08:01:13Z2023-08-11T08:01:13ZFrom handing out their own flyers, to sell-out games: how the Matildas won over a nation<p>As the Matildas prepare for their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup sudden-death quarter final against France, they have become the hottest sporting property in the country. For example, formerly uninterested major media just days ago <a href="https://sport.optus.com.au/news/womens-world-cup-2023/os61076/matildas-record-shirt-sales-helicopter-fifa-womens-world-cup-2023">hired a helicopter</a> to spy on one of the team’s training sessions.</p>
<p>The expensive, paparazzi-style move was designed to gather exclusive footage of the team, particularly of injured Matildas captain Sam Kerr.</p>
<p>That conservative media was going to such lengths to gain footage of the team speaks volumes of the starkly different landscape the current Matildas are operating in, and the evolution of a team that’s gone from few resources and relatively anonymity to equal pay and national treasure status.</p>
<h2>No longer an afterthought</h2>
<p>More people watched the <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/fifa-womens-world-cup/matildas-set-new-tv-ratings-record-while-sinking-denmark-in-fifa-womens-world-cup-c-11520596">Matildas’ Round of 16 match against Denmark</a> on Channel Seven, the highest rating show of the year to date, than watched the men’s NRL and AFL grand finals last year.</p>
<p>Channel Seven is also <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/channel-7s-extraordinary-matildas-decision-for-world-cup-quarterfinal/news-story/ddd00fa51e40971c940f720be2ad9f0d">delaying Saturday’s news bulletin</a> to broadcast the Matildas’ quarter final, while the AFL will be broadcasting the match in the stadium before the men’s West Coast Eagles versus Fremantle derby.</p>
<p>This is all particularly interesting given <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-03/fifa-boss-threatens-women-world-cup-blackout/102295974">FIFA had to castigate broadcasters for undervaluing the broadcast rights</a> in the tournament lead-up.</p>
<p>What’s more, Matildas jerseys are <a href="https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news/football-australia-celebrates-landmark-fifa-womens-world-cup-and-record-breaking-success">outselling the Socceroos’ jerseys by two to one</a>. It’s worth remembering they were unavailable to buy until recent years because manufacturers didn’t deem there to be a market for them.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fans-are-finding-out-just-how-disappointing-merchandise-for-womens-football-is-211248">Fans are finding out just how disappointing merchandise for women's football is</a>
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<p>More than 1.7 million tickets have been sold, exceeding FIFA’s stretch target of 1.5 million. And the total crowd figure record of 1,353,506 set in 2015 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/womens-world-cup-attendance-record-exceeded-last-16-2023-08-06">had been surpassed</a> with 12 games to spare.</p>
<p>That’s a far cry from the Matildas’ early years, when players had to produce and hand out flyers to try to attract people to watch their games, or phone television stations and beg them to broadcast matches. When the team travelled to the 2003 world cup, not a single journalist turned up to the airport press conference.</p>
<p>It’s also quite the contrast from the traditional media coverage approach that relegates women’s sport to an afterthought. A <a href="https://news.usc.edu/183765/womens-sports-tv-news-coverage-sportscenter-online-usc-study">30-year study</a> of women’s sports coverage, published in 2021, determined major media generally adopt a “one and done” approach: a box-ticking exercise, providing a token women’s sports story before a succession of in-depth men’s sports stories.</p>
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<h2>So, how did we get here?</h2>
<p>It was 1988 when the intrepid Matildas ventured out to their inaugural “world cup” – a pilot tournament FIFA only staged after <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190626-ellen-wille-mother-women-football-norway-fifa-world-cup-france">concerted pressure</a> from other organising bodies and women footballers themselves. </p>
<p>There were some significant changes considered or implemented – ones that would not have been tabled for the men’s game. Matches were truncated from 90 to 80 minutes; there was some patronising discussion of whether women would play with a <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/fifa-women-s-world-cup-official-history-fifa/book/9781787393530.html">smaller ball</a>; and with the tournament absent any true FIFA badging, the players had to pay $850 each for the privilege of participating. They pulled that fee together by fundraising through lamington drives, car washes, and casino nights.</p>
<p>Still, the Australian team quickly made history by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=466728760806708">defeating Brazil</a> in an upset victory in the tournament’s first match, setting the tone for an upwards trajectory.</p>
<p>However, the 1995, 1999, and 2003 tournaments were not, by the Matildas’ own standards, considered breakout successes. A harsh red card for Sonia Gegenhuber in the team’s first group-stage match against Denmark in 1995 cruelled the team’s chances from the outset. And 1999 saw <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-26/meet-alicia-ferguson-cook-matilda-wwc-record-fastest-red-card/102272428">Alicia Ferguson awarded the fastest red card in history</a> for an ill-timed tackle two minutes into the game against China.</p>
<p>The Matildas’ sustained upward course arguably began in 2007. The World Cup that year was the first womens’ tournament for which SBS broadcast all the games. It also became the first time the Matildas <a href="https://www.matildas.com.au/news/day-westfield-matildas-made-history-2007-fifa-womens-world-cup">progressed to the knockout rounds</a>.</p>
<p>Although laundry and internet costs weren’t yet covered, that era also marked the beginning of the players receiving (albeit nominal) daily allowances and playing contracts of up to approximately A$10,000. Administrators were able to leverage that 2007 success into the establishment of the W-League (now renamed the A-League Women’s), the domestic semi-professional football league that helped the Matildas become the first Australian team (women’s or men’s) <a href="https://www.matildas.com.au/news/westfield-matildas-win-afc-asian-cup">to win the Asian Cup</a>. It’s also a development pathway for the current Matildas.</p>
<p>2011 marked the emergence of the Matildas’ “golden generation”, with then-youthful players Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr attending their first Women’s World Cup.</p>
<p>All the focus has been on Kerr in recent years, but at the time, Foord was tipped to be the player to watch, and was named the tournament’s best young player.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fifa-womens-world-cup-professional-women-athletes-are-still-fighting-for-equitable-sponsorship-209781">FIFA Women’s World Cup: Professional women athletes are still fighting for equitable sponsorship</a>
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<h2>Striking for pay parity</h2>
<p>To understand the groundbreaking success the Matildas are now experiencing, we must look at the lonely stand they took across the road from governing body Football Federation Australia’s office in 2015.</p>
<p>They were off contract, unpaid, and without medical insurance. Now lapsed, they had been on contracts of around A$22,000 a year: in the ballpark of Australia’s poverty line.</p>
<p>So the Matildas went on strike for two months to draw attention to the imperiled nature of their footballing careers, which demanded full-time, elite-athlete commitment and results, but with part-time, amateur pay.</p>
<p>The headlines that followed encapsulated the exasperation many felt (and still feel) at the inequity women athletes experience. This included the <a href="https://junkee.com/the-matildas-have-gone-on-strike-because-oh-my-god-can-we-just-pay-them-properly/65061">Junkee headline</a></p>
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<p>The Matildas Have Gone on Strike Because, Oh My God Can We Just Pay Them Properly?</p>
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<p>The Matildas achieved <a href="https://www.matildas.com.au/news/historic-cba-close-footballs-gender-pay-gap">pay parity</a> with the Socceroos in 2019, but the groundwork for that achievement was laid with that 2015 strike.</p>
<p>The year 2017 also marked an important moment in the team’s evolution. It was when the team <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/12/matildas-break-new-ground-as-fans-scramble-for-tickets-on-resale-market">sold out Penrith Stadium</a> with a then-record crowd of about 17,000.</p>
<p>The crowd figure signalled there was an engaged audience and market there – it had just been under-catered for.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fifa-womens-world-cup-gender-equity-in-sports-remains-an-issue-despite-the-major-strides-being-made-209778">FIFA Women's World Cup: Gender equity in sports remains an issue despite the major strides being made</a>
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<p>Fast forward to 2019. Off-pitch distractions imperilled the Matildas’ group-stage world cup results. The team was steered through the tournament by temporarily installed coach Ante Milicic, after incumbent coach Alen Stajcic had been sacked for reasons still not entirely clear.</p>
<p>With the rise of European nations that had invested heavily in women’s football, Australian football had stood still. The Matildas’ opening loss against debutantes Italy put the team under pressure. However, the players then produced the “Miracle of Montpellier”, winning 3-2 against superstars Brazil to salvage their tournament – before being bundled out by Norway on penalties in the round of 16.</p>
<p>This year, the media’s initial focus was on Kerr’s troublesome calf and then late substitution decisions by coach Tony Gustavsson. Under pressure following a shock loss to minnows Nigeria, the Matildas recorded a resounding 4–0 victory over reigning Olympic champions Canada.</p>
<p>Now, in a few pressure-filled hours, Australia’s most successful football team have the potential to make history: to progress to the semi finals for the first time ever.</p>
<p>A win would see Matildas’ media coverage and fandom enter uncharted, euphoric territory. But with record crowds, viewership, and merchandise sales, and with several of their players now household names, in many ways the Matildas will already have won before they even set foot on the pitch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211338/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Crawford has worked in and around football for more than a decade, including having previously worked for Football Federation Australia/Football Australia.</span></em></p>Whatever happens in the quarter final against France, in many ways the Matildas have already won before they even set foot on the pitch.Fiona Crawford, Adjunct Lecturer at the Centre for Justice, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1957362022-12-05T04:24:22Z2022-12-05T04:24:22ZQatar World Cup: Socceroos’ best ever performance, and what it means for the game in Australia ahead of hosting the Women’s World Cup<p>Before the men’s FIFA World Cup commenced, the Socceroos’ most noteworthy contribution seemed likely to be their pre-emptive video campaign on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/28/socceroos-win-wide-support-for-campaign-highlighting-world-cup-host-qatars-human-rights-record">human rights</a> in host country Qatar.</p>
<p>The political debate receded somewhat once the action on the field kicked off. After <a href="https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/11/22/clash-in-qatar/">losing</a> their opening game heavily to world champions France, the focus was set to be on the deficiencies of the team, coach and organisation of the game in Australia.</p>
<p>But unexpectedly, the Socceroos, ranked 38th in the world by FIFA, won two consecutive games for the first time in their World Cup history, and qualified for the knockout stages for the first time since 2006. There, they faced Lionel Messi’s Argentina, ranked 3rd in the world.</p>
<p>While their 2022 World Cup road then ended in an <a href="https://au.sports.yahoo.com/fifa-world-cup-2022-socceroos-win-footbal-world-argentina-heroics-222613327.html">honourable 2-1 defeat</a>, their historic run is a chance to reflect on the meaning of the Qatar experience for football in Australia, which has a troubled local history, as we look ahead to co-hosting the Women’s World Cup next year.</p>
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<h2>Taking on the world game</h2>
<p>Those in Australia who only pay attention to football (or soccer) because of noisy World Cup intrusion tend to underestimate such effort and accomplishment.</p>
<p>The two biggest football codes in the country, Australian rules and rugby league, are far less globally significant. Australian rules is played professionally only in Australia, while rugby league is dominated by Australasia.</p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.rlwc2021.com/">Rugby League World Cup</a> in the UK saw the Australian men’s team win it for the 12th time in 16 attempts, while the women’s team have won the last three successive tournaments.</p>
<p>By contrast, the Socceroos have never come close to winning the football World Cup. This is unsurprising given FIFA has 211 affiliated <a href="https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations">national teams</a>, compared to the <a href="https://www.intrl.sport/member-nations/">International Rugby League’s</a> 34 with two pending.</p>
<p>After first qualifying in 1974 and failing to win a match or score a goal, Australia didn’t return to the FIFA World Cup for 32 years. Before Qatar, the Socceroos had won only two out of 13 World Cup games <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/soccer/news/australia-world-cup-history-record-last-appearance-best-finish-socceroos-fifa-tournament/vctvornntn7tts4ssnkcdery">since 2006</a>, conceding twice as many goals as they’d scored.</p>
<p>To win consecutive games in Qatar and progress to the last 16 for only the second time was impressive, especially as the current team consists mostly of “journeymen” and has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-16/socceroos-dna-who-are-these-blokes/101154112">no outright stars</a>.</p>
<p>Being on the same pitch as superstars like Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, both of whom scored against the Socceroos in Qatar, signalled both the scale of this achievement and the tough task ahead for a game with a <a href="https://www.joegorman.com.au/the-death-and-life-of-australian-soccer">troubled history</a> in Australia.</p>
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<h2>Multicultural stigma and football diplomacy</h2>
<p>The late Socceroo and commentator <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/sheilas-wogs-and-poofters-9781742746975">Johnny Warren</a> observed that men’s football in Australia has been widely stigmatised as feminised, fey and foreign. This <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Containment-of-Soccer-in-Australia-Fencing-Off-the-World-Game/Hallinan-Hughson/p/book/9781138880580">prejudice</a> sometimes resurfaces, especially when any cases of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2021.1897234">crowd disorder</a> generate tabloid <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1326365X16640329">headlines</a> about mob violence and old ethnic enmities being imported to Australia.</p>
<p>Ethnic community clubs have been <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9780080569727/sport-social-capital-matthew-nicholson-russell-hoye">the cradle of football</a> in Australia. But when football became fully professional in 2004, this contribution was actively repressed under its new regime, which was run by the mega-rich Frank Lowy at the urging of Prime Minister <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/the-fathers-of-australian-soccers-success-20051119-ge19rz.html">John Howard</a>. A condition of public funding was the “<a href="https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/10159/1/2007004437.pdf">de-ethnicisation</a>” of the game, which included banning ethnic-related names, emblems and chants.</p>
<p>The attempted erasure of the local game’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07256868.2017.1265490">cultural history and present</a> is at odds with its officially-sanctioned use in <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/football-diplomacy">football diplomacy</a>.</p>
<p>Australia left the small Oceania Football Confederation in 2006 for the bigger stage of its <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315680521-13/afc-asian-cup-david-rowe">Asian</a> counterpart, the Asian Football Confederation. But the move had long been <a href="https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/9781526131065/9781526131065.00018.xml">opposed</a> by some Asian nations. Australia was seen, especially in the Middle East, as an affluent agent of the West.</p>
<p>Ironically, Qatar comprehensively defeated Australia in FIFA’s now-discredited <a href="https://www.fairplaypublishing.com.au/products/whatever-it-takes-the-inside-story-of-the-fifa-way">bidding process</a> for hosting the 2022 World Cup. A further irony is that in countering China’s ambitions in the region, Australia is enthusiastically using <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/sports-diplomacy-2030.pdf">sports diplomacy</a> to mend fences with the same Pacific nations it previously abandoned in the football world.</p>
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<h2>Up next: co-hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup</h2>
<p>Still, following the Socceroos’ success in Qatar there will soon be plentiful opportunities for regional sports diplomacy when Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand host the 2023 FIFA <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023">Women’s World Cup</a>. </p>
<p>The Australian women’s soccer team, the Matildas, has a higher ranking in world football than the national men’s team – 13th compared to 38th.</p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.chelseafc.com/en/teams/profile/sam-kerr">Sam Kerr</a> has a much higher global profile than any current Socceroo. She’s currently playing for London club Chelsea in the top division of women’s football in England, and has finished third in the women’s Ballon d'Or (the prize for the world’s best player) in both the last two years.</p>
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<p>This World Cup will be the biggest sport event in Australia since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It will also be a major indicator of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2021.1904267">post-peak pandemic</a> resurgence of women’s sport and its challenge to traditional male domination.</p>
<p>Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, refugees, and the environment, among other major political issues, are likely to be subjected to increased global scrutiny.</p>
<p>The Socceroos earned respect for how they began and finished their 2022 World Cup campaign. But as I suspect Australia will discover in 2023, when it comes to hosting mega sport events, it’s not only illiberal countries like Qatar that feel the heat.</p>
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<p><em>Correction: this article previously said the Socceroos lost all three matches at the 1974 World Cup. This has been corrected to reflect the team only lost two, and drew the final match.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe received funding from the Australian Research Council for the Discovery Projects 'A Nation of "Good Sports"? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia' (DP130104502).</span></em></p>Being on the same pitch as superstars like Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi signalled both the scale of this achievement and the tough task ahead for a game with a troubled history in Australia.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/973272018-06-15T05:16:13Z2018-06-15T05:16:13ZWhy soccer is falling behind footy and rugby in Australia<p><em>This article is latest in our World Cup series exploring the politics, economics, science and social issues behind the world’s most popular sports event.</em></p>
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<p>While soccer has a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drawingroom/a-brief-history-of-australian-soccer/8782502">long history in the Australian sporting landscape</a>, most fans readily admit it has never rivalled Rugby League and Australian Rules Football in popularity. </p>
<p>But there was a brief period when this wasn’t the case. From late 2005, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/nov/16/ten-years-since-australia-v-uruguay-the-story-of-the-socceroos-greatest-moment">when Australia dramatically beat Uruguay to qualify</a> for the following year’s World Cup, until early 2015, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-31/australia-socceroos-win-asian-cup/6060038">when Australia hosted (and then won) the Asian Cup</a>, the sport managed to win the hearts and minds of most Australians. </p>
<p>Gone were the days of soccer <a href="http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/johnny_warren_collection">struggling for mainstream legitimacy</a>, branded as a game of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-sheilas-wogs-and-poofters-by-johnny-warren-23696">“sheilas, wogs and poofters”</a>.</p>
<p>During this halcyon 10-year period, the Socceroos moved from the tiny Oceania Football Confederation to the lucrative Asian Football Federation, and enjoyed three consecutive appearances in the World Cup (2006, 2010, 2014). </p>
<p>The A-League was also established and quickly became successful, with steady increases in sponsorship money, TV viewership and match attendance over the first few seasons. More importantly, the league gained acceptance as a truly national and inclusive Australian competition. </p>
<p>But that was then, and this is now. The last three years have been trying for Australian soccer. The <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/var-ffa-a-league-grand-final-error-melbourne-victory/1919ccqvm4qhu1equ1gwqtq4u2">recent VAR error in the A-League grand final</a> between Newcastle and the Melbourne Victory is symptomatic of the myriad problems confronting the sport. </p>
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<p>While soccer still has very high grassroots participation and the women’s game has seen a boom in popularity, the growth of the men’s game at the elite level has ground to a halt. Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2017/nov/15/australia-v-honduras-world-cup-2018-qualifying-play-off-second-leg-live">barely qualified for this year’s World Cup</a>, and the way things are going, it could be eliminated from the group stage without a win.</p>
<h2>Poor performance of the Socceroos</h2>
<p>For the Australian sporting public, the Socceroos have embodied what it means to be Australian – they’ve been seen as classic underdogs, with their backs to the wall, winning against all odds. Successful campaigns in World Cup qualifying or the Asian Cup coincided in a sharp interest in the code and always resulted in media bonanzas. When the Socceroos were doing well, the sport was doing well. </p>
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<p>But the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-04/richard-hinds-world-cup-wobbles-leave-socceroos-in-a-tight-spot/8868130">drawn-out qualification campaign for this year’s World Cup</a> felt different. The team faced must-win matches against minnows like Syria, Thailand and Honduras, then <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-22/how-it-all-unravelled-for-ange-postecoglou/9179040">lost coach Ange Postecoglou</a> after eking its way into the tournament, creating considerable negative publicity. The longer the qualification campaign went, the more supporters switched off. </p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/08/ange-postecoglou-australian-football-is-going-backwards">clearly no real fanfare</a> heading into Australia’s opening World Cup match against France on Saturday. </p>
<p>Former manager Guus Hiddink went into the 2006 World Cup with star players Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Mark Schwarzer. Current coach Bert van Marwijk has at his disposal a less-accomplished squad featuring the likes of Jamie Maclaren, Josh Risdon and 38-year-old Tim Cahill. Expectations for the team in Russia are <a href="http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3465307/world-cup-2018-australia-with-new-manager-head-to-russia-in-state-of-flux-32-teams-in-32-days">decidedly low</a>.</p>
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<h2>The declining state of the A-League</h2>
<p>When the A-League competition was launched in 2005, it heralded a new era in Australian soccer, with a de-ethnicised national competition comprised of professional players and international marquee superstars. </p>
<p>Following the success of the Socceroos’ 2006 World Cup campaign and the arrival of genuine stars like Alessandro Del Piero and Emile Heskey, the league thrived and attracted new supporters to the sport. </p>
<p>However, in recent years, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/aleague-stuck-in-the-doldrums-as-ratings-and-attendances-slump-20171222-h09dkv.html">interest has begun to waver</a> as the league failed to evolve and replace retiring and departing stars with new talent. </p>
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<p>Attendance at A-League matches was never able to keep pace with either the AFL or NRL, and during the just-completed 2017-18 season, <a href="http://www.ultimatealeague.com/records.php?type=att&season=2017-18">it dipped to 1.53 million total fans, or an average of 10,926 per match</a>, the lowest numbers since 2011. Most worrying has been stagnation and, in some cases, significant declines in attendance for derbies (the Big Blue and Sydney derbies, for example) and certain struggling clubs like <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/wellington-phoenix-cannot-exist-in-current-form-says-robbie/hk4x8dyy2g7l12fkdf6jhuo5b">Wellington Phoenix</a>. </p>
<p>TV ratings have been on the decline, as well. Free-to-air ventures with SBS and Channel 10 have yielded low ratings, while Fox Sports pay-per-view ratings have dropped off significantly, especially since the arrival of the free-to-air cricket Big Bash in 2011-12.</p>
<p>The failure to get more than one A-League match on free-to-air TV per week is a major issue for the sport, especially since less than 30% of households have Fox Sports. Lack of a televised presence clearly impacts on interest.</p>
<h2>Lack of player development</h2>
<p>While it’s difficult to get soccer supporters to agree on anything, there is unanimity in the belief that the Australian talent production line is broken and the country no longer produces top-quality players. </p>
<p>Very few Australians play in the top-flight European leagues. And the junior Australian national squads (Under-17s and -20s) struggle to qualify for World Cups, let alone win them. </p>
<p>There are no studies or reviews as yet to better understand what has gone wrong, but clearly the high cost of entry into the junior development system has to be a prime suspect. Soccer club registration fees are easily the most expensive of the four major football codes (including rugby union), with some clubs in Melbourne and Sydney <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/nsw-youth-football-registration-fees-prompt-questions-about-club-funding-models-20161103-gsh8pd.html">charging more than $2,000 per year</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/soccer-in-australia-is-history-repeating-itself-6620">Soccer in Australia: Is history repeating Itself?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More worrying has been the exponential growth of private soccer academies, where players are often hit with steep, extra fees. The FFA charter stipulates that A-League clubs also have their own youth academies, but these, too, are prohibitively expensive and have yet to produce top-quality players. </p>
<p>Responsibility for these failings falls squarely on the FFA. When the governing body was reborn under its current name in 2005, it inherited a golden generation of players who had learnt their trade from the old ethnic-supported soccer clubs of the National Soccer League. Player development was central to the mission of these clubs, but when they were annexed by the A-League in 2005-06, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/may/18/where-are-all-the-great-players-australia-paying-price-for-ignoring-development">they stopped being incubators for Australian football</a>.</p>
<p>The FFA has also provided very little vision, leadership and transparency when it has come to growing the A-League in recent years. The FFA ignored calls to expand the league to more teams, institute a promotion/relegation system that could generate more fan interest and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/aleague-clubs-reject-improved-ffa-deal-20170502-gvxd9d.html">increase the revenue</a>received by clubs in the recent lucrative pay-TV deal. </p>
<p>Such steps wouldn’t “fix” Australian soccer alone, but bolder thinking is clearly needed to help the sport keep pace internationally and at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Georgakis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Interest in the sport is starting to wane as the Socceroos have struggled internationally and the A-League has failed to evolve.Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/980822018-06-14T20:35:53Z2018-06-14T20:35:53ZCould Australia win, really? The science of predicting the World Cup champion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222741/original/file-20180612-112608-atrjng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Can we predict who will win the trophy in this year's World Cup held in Russia?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/fifg</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is the latest in our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/world-cup-2018-11490">World Cup series</a> exploring the politics, economics, science and social issues behind the world’s most popular sports event.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The 2018 <a href="https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/">World Cup</a> kicks off <a href="https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/world-cup-match-schedule-kick-off-times-dates-and-stadiums">today</a> (Australian time). Australia is one of 32 teams hoping to be victorious in the beautiful game.</p>
<p>But what are the chances of Australia winning the World Cup? And how difficult is it to predict the winner?</p>
<p>One <a href="https://eeecon.uibk.ac.at/%7Ezeileis/news/fifa2018/">prediction model created by statisticians from Austria</a> gives Australia a tiny 0.0022 probability of lifting the trophy – around 1 chance in 450. Given such poor odds, is it worth staying up late to watch the Socceroos play?</p>
<p><iframe id="rT5hp" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/rT5hp/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The same model predicts that Brazil have the highest probability of winning, at 0.163 (around 1 in 6). So Brazil are 74 times more likely to win the World Cup than Australia, and presumably Brazilians will be at least 74 times more upset than Australians if they don’t.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-western-companies-are-distancing-themselves-from-the-world-cup-brand-96989">Why some Western companies are distancing themselves from the World Cup brand</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Crunch the bookmaker’s numbers</h2>
<p>How did this model come up with the probabilities for each team? It combined the betting odds from 26 bookmakers to estimate the overall ability of each team. </p>
<p>The bookmakers employ football experts to create their odds, so the statistical model taps into this expertise. The bookmakers’ odds also shorten if lots of money is placed on a team, so the model also taps into the wisdom of the crowd. </p>
<p>For the 2014 World Cup <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/innwpaper/2014-17.htm">one of the models using the bookmakers’ odds</a> correctly picked three of the four semifinalists (Brazil, Germany and Argentina), only missing the Netherlands. (It also predicted that Brazil was the “clear favourite”, but <a href="https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/brazil2014/index.html">Germany won</a> the tournament after thrashing Brazil 7-1 in the semifinal.)</p>
<p>There are alternative prediction models that use <a href="https://www.eloratings.net/2018_World_Cup">“Elo” ratings</a> for each team. These ratings use the results of recent matches, which is sensible, but they can’t account for important off-field events like injuries to important players that the bookmakers know about.</p>
<p><iframe id="RECQ2" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RECQ2/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Australia do even worse for the predictions based on rating, with a probability of around 1 in 2,500. So the bookmakers are more optimistic about Australia’s chances than would be warranted purely on the basis of form.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that while the bookmakers’ odds are useful, they are not the actual probabilities they believe that each country has of winning. Rather, they are designed to earn money for the bookmakers, based on the difference between their odds and punters’ perceived probabilities.</p>
<h2>Simulating the tournament</h2>
<p>To win the World Cup, teams need to finish in the top two in their four-team group, and then win four consecutive knockout games. The prediction models arrive at the overall winner by simulating the winner of each game based on the ability of the two teams. </p>
<p>The simulations use randomness. So if a team has a 0.7 (70%) probability of winning a game then it will win in around 7 in every 10 simulations. As every game is random, the simulations will sometimes create an unexpected tournament with two unfancied teams in the final. </p>
<p>We can estimate the probability of Australia winning the trophy by counting the proportion of tournament simulations in which they won. We ran 10,000 simulations using the rating-based model (thanks to <a href="https://publichealth.ku.dk/staff/?pure=en/persons/114029">Claus Ekstrøm</a> for coding the World Cup simulations and data).</p>
<p>Australia won the World Cup just three times, and they upset the odds by beating the following teams:</p>
<ol>
<li>Nigeria (last 16), Spain (quarters), England (semi), Peru (final)</li>
<li>Croatia (last 16), Portugal (quarters), Mexico (semi), Argentina (final)</li>
<li>Croatia (last 16), Portugal (quarters), England (semi), Poland (final).</li>
</ol>
<p>These results show that for Australia to win they need to pull off some remarkable wins and their path to the final needs to be cleared of the biggest obstacles. So Australian fans should be cheering for underdogs everywhere, especially in their half of the draw (groups A to D). </p>
<p>Simulating the entire tournament accounts for fact that some teams have an easier group draw, and might also avoid big teams in the knockout rounds.</p>
<p>For example, if we swap Australia (group C) and Saudi Arabia (group A) then this puts Australia in what looks like the weakest group, and their probability of winning increases from around 1 in 2,500 to around 1 in 1,400. A relatively big increase in odds, but still a huge long shot.</p>
<h2>Football is wonderfully unpredictable</h2>
<p>All the prediction models generate probabilities by counting the number of times a team won and dividing by the total number of simulations.</p>
<p>These probabilities consider thousands of possibilities, whereas the real World Cup will be run only once. Even if we use the bookmakers’ model to bet on the most likely outcome of Brazil winning, we would still be wrong five out of six times. </p>
<p>We are more likely to be wrong than right whatever team we pick, simply because there can only be one winner and there are many good teams. This unpredictability is what makes the World Cup so thrilling, although we still enjoy trying to predict the outcome.</p>
<p>None of the prediction models can account for random acts such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jun/09/world-cup-stunning-moments-gordon-banks-england-1970">food poisoning</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jun/03/world-cup-25-stunning-moments-gazza-cries-1990">red and yellow cards</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/08/world-cup-moments-maradona-hand-god">the Hand of God</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ccNkksrfls?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The ‘Hand of God’ moment that shattered England fans.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 2002 World Cup the semifinals featured two big teams, Brazil and Germany, but also had two outsiders, Turkey and South Korea. Turkey didn’t even qualify for this year’s World Cup and South Korea have an estimated 1 in 500 chance of winning.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-russia-worthy-of-hosting-the-world-cup-96917">Is Russia worthy of hosting the World Cup?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Most prediction models we have seen largely state the obvious, as the most likely four semifinalists are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Brazil, Germany, Spain and France for the <a href="https://eeecon.uibk.ac.at/%7Ezeileis/news/fifa2018/">bookmakers’ model</a></li>
<li>Brazil, Germany, Spain and Portugal for the <a href="https://github.com/ekstroem/socceR2018">ratings model</a></li>
<li>Brazil, Germany, France and Portugal for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/world-cup-predictions-pick-to-win-it-all-goldman-sachs-ai-model-2018-6">model by Goldman-Sachs</a><br></li>
</ul>
<p>So in many ways the models concur with what most people with a good football knowledge would predict.</p>
<p>The models and experts also agree that Australia have almost no chance of winning. But their chances are still better than those of Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, none of whom made it to the tournament at all.</p>
<p>For this reason alone, it’s worth staying up late.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia has won the soccer World Cup three times, in simulation games only. So what are the challenges to predicting the winner?Adrian Barnett, Professor of Public Health; Vice president of the Statistical Society of Australia, Queensland University of TechnologyScott Sisson, Professor of Statistics at UNSW, President of the Statistical Society of Australia and a Deputy Director of the Australian Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/875822017-12-06T19:18:24Z2017-12-06T19:18:24ZTravelling these holidays? Follow tips the Socceroos use to conquer jet lag<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197881/original/file-20171205-31089-lp8by7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Managing sleep and time zones can take the fun out of Christmas travel. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/have-news-little-boy-having-fun-508082539?src=vG4SDwAwoB0DBVnwJKqlaA-1-23">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Long-haul flights over several time zones present two main challenges: </p>
<ol>
<li>travel fatigue – the effects of sleep loss, restricted movement and dehydration associated with spending many hours on a plane, and </li>
<li>jetlag – the effects of the mismatch between your body clock and the time in your new location. </li>
</ol>
<p>However, there are ways to <a href="http://www.sleep.theclinics.com/article/S1556-407X(09)00020-4/fulltext">minimise disruption</a> to your sleep patterns and body clock when you travel. </p>
<p>The guidelines shown below are similar to those recently used by the Socceroos to help them overcome the jet lag associated with back-to-back games in Honduras and Australia. The result is that they’ll be heading to next year’s <a href="https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2017/12/01/socceroos-dream-and-nightmare-scenarios-world-cup-draw">World Cup</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-socceroos-face-moment-of-truth-lets-remember-our-football-triumph-of-1967-86607">As Socceroos face moment of truth, let's remember our football triumph of 1967</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2829880/">Research</a> suggests that there are several things you can do to facilitate adjustment to time zone changes. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li>exposure to, and avoidance of, light at certain times</li>
<li>intentional scheduling of sleep and wakefulness</li>
<li>use of drugs that can alter sleepiness and/or the timing of the body clock</li>
<li>timing and type of food eaten.</li>
</ul>
<p>As detailed below, we have prepared schedules for exposure to sunlight and low light to follow for 4-5 days after arriving in your new location. </p>
<h2>What to do on the flight</h2>
<p>The main difficulties with long-haul flights are dehydration, physical discomfort, and sleep loss. To <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)60529-7/abstract">address this</a>, you should:</p>
<ul>
<li>minimise your intake of diuretics, or fluids that increase urine production, such as alcohol, coffee, tea and caffeinated soft drinks</li>
<li>drink water regularly, at least 100ml per hour</li>
<li>stretch regularly when seated</li>
<li>take a walk every hour when awake.</li>
</ul>
<p>It can be difficult to get good sleep on a plane. The best strategy is to target sleep during night time in your departure city, and stay awake at other times.</p>
<p>To help sleep aboard the plane, recline your seat, keep your head stable with the headrest, use eye masks and ear plugs if required, and ask flight attendants not to disturb you. </p>
<p>Try not to miss sleep due to playing computer games or watching movies during your sleep target zones.</p>
<h2>Medications and food</h2>
<p>Melatonin is produced by your brain during the night to signal that it is time to be asleep, and it can be taken as an effective sleeping tablet in controlled circumstances. However if you don’t get the timing right, it can have unanticipated effects on your body clock.</p>
<p>Sleeping tablets can be effective, but <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-reduce-dependency-on-drugs-like-valium-with-alternative-therapies-72571">can also</a> impair concentration, coordination and alertness the next day, and issues of tolerance and dependence may arise. However, if required, short half-life non-benzodiazepines are preferred to benzodiazepines as they tend to have less negative impact on waking function <a href="http://www.drugsincontext.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/212257.pdf">the next day</a>. Consult your doctor for advice on how to use these, and for a prescription if you think they are suitable for your needs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197898/original/file-20171206-31071-14ttdt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eating white bread may be helpful if you want to sleep on a plane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/short-hair-asian-lady-eat-piece-498505216?src=FNrcs0qJxC6UpnE8RrXMzQ-1-39">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research <a href="https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/food-and-sleep">shows</a> that diet can also be used to promote sleepiness at night time and alertness during the daytime. These effects of food usually last for 2-4 hours.</p>
<p>To promote sleepiness, eat foods with a high glycemic index (GI), such as white rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, carrots, starchy treats like donuts, and some breakfast cereals. </p>
<p>To promote alertness, eat foods that are high in protein, such as meat, eggs, fish and beans. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-to-soothe-yourself-to-sleep-83154">Health Check: how to soothe yourself to sleep</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Changing your light exposure</h2>
<p>Staying inside and going outside at the right times can be hard, as your plans may prevent you from doing this. </p>
<p>If you can’t be outside in the sun, another way to achieve light exposure is to use <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1600-079X.2001.310410.x/full">lighting products</a> that can provide bright light at will. </p>
<p>These products typically use a series of LED (light emitting diode) globes built into the frames of a pair of glasses. This setup delivers bright light directly to the eyes without the need to bother others - it’s what the Socceroos <a href="http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/flights/whats-with-the-glasses-the-socceroos-wore-on-their-flight-from-honduras/news-story/4fec1be62bf06c4be3c9eb05c7905eb0">recently used</a> while flying. </p>
<p>Bright light glasses are made by several companies. Another alternative is bright light boxes. These can be useful when the optimum light exposure times occur during the dark in your destination port. </p>
<p>For the reverse situation – that is, aiming to remove light exposure – normal dark sun glasses can be used if you’re outside at a time when ideally you need to be in the dark to adapt. So-called “blue-blocker sunglasses” are <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9267/0868d56b8488bf928e76155c92b99deab174.pdf">another alternative</a>. </p>
<h2>Sample adaptation schedule for East-West travel</h2>
<p>This example is for travel from Australia to Europe across around eight time zones, but it would work equally well for travel from the United States to Australia. We’ve used a 24-hour clock to indicate times - so for example, 2300 is 11pm, and 0400 is 4am. </p>
<p>We use the term “body clock minimum” to refer to the time of day when it is the easiest to be asleep, and hardest to function effectively if you are awake. For most people who are in bed from 2300–0700h, your body clock minimum occurs at about 0400h. </p>
<p>On the first day in Europe (after a time zone change of 8h West), you have not adapted to the new time zone, so your body clock minimum will be at 2000h local time, which is 0400h in Australia.</p>
<p>You want your body clock minimum to delay – that is, to gradually shift later each day from 2000h to 0400h.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197884/original/file-20171206-31086-dkedf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">I’m dreaming of a London Christmas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christmas-lights-display-on-sloane-square-120894061?src=yVyJw14rLD8BEg1ecFyaXA-1-8">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Light:</strong> Maximise light in the three hours before 2000h and avoid light in the three hours after 2000h. If it is summer in Europe, you could go outside in sunlight from 1700-2000h (no sunglasses). Otherwise you could use bright indoor light, or a portable light box, or bright light glasses; then dim light inside and blue-blocker glasses until bedtime.</p>
<p><strong>Sleep:</strong> If you go to bed a little earlier than usual (around 2100-2200h), it should be easy to fall asleep because you will be going to bed just after the time of your body clock minimum. You may not get a full night of sleep because your body clock may wake you up earlier than usual. If you have a nap during the day, make sure you set an alarm to limit it to one hour.</p>
<p><strong>Melatonin:</strong> You should not need melatonin to help you fall asleep because you will be sleepy in the evening. However, if you chose to use it on the first one or two nights, it will not cause any harm because it will help your body clock to delay.</p>
<h2>Sample adaptation schedule for West-East travel</h2>
<p>This example is for travel from Australia to the US across around eight time zones, but it would work equally well for travel from Europe to Australia. </p>
<p>For most people who are in bed from 2300–0700h, your body clock minimum (the time it’s preferable to sleep) occurs at about 0400h.</p>
<p>On the first day in the US (after a time zone change of 8h East), you have not adapted to the new time zone, so your body clock minimum will be at 1200h local time, which is 0400h in Australia.</p>
<p>You want your body clock minimum to advance – that is, gradually shift earlier each day from 1200h to 0400h.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
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<span class="caption">Christmas lights at Chicago zoo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=tFDeXb0Vc20rHpR4pjCBfQ-1-1">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p><strong>Light:</strong> Avoid light in the three hours before 1200h and maximise light in the three hours after 1200h. Stay inside with dim light and blue-blocker glasses until 1200h; then go outside in sunlight for at least three hours until 1500h (no sunglasses); then do whatever you wish.</p>
<p><strong>Sleep:</strong> You might find it hard to fall asleep until quite late, so you should sleep in in the morning if possible – this would have the added advantage of avoiding light in the morning. If you need a nap, do it before 1200h, or after 1500h, so you don’t miss out on sunlight from 1200–1500h. If you have a nap, make sure you set an alarm to limit it to one hour.</p>
<p><strong>Melatonin:</strong> You should not use melatonin to help you fall asleep in the evening – it will make your body clock delay, which is the opposite of what you want.</p>
<p>If you arrive rested and with an adaptation plan ready to go, your holiday should be all you had hoped for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87582/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Drew Dawson receives funding from NHMRC and ARC. He and his team have received grants from government agencies to fund research in related areas but not this particular project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charli Sargent receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. She has provided jet lag advice to athletes, including those from national teams travelling to Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cups.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Roach receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. He has provided jet lag advice to athletes, including those from national teams travelling to Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cups.</span></em></p>Step-by-step travel tips - including how to use those fancy blue light goggles - if you’re travelling East to West, or West to East these holidays.Drew Dawson, Director, Appleton Institute, CQUniversity AustraliaCharli Sargent, Associate Professor, CQUniversity AustraliaGreg Roach, Professor, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/365142015-01-29T19:33:38Z2015-01-29T19:33:38ZThe football skills needed for victory in the Asian Cup final<p>Watch out for some clever footwork and ball skills in this weekend’s <a href="http://www.afcasiancup.com/home/en/">Asian Cup</a> final when the Socceroos face South Korea at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday.</p>
<p>The championship – played on Australian soil for the first time – has already shown off some amazing skills in a game many regard as the “true” football game.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-23/tim-cahill-best-goal-for-australia/6042356">Tim Cahill’s bicycle kick</a> – in the quater-final of the Socceroos against China – was one of many spectacular goals in the cup, so far.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Build up to Tim Cahill’s amazing goal begins about 57 seconds.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In displayed a blend of athleticism, timing and power to first position himself in the correct spot, then to elevate himself using drive from the kick leg, then scissoring the legs hard to develop power and to time the kick such that the foot struck the ball at exactly the right moment to propel it towards the goal.</p>
<p>The volley aspect of the skill, where Cahill did not control the ball prior to the strike, shared similarities with his outstanding goal in the World Cup in Brazil against the Netherlands.</p>
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<h2>The skill of the kick</h2>
<p>So what makes a good kick? There have been many kicks employed by players in this tournament using different parts of the foot and foot motion to develop power, impart spin on the ball or to provide deception. Why do these kicks stand out from those we might see in club games or in developing players?</p>
<p>The major factor is technique.</p>
<p>The instep kick, or kicking “off the laces”, is used to develop power as it allows for full extension of the knee and the ball is struck with the hardest part of the foot. </p>
<p>This kick has received substantial research focus in <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20509089">the literature</a> with two key technical features identified as being the most important: greater foot speed; and good contact with the ball.</p>
<p>Foot speed is not only influential in football, where elite players <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15807377">have been found</a> to produce higher foot speeds compared to sub-elite and novice players, but also in <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18341133">Australian rules football</a>.</p>
<p>The principle seems simple enough: striking an object with greater speed will result in more momentum imparted on the ball, although the mechanism is still being debated.</p>
<p>The other key determinant, good contact, has been a focus of research for Hiro Nunome from Fukuoka University, Japan.</p>
<p>Using ultra high speed video analysis, Nunome found that forces during impact are very high, averaging around 1,000 Newtons (N), that’s roughly equivalent to 100kg, across the 1/100th of a second that the ball is on contact with the foot. Further, this could peak as high as 3,000N or 300kg.</p>
<p>Coordination and strength both influence foot speed and the nature of the impact. Elite players exhibit greater strength, better coordination between the thigh and lower leg, tapping in to a biomechanical principle of the summation of segmental interaction.</p>
<p>While novices might try to switch on all the leg muscles at once, the leg of an expert kicker acts more like a whip, enhancing the end point, in this case the foot, speed.</p>
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<h2>Free Kicks</h2>
<p>Watch any free kicks around the box to see if you can see the knuckleball or Butterfly kick being used.</p>
<p>This kick involves striking the ball through its centre of mass on the inside of the foot near the top of the boot so that no spin is imparted on the ball.</p>
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<p>The resulting flight is erratic and very deceptive, similar to a floater in Australian football, or the volleyball serve, or a knuckleball in baseball. (See this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzaseZTNveE">video tutorial</a> for tips on how to practice yourself.)</p>
<h2>Taking a penalty</h2>
<p>One of the most important kicks in tournament football is, of course, the penalty goal. With two of this year’s Asian Cup quarter final games (between <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9QpyXx9znY">Iran and Iraq</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBzbzrqIEdY">Japan and UAE</a>) decided by penalties, the ability to convert these kicks is the difference between winning and losing.</p>
<p>The type of kicks employed vary from powerful shots to deceptive chips to well placed strikes into corners.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2661383/The-science-penalty-kicks-Size-goal-reaction-times-game-theory-odds-overwhelmingly-favour-shooter.html">Research</a> has shown that elite goalkeepers can anticipate which way the penalty shot will be directed between 60% to 70% of the time.</p>
<p>But given the ball takes around half a second to get to the goal, the combination of reaction and movement time required means that they cannot reach the goalpost in that time.</p>
<p>This is why you might see goalkeepers anticipating and beginning to move before the kick is taken. It is also why you might see a stutter run-up with the penalty taker trying to make the goalkeeper move early or why you see many penalty goals directed towards the middle of the goals where the goalkeeper has moved from.</p>
<p>So it would seem that a powerful shot to the corner should be the kick of choice in most cases. The downside for the penalty taker is the speed accuracy trade-off which states that as the kicker attempts to increase the speed of the kick, accuracy will be reduced.</p>
<p>But even with this issue for the goalkeeper, it is of note that that both quarter finals that went to a penalty shootout were won (or perhaps lost depending on whom you supported) without the goalkeepers making a single save –- the striker simply missed the goal.</p>
<p>The reason for these misses are ultimately technical in that the shooter has not oriented the motion of the foot and the foot alignment to direct the ball towards the target.</p>
<p>While the underlying cause of this technical error might be due to pressure or distraction by the goalkeeper, it stands that kickers with better technique, and those that can maintain their technique under pressure, a factor associated with elite performers, will be more successful.</p>
<p>So as we look to the final this weekend, keep an eye out for powerful kicks, knuckleballs and penalty kicking strategies.</p>
<h2>The road to the final for Australia and South Korea</h2>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Ball does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Watch out for some clever footwork and ball skills in this weekend’s Asian Cup final when the Socceroos face South Korea at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday. The championship – played on Australian…Kevin Ball, Doctor; Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/362212015-01-16T04:21:28Z2015-01-16T04:21:28ZAustralians taking sides in the Asian Cup, but for which team?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69185/original/image-20150116-5165-n08vo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Which team did you support in the first 2015 Asian Cup game between Australia and Kuwait, in Melbourne?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/visitmelbourne/15639584843">Flickr/Tourism Victoria</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The passions of some Australians attending games in the 2015 Asian Cup that don’t involve the Socceroos has generated more comment than the crowd at the Australian games.</p>
<p>Most notably, in their first game the highly ranked Iranian team was cheered on by a “<a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/iran-bandwagon-gathers-pace-as-raucous-fans-bring-colour-and-movement-to-asian-cup-mix-20150112-12mey8.html">raucous</a>” group of fans – primarily migrants to Australia rather than tourist fans – whose extremely loud, celebratory support surprised many of the Australian journalists in attendance.</p>
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<p>Figures from the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3412.0Chapter12011-12%20and%202012-13">Australian Bureau of Statistics</a> show that, in 2013, 27.7% (6.4 million) of Australians were born overseas, up from 27.3% (6.2 million) the year before. Given Australia’s multicultural profile, the ability of some Australians to support two (or more) nations – their place of birth or family heritage and their adopted home in Australia – has already <a href="http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/01/12/asian-cup-showcasing-power-beauty-diversity/">won praise</a> from some commentators.</p>
<p>It is not new for many Australians to feel ties to multiple countries, but the emotions of such migrant fans have been understudied. Nevertheless, recent <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2013.770735#.VLhjiMbv0YU">research</a> suggests that football can be a unifying site for migrants who can come together in their new home to support and celebrate their continuing ties to their old home.</p>
<p>Indeed, for Palestinian Australians, the Asian Cup has provided a chance to come together in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jan/12/asian-cup-palestine-fans-preview">joy</a> rather than in grief and protest. But if Iran plays Australia in the semi-final or final, football might become a place of tension as the two “homes” they belong to compete.</p>
<p>Violence is unlikely, but accusations of being “<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970802472627#.VLhkvMbv0YU">un-Australian</a>” are likely to surface if any Iranian migrants support Iran over the Socceroos. Discord within family groups is also likely as individuals feel the pressure to choose one side. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2013.770735#.VLhjiMbv0YU">Research</a> into the experiences of Italian migrants found that although many were excited before Australia played Italy in the 2006 World Cup, the game was intense and distressing for many.</p>
<p>Most first-generation male migrants supported Italy even though they felt affinity with Australia, while the first-generation females and second-generation children tended to support Australia at the same time as feeling fondly towards Italy.</p>
<p>In some family groups the first-generation patriarchs were isolated as the stress of the game increased. And the contentious ending – an Italian victory due to a disputed penalty – left almost no one truly happy. </p>
<p>It was a reminder that while sport can bring about cultural exchange, it can divide as well as unite. It can also spark rivalries and tensions with broader political ramifications, as well as lead to greater engagement and understanding.</p>
<p>But let’s step back for a moment and consider the Asian Cup as a whole. What does it say about Australia’s place in Asia?</p>
<h2>Is Australia really part of Asia?</h2>
<p>The disjunction between Australia’s geographical location and its recent history as an English colony leads to complex <a href="http://identities.asiaeducation.edu.au/resources/resource_page.html?resourceId=2790&pathwayId=0&showSectionId=2">questions</a> of whether Australia is, or should be, part of Asia. At stake in this debate are policies in trade, immigration and defence among other areas. </p>
<p>At times, however, cultural exchange and what some term “soft power” can be as important as government policies and relationships. For example, mass spectator sports – those dominant but often neglected centres of popular culture – can be key sites of engagement, exchange and sometimes even belonging.</p>
<p>Cricket, for instance, has been an enduring site of connection between Australia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The sporting connections of Australia to countries in other parts of Asia have been weaker, as have other forms of cultural exchange.</p>
<p>The move of Australia to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006 was seen as a chance to redress this and create enduring relationships through sport. As the Australian Government’s 2012 <a href="http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/verve/_resources/australia-in-the-asian-century-white-paper.pdf">Australia in the Asian Century</a> White Paper put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] for the first time Australia had a significant, ongoing sporting relationship with a large number of Asian and Middle Eastern countries complementing our diplomatic and other links.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The hope, then, is for something termed “<a href="http://www.lowyinstitute.org/files/pubfiles/Bubalo%2C_Football_diplomacy_stripe.pdf">football diplomacy</a>”.</p>
<h2>Football diplomacy</h2>
<p>Australia hosting the 2015 AFC Asian Cup can be seen as a peak opportunity for football diplomacy. It provides Australia with the chance to make an enduring positive impression and to build lasting relationships with the competing nations and their peoples. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The first game of the 2015 Asian Cup.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Within a relatively short time (Association) football has become incredibly popular throughout much of Asia. This means that Australia is currently the focus of great attention in important and multifaceted ways.</p>
<p>There are the many tourist fans from Asia with their social media, the mass influx of journalists profiling Australia as well as chronicling the deeds of national teams, and millions of people in countries such as China, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea who are closely following the games on television and other media and dreaming of their nation winning the cup.</p>
<p>Australia right now is a site of intense football dreams, wishes, hopes and fears for perhaps hundreds of millions of people throughout the Asian region. </p>
<p>Football followers throughout Asia are already becoming more familiar with the Socceroos and individual Australian players, as are football followers in Australia with the Asian teams and players.</p>
<p>How all Australians behave – on and off the pitch – is on show. Respecting and even celebrating the deeds of players from other nations is one step towards engagement and understanding, although the continuing issue of racism in football codes around the world tempers optimism.</p>
<p>There are also intriguing possibilities for the development of positive sentiments and attachments as Australia becomes entangled in long-standing rivalries between the Asian teams.</p>
<p>For example, Korean researcher Seongsik Cho, from Hanyang University, notes that one of the highest-rating sporting events in Korean TV history was when the Guus Hiddink-coached Socceroos played Japan in the 2006 World Cup. And the millions of Koreans who tuned in during the early hours celebrated the Australian victory against their arch enemy. So support by fans for teams representing other countries is not unique.</p>
<p>Cho is in Australia researching the experiences of the South Korean fans who have come over to support their team. One of the key aspects of this research is how the diversity of Australia is experienced by those in Asia.</p>
<h2>Australia’s diversity</h2>
<p>Some scholars have <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2012.746832#.VLh1NHZpcXg">argued </a> that the round-ball code of football is played by a more diverse group of Australians than any other sport. Yet Australia is still perceived as a largely white, homogeneous nation in many parts of Asia.</p>
<p>When one of us (Brent McDonald) asked audiences of scholars and university students in Japan and South Korea about whether Australia is part of Asia, they responded with a resounding “No!”.</p>
<p>Preliminary findings also indicate that the Japanese media still view Australian football players as bigger and stronger than their Japanese counterparts, despite the fact that the available physical profiles of the two groups of players show them to be of very similar height and weight.</p>
<p>Football then can be a place where stereotypes are reinforced, despite providing evidence to refute these stereotypes. </p>
<p>Nor is the reaction necessarily positive when national stereotypes are challenged. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430430903053190#.VLh19qZMWt4">Some Chinese journalists</a>, for example, have responded to the ethnically diverse nature of the Socceroos by complaining that Australia is cheating by importing better players from Europe, not realising that almost all of these players were born in Australia. </p>
<p>Still, as host nation, the diversity of Australia is also showcased through the mix of people who attend the games and the teams they support.</p>
<p>Indeed, the crowds so far have been notably heterogeneous. This might indicate to those visiting and watching from overseas just how many significant Asian peoples now live in Australia, and thus undermine the assumptions of Australian whiteness. </p>
<p>Yet perhaps the hosting of the Asian Cup allows Australia to learn more about itself than about its regional neighbours. Many of the tales to emerge so far have been about the experiences of those who have migrated to Australia from the Asian region.</p>
<p>Thus far the Asian Cup has provided compelling spectacles that have entranced much of Australia along with the rest of the region, but its legacy as a momentary curiosity or something more enduring remains to be seen.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Matthew Klugman, Brent McDonald and Seongsik Cho will be part of a <a href="http://www.vu.edu.au/news-events/events/football-codes-in-the-asian-century-panel-discussion">free public forum</a> discussing Football Codes in the Asian Century at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, on Tuesday January 20 at 5:30pm.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Klugman receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australia-Korea Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brent McDonald receives funding from the Australia-Korea Foundation.</span></em></p>The passions of some Australians attending games in the 2015 Asian Cup that don’t involve the Socceroos has generated more comment than the crowd at the Australian games. Most notably, in their first game…Matthew Klugman, Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow, Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Victoria UniversityBrent McDonald, Lecturer, College of Sport & Exercise Science, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/360152015-01-09T03:47:18Z2015-01-09T03:47:18ZSocceroos have a host-nation advantage in the Asian Cup<p>The <a href="http://www.afcasiancup.com/">2015 AFC Asian Cup</a> is the biggest football tournament ever held in Australia, so what bearing does the host status have on the Socceroos’ chances of success? A lot more than you might think.</p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.pwc.es/es_ES/es/sala-prensa/notas-prensa/assets/informe-favoritas-mundial-070610.pdf">econometricians from PricewaterhouseCoopers</a> looked at many factors that might determine a country’s footballing successes, they found that demographics such as a country’s population or per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) were not significant as predictors.</p>
<p>While large, affluent nations such as Germany were successful, so were smaller nations such as The Netherlands and economically poorer nations such as Brazil.</p>
<p>The one factor that they did find to be greatly relevant was geography and the advantage of hosting a tournament, or having it held in a neighbouring nation.</p>
<p>Quite how strong an impact the tournament location has is perhaps surprising. Looking at the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/index.html">FIFA World Cup</a>, of 21 host nations (20 tournaments with one co-hosted by two nations), a staggering 17 hosts equalled or bettered their previous best performance. Relative heavyweight nations France and England have lifted the trophy only once each, on both occasions on home soil.</p>
<p>Looking at Asia’s premier tournament, the home advantage is even more striking. Of 18 previous host nations (15 tournaments with one co-hosted across four nations) only one host (2007’s co-host Thailand) did not at least equal its best previous performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68465/original/image-20150108-23801-1nrz731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Performance of Asian Cup host nations compared to the host’s previous best tournament results.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What does this mean for Australia’s chances in the 2015 Asian Cup? The bar is certainly set extremely high if the Socceroos are to match or equal their best tournament result.</p>
<p>Having joined the Asian Football Confederation (<a href="http://www.the-afc.com/">AFC</a>) only in 2006, they were runners-up in their second tournament back in 2011. To emulate that performance would mean qualifying for the final on January 31 at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.</p>
<p>But the <a href="http://www.afcasiancup.com/">2015 AFC Asian Cup</a> represents a golden opportunity for the sport in this country. </p>
<p>It comes at a time of unprecedented success for the code, both on and off the field. The national team, the Socceroos, have qualified for three consecutive FIFA World Cups and the A-League domestic competition finally seems to be striking a healthy balance between ambitious expansion and long-term sustainability.</p>
<p>The tournament arrives only a matter of months after an Australian club side <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-02/western-sydney-wanderers-win-asian-champions-league-title/5860430">conquered the Asian Champions League</a> for the first time. Hopes are high that the national representatives can match this achievement.</p>
<h2>A game of near misses?</h2>
<p>But it is difficult not to conclude that the game in Australia has already suffered two recent unfortunate missed opportunities, one sporting and one political. </p>
<p>A late <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/nov/26/newsstory.sport1">capitulation in Montevideo</a> in 2001 cost the Socceroos a place in the following year’s <a href="http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/koreajapan2002/index.html">2002 World Cup</a>, the first ever held outside the established strongholds of Europe and the Americas.</p>
<p>The tournament, jointly held in Japan and South Korea, proved to be a platform for non-traditional powers to succeed. In the only games held in Asia to date, the quarter-finals featured <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1816979-world-cup-revisited-2002-korea-and-japan">four sides</a> that had not previously gone that far before: Senegal, the USA, Turkey and South Korea, the last two of which went on to the semi-finals.</p>
<p>Historical data trends certainly suggest that an Australian side would have a significantly better chance of progressing in an Asian-hosted tournament than one in either Europe or South America.</p>
<p>Given the huge boost that hosting a tournament is to a country’s chances of progress, Australia’s <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/sport/qatar-wins-2022-world-cup-australia-first-eliminated-20101202-18ifa.html">ill-fated attempt</a> to secure the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/qatar2022/">2022 World Cup</a> – controversially awarded to Qatar – surely represents not only a cultural loss but also a major blow to the Socceroos’ chances of progressing to the later stages of that tournament.</p>
<h2>The potential legacy of a successful campaign</h2>
<p>If Australia wants to see how the sport can benefit from succeeding on home soil, the United States arguably provides the clearest example.</p>
<p>As host of the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/usa1994/index.html">1994 World Cup</a>, the USA went further than it had ever previously gone. The home side advanced beyond the group stage for the first time before being eliminated in the second round.</p>
<p>Since then, and on the back of an ever-strengthening domestic league, the USA has qualified for every World Cup and appeared in five successive <a href="http://www.concacaf.com/category/gold-cup">CONCACAF Gold Cup</a> – the North American equivalent of the Asian Cup – finals (although it did have home advantage in all five of those tournaments). Like in Australia, the game is unlikely ever to become the nation’s dominant sport, but it is establishing a <a href="http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/08/11/Opinion/From-the-Executive-Editor.aspx">sustainable mainstream supporter base</a>.</p>
<p>Australia is now in a strong position to secure the right to host FIFA’s flagship tournament, the World Cup, within the next couple of decades. The world body is increasingly hosting the finals in regions to which they have not gone before.</p>
<p>After <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-20/fifa-to-publish-a-full-report-into-corruption/5980814">intense criticism</a> of its decisions (and the process by which they were reached) to host the next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar, a tournament in a more transparent Western-style democracy seems a likely move.</p>
<p>If this month’s Asian Cup manages to capture the nation’s attention, this will likely only strengthen Australia’s case.</p>
<p>The simple fact is that history suggests that Australia has never had a better chance of securing a major footballing title. When the final whistle blows on the Asian Cup at the end of January, if the Socceroos are not on the field that night, they will have squandered what may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance the standing of the game in the country’s hearts.</p>
<p><strong>See also: <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-asian-cup-kicks-off-can-australia-win-on-home-soil-35822">As the Asian Cup kicks off, can Australia win on home soil?</a></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36015/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Woodcock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The 2015 AFC Asian Cup is the biggest football tournament ever held in Australia, so what bearing does the host status have on the Socceroos’ chances of success? A lot more than you might think. When econometricians…Stephen Woodcock, Lecturer, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/358222015-01-08T19:23:35Z2015-01-08T19:23:35ZAs the Asian Cup kicks off, can Australia win on home soil?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68165/original/image-20150105-8439-iasebw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia will be looking to avenge its extra-time defeat against Japan in the 2011 Asian Cup final as it hosts the 2015 tournament.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Australia kicks off the opening match of football’s Asian Cup on Friday night against Kuwait at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (usually known as AAMI Park), it will begin its third campaign to win the second-oldest federation-wide trophy.</p>
<p>After a series of attempts since 1960, Australia finally joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006. The Socceroos participated for the first time in the Asian Cup in 2007. Australia was the most successful Asian team at the FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006 and was expected to do well in the regional tournament.</p>
<p>Then-prime minister John Howard had even planned to be in Jakarta on the day of the final, hoping to be there when the cup was presented. Unfortunately, Japan <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/asian-cup-news/socceroos-fall-short-when-put-on-the-spot/2007/07/21/1184560116882.html">eliminated Australia</a> in the quarter-finals. To much surprise but equal delight the team from war-torn Iraq came through to win the trophy.</p>
<p>In 2011, Australia went all the way to the final and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/jan/29/japan-fourth-asian-cup-australia">lost</a> by only a single goal in extra-time to Japan. So a win in 2015 would be third time lucky.</p>
<h2>What is the Asian Cup?</h2>
<p>Though it began small – only eight countries took part in 1956 – the Asian Cup is now one of a group of Confederation tournaments that stand in a second tier only below the World Cup itself. </p>
<p>Given that more than half the world’s population lives in Asia and virtually every Asian country competes in the Asian Cup, its catchment area exceeds that of any of the others. As Asia grows in wealth and economic importance, the markets for the world game have grown significantly. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) <a href="http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/216967/141027_CFPTC_ITEM27.pdf">estimates</a> the tournament will be broadcast to 80 countries with a potential television reach of 2.5 billion people.</p>
<p>Unlike many sports that Australia plays well, football has a deep resonance throughout Asia. AFC nations are trying to raise the standards of play so that they can match the Europeans and South Americans, the traditional powerhouses of football. </p>
<h2>What are Australia’s chances?</h2>
<p>In 2006, Australia had a golden generation of players who turned out for the top clubs in Europe. Now Japan, ranked 54 in the world by FIFA, South Korea (69) and Iran (51) have gone ahead, while Australia (100) is in a transitional period. </p>
<p>While household names like Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano and skipper Mile Jedinak represent experience at the top level, there are exciting youngsters coming through in coach Ange Postecoglou’s selections. Look out for keeper Mat Ryan, wing-backs Ivan Franjic and Aziz Behich and strikers Robbie Kruse, Tomi Juric and Nathan Burns, who has forced his way into the squad thanks to his stunning run of goals in the A-League.</p>
<p>Australia has the immense advantage of playing at home in front of what will be passionate support. Its Group A includes Kuwait, Oman and South Korea. Australia should finish in the top two and proceed to the knock-out rounds with South Korea. </p>
<p>The qualifying teams from Group A meet those from Group B, likely to be Uzbekistan and North Korea. The two winners then meet the winners of similar matches in Groups C and D, possibly Iran from Group C and Japan from Group D. Many are predicting a repeat of the last final if Australia can come through this set of challenges and once again face Japan.</p>
<p>Tournament football always throws up surprises. Newcomer <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/04/asian-cup-2015-palestinians-hope-footballers-can-put-them-on-the-map">Palestine</a>, an entity with a football team but whose bid for statehood was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/30/un-security-council-rejects-palestinian-statehood-bid">turned down</a> by the United Nations Security Council only a couple of weeks ago, may cause one of the upsets in the early games. Iran might justify its FIFA ranking and live up to its long and successful history in the competition, which it has won three times.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68172/original/image-20150105-13833-o5l6ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Palestine has qualified for its maiden appearance at an Asian Cup tournament.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Peter Boyle</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Impact on football in Australia</h2>
<p>The Asian Cup is not a huge money-spinner or attendance-based phenomenon for host nations. Except when the host is playing, stadia are often well short of capacity during Asian Cup matches. The same may be true in Australia. </p>
<p>Through its ambassador and other programs, the LOC has done its best to involve the whole of Australia’s diverse demography. It is putting a brave face on pre-sales data, with even Australia’s matches not sold out yet. But Australia does have a significant advantage: its multicultural make-up and previously generous approach to migration has resulted in the formation of large communities of people from all the Asian countries taking part in the tournament. </p>
<p>These Australians will have the opportunity of supporting both their country of origin and the one in which they now live. Football Federation Australia has done a great deal to try to attract them to join in what should be a wonderful festival of football.</p>
<p>Even countries that are at loggerheads overseas can come together through football. While there will be security issues to test Australia’s resources, there is <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-globalised-world-the-football-world-cup-is-a-force-for-good-28727">strong evidence</a> in support of the proposition that football provides a neutral ground where sport, not politics, prevails.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Roy Hay and Bill Murray’s book <a href="http://www.hardiegrant.com.au/books/books/book?isbn=9781742707648">A History of Football in Australia</a> is published by Hardie Grant.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roy Hay received funding from ARC in 2000, not since. He is a member of the Football Federation Australia Panel of Historians.</span></em></p>When Australia kicks off the opening match of football’s Asian Cup on Friday night against Kuwait at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (usually known as AAMI Park), it will begin its third campaign to…Roy Hay, Honorary Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/276932014-06-25T05:28:07Z2014-06-25T05:28:07ZDespite World Cup losses, Australia has a bright football future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52145/original/v6rs8ydx-1403663358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia is heading in the right direction football-wise if our results at the World Cup are anything to go by.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Fernando Bizerra Jr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For those well-versed in football and Australian sport, the Australian national team’s early exit from the World Cup should come as no surprise. The three losses – to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-14/socceroos-v-chile-live-world-cup-blog/5523774">Chile</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-19/netherlands-beat-socceroos-australia-world-cup-2014/5534468">the Netherlands</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-24/spain-beats-australia-in-final-world-cup-game/5545212">Spain</a> – can be mostly explained by football’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-may-be-the-world-cup-but-how-global-is-the-world-game-27330">global nature</a>.</p>
<p>While Australians boast about the country’s prowess in swimming, netball, rugby league, rugby union and Australian Rules football, these sports do not have the international reach and diverse competition of association football. Australia cracked in Brazil because of the competitive nature of the sport. Australians need to realise there is a different magnitude to the prestige associated with being a World Cup winner in football, compared to that associated with world championships in swimming or hockey.</p>
<p>We did, however, learn much from Australia’s overall performance in Brazil. First, the team played outstanding football in patches against Chile and the Netherlands, especially in the first half against the Dutch. Even during its 34-year absence from the World Cup, Australia always played with a never-say-die attitude and overachieved against higher-credentialed opponents. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1195&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1195&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52162/original/5hmg2gjz-1403669640.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1195&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Australia coach Ange Postecoglou gave the national team a much-needed re-invigoration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Armando Babani</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia coach Ange Postecoglou could have been tempted to “park the bus” (football-speak for tight marking and defending) in front of the opposition’s goal, and limit the heaviness of the losses. He chose instead to go for results and play positive, attacking football. The national football team regained the respect of the Australian public, which had been wavering in the wake of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-thrashed-60-by-france-in-international-friendly-nightmare-20131012-2velr.html">poor results</a> and a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-coach-holger-osieck-sacked-after-friday-night-bleus-20131012-2veor.html">coach sacking</a> last year.</p>
<p>Postecoglou also axed most of the remnants of the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-golden-generation-fall-one-by-one-to-the-sniper-20140328-zqnd8.html">“golden generation”</a>, such as Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell, and regenerated the team <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/ange-refills-socceroos-fuel-tank-with-youth-20140604-39jb6.html">with youth</a>. Since his appointment, Postecoglou has made it clear that there would be no-one would be entitled to a place in the squad on past glories alone. </p>
<p>Before Postecoglou, Australian coaches failed to re-energise and reinvigorate the team after the success of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The coaches were not keen enough to exclude the golden generation despite some of the players having lost their hunger. This was reflected in their performances, and as a result, Australia didn’t dominate against weaker teams such as Jordan, Iraq or Qatar in qualifying for Brazil.</p>
<p>Australia is heading in the right direction football-wise, and there is little doubt that the national team will play in the Asian Cup final, which Australia will host next year. Young players such as Matthew Leckie (arguably Australia’s best performer across the three games), Oliver Bozanic and Ben Halloran will lead the charge to make Australia the dominant football nation in Asia.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52171/original/gwwh3mw9-1403670499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Matthew Leckie emerged as a future star of Australian football at the World Cup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Mohamed Messara</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the performances were encouraging, critics of the Australian team and the sport in general will argue that the <a href="http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/table">results</a> speak for themselves. Australia played three, lost three, conceded nine and scored three. In fact, Australia has played six games in 2014 and lost all but one (a draw against South Africa).</p>
<p>However, it would be foolish to be troubled. Football is here to stay in Australia, and there is reason to be hopeful about what the future will bring. The A-League is a now legitimate national competition, even though it sits behind Australian Rules football and rugby league in commercialised sport. </p>
<p>While football has always enjoyed very high levels of <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0%7E2012%7EMain%20Features%7ESports%20and%20physical%20recreation%7E116">youth participation</a>, its growth in the grassroots level is almost complete. Today, at the grass-roots level, football is the dominant sport in diverse communities including former rugby heartlands in western Sydney. </p>
<p>Even elite private schools, such as Newington College in Sydney, now have more football than rugby union teams. At the University of Sydney, the firsts’ football team is coached by former national coach Raul Blanco and there are more 40 teams in competition. Football is now the preferred sport in various girls’ private schools.</p>
<p>If Australia can avoid the unhelpful trend of <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=soccer&id=9286402">hothousing</a> young players, the talent pool will continue to grow.</p>
<p>Mainstream Australia may now finally realise what the rest of the world understood more than 90 years ago when the World Cup was first held. There are many social and educational benefits that are worthy of pursuing through playing and supporting football – but internationally, the competition is stiff.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27693/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Georgakis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For those well-versed in football and Australian sport, the Australian national team’s early exit from the World Cup should come as no surprise. The three losses – to Chile, the Netherlands and Spain…Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/275092014-06-12T20:36:35Z2014-06-12T20:36:35ZIn a tough group, expect Australia to give its all at this World Cup<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50682/original/kfqqdmqw-1402383191.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Whatever the outcome, Australian fans should rest assured that the young national team will perform to their utmost at the World Cup.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Himbrechts</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The late, great “Captain Socceroo”, Johnny Warren, always used to challenge the people who ran football in Australia with this blunt demand:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We should be aiming to win the World Cup, not just trying to qualify for the finals. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today’s coach, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-23/ange-postecoglou-to-coach-socceroos/5040996">Ange Postecoglou</a>, is imbued with a similar spirit. He never goes into a game hoping to avoid defeat, but always to win by being creative and taking risks. He wants players to grasp the experience, the setting and the chance of immortality. He is furious when players go into their shells when there is an opportunity to seize the day. </p>
<p>Though Postecoglou will spend days coaching defenders to defend, it is always so that they can play the ball out from the back inventively and get forward to support their attackers whenever possible. In doing so, he infuses an element of the national character that showed in the teams he created at <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/roar-are-like-an-avalanche-that-you-can-see-coming-but-cant-do-anything-to-stop-says-mark-bosnich/story-e6frf4gl-1226178836273">Brisbane Roar</a>. He was beginning to do so at <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-25/melbourne-victory-beat-brisbane-roar-send-off-ange-potecoglou/5047402">Melbourne Victory</a> before the national team came calling. </p>
<p>Australians expect their sports teams always to be fighting to win until the final whistle, no matter what the odds.</p>
<p>That said, the task facing Australia in this World Cup could hardly be more daunting. Two of its three opponents (Spain and the Netherlands) in the group stage played in the final of the tournament in South Africa four years ago, and Spain has won back-to-back European championships to go with its 2010 World Cup triumph. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50761/original/t6n8dg97-1402445463.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chile star Arturo Vidal may miss his team’s game against Australia through injury.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Ettore Ferrari</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Chile, Australia’s first opponent, qualified through the tough South American group and has some of the top players in the world in its squad, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIOIvfuOkXI">Arturo Vidal</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbgYAjQZ6cU">Alexis Sanchez</a>. Australia’s <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/">FIFA ranking</a> is the lowest of any of the countries taking part.</p>
<p>In the two previous tournaments, Australia had a strong nucleus of players such as Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell whose clubs participated in the major European domestic competitions and regularly appeared in the Champions or Europa leagues. Coming up against the world’s superstars at club level meant that the Australians were not overawed when they encountered them at World Cups. </p>
<p>With the exception of the first game in South Africa against Germany (a 4-0 loss), Australia was more than competitive in all of its games, drawing with Ghana and defeating Serbia. The loss to Germany was put in perspective when they scored four goals against England and Argentina later in the tournament.</p>
<p>Australia goes into this tournament with one of the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-04/socceroos-unveil-squad-for-brazil-world-cup-rogic-out/5498490">youngest and least experienced squads</a>. Skipper <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2634841/Mile-Jedinak-named-Australia-captain-World-Cup-Crystal-Palace-midfielder-gets-nod-Tim-Cahill.html">Mile Jedinak</a> has had a stellar season as captain of Crystal Palace in the English Premier League. Tim Cahill has prolonged his international career with a move to New York Red Bulls, and Mark Bresciano has overcome injury and a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/fifa-bans-mark-bresciano-for-transfer-to-qatari-club-algharafa-20131116-2xnd1.html">major playing hiatus</a> as a result of transfer issues. </p>
<p>These three, with Brisbane Roar captain Matt McKay, are the only players in the squad to have made more than 40 appearances at international level. The likely starting defenders and the goalkeeper have fewer than 40 caps between them. Eight of the squad are still eligible to play in the Under-23s. But youngsters, with no fear and confidence in their own abilities, might well surprise the pundits.</p>
<p>The team is likely to line up with Mat Ryan in goal, Ivan Franjic, Matthew Spiranovic, Alex Wilkinson and Jason Davidson in defence; Mile Jedinak, Mark Milligan and Mark Bresciano in midfield; and Tim Cahill, Tommy Oar and Mathew Leckie in attack. That gives a compact structure and a creative fulcrum, with Bresciano protected by Milligan and Jedinak. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50762/original/453kfr7w-1402446236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Now a veteran, Mark Bresciano remains key to Australia’s World Cup campaign.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Paul Miller</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Much depends on whether Leckie and Oar can find Cahill in dangerous positions or feed off his knock-downs to create and take goal-scoring chances, which either did not occur or were butchered in the <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/australias-10-loss-to-croatia-was-a-step-in-the-right-direction-ahead-of-the-world-cup-kickoff/story-fnkjbhv0-1226946640529">final warm-up game against Croatia</a>.</p>
<p>Notorious for my optimism, I can see Australia drawing with Chile in its opening game, while the Netherlands and Spain will either draw – in which case no-one in the group has an advantage – or one will lose.</p>
<p>If the loser is the Netherlands, then Australia’s second match is crucial. Australia has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn4baTxyAMk">good record</a> against the Dutch, having drawn with and beaten them at their last two meetings. The Netherlands has stellar attackers in Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder, but a relatively young and inexperienced midfield and defence. Needing a win, it is possible that the Dutch could leave gaps to be exploited.</p>
<p>I have enormous respect for the Spanish coach Vincent del Bosque. Like Postecoglou, del Bosque was a good – not great – player in his time, but with an excellent, understated coaching manner. The experience of Barcelona in the just-concluded La Liga season suggests that its team of superstars has just passed its peak, and I have a feeling that Spain may have done so too. </p>
<p>So, it is possible that Spain could come to the final group game also needing to win, whereas a draw might see Australia through. That would be fascinating. If Australia were to get to the knockout stages, the reverberations through the tournament would be enormous (and delightful).</p>
<p>In an uncertain world and a tough group, things could easily go wrong. But whatever the outcome, Australian fans should rest assured that this young group will do their utmost.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Roy Hay and Bill Murray’s new book, <a href="http://www.hardiegrant.com.au/books/books/book?isbn=9781742707648">A History of Football in Australia</a>, is published by Hardie Grant.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roy Hay is a member of the Football Federation Australia Panel of Historians.</span></em></p>The late, great “Captain Socceroo”, Johnny Warren, always used to challenge the people who ran football in Australia with this blunt demand: We should be aiming to win the World Cup, not just trying to…Roy Hay, Honorary Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/275082014-06-11T20:32:52Z2014-06-11T20:32:52ZQualifying is never easy: Australia’s World Cup history<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50547/original/4cz3hyjf-1402289871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia first qualified for the World Cup in 1974, when a group of part-timers under captain Peter Wilson (far right) went to West Germany.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anton Cernak</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia will soon begin its fourth football World Cup finals campaign – the third successive tournament it has qualified for – with group stage matches against Chile, the Netherlands and Spain.</p>
<p>While some more recent Australian football fans might now view qualification for the World Cup as something we can take for granted, Australia’s earlier adventures in attempting to gain access to the pinnacle of the world game prove it wasn’t always thus.</p>
<p>Australia began trying to qualify for the World Cup soon after its FIFA membership was restored in 1963. Australia had been suspended because local clubs were signing up overseas players such as Leo Baumgartner and Sjel de Bruyckere, claiming they were just migrants who had arrived here and only wanted a game of football. Their European clubs were not receiving transfer fees and complained to FIFA, which suspended Australia. </p>
<p>Australia’s first attempt to get to the World Cup – the 1966 tournament in England – was very disappointing. The Australian team prepared in Cairns with a match against Ingham, while their opponent, North Korea, had about 35 competitive games before the two-match play-off in Phnom Penh. Australia lost both encounters comprehensively, then played a series of matches in Asia to help defray the trip’s costs.</p>
<p>Later, Australia learned to play warm-up games before the main event, not afterwards.</p>
<p>In 1967, in the middle of the Vietnam War with prime minister Harold Holt under pressure at home, it was decided that Australia should play in the Independence Day tournament in Saigon. The idea was to help demonstrate the superiority of democracy and boost morale among service personnel and the domestic population. </p>
<p>A young team led by Johnny Warren and coached by “Uncle” Joe Vlasits found itself interacting with Australian troops who would then go off to fight while they played and beat New Zealand, South Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia en route to the final against South Korea. The Australians threatened not to take part after being informed that there was no space in the stadium for the Australian military personnel who had been a huge support to the players on and off the field.</p>
<p>As it turned out, the service personnel were allowed in and the rest of the crowd supported Australia rather than the Koreans, much to the Australians’ surprise. South Korea scored in the first minute, but the Australians responded brilliantly. Billy Vojtek produced a wonderful solo goal after 36 minutes and Atti Abonyi and Warren added the others in a 3-2 win to register Australia’s first international tournament victory. </p>
<p>The camaraderie in the face of adversity was an important element in the mindset that eventually helped Australia qualify for the World Cup in West Germany in 1974.</p>
<p>Led by Rale Rasic, a bunch of part-time players, some of whom had to give up their employment to take part, qualified by beating South Korea in another play-off, this time in Hong Kong. Everyone remembers Jimmy Mackay’s fierce shot that won the decisive game, but fewer remember Jimmy Fraser’s performances in goal that helped get Australia to that point.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V5gXNmn1pLI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights from Australia’s 1974 World Cup qualification campaign.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the finals, Australia lost to East and West Germany and drew with Chile. Chile, coincidentally, will be Australia’s first opponent in the 2014 tournament, and another draw would be an excellent result. That match against Chile in 1974 was marked by the appearance of Harry Williams as a substitute late in the game, the first recognised Indigenous player to represent Australia at a FIFA World Cup.</p>
<p>In 2005, after a wait of more than three decades, Australia qualified for another World Cup in a now-united Germany. People asked me before the tournament: “Will we qualify for Germany?” I would reply: “We always qualify for the World Cup in Germany.”</p>
<p>After the excruciatingly narrow <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmnBPrdO0_k">loss to Iran</a> at the MCG in 1997 on the away goals rule, getting to Germany depended once again on a series of brilliant saves by goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who has recently retired from international football, and a penalty kick by John Aloisi to defeat Uruguay. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rhM1t0XyB08?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A penalty shootout sent Australia to the 2006 World Cup.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The nation united behind the team. It is estimated that some 60,000 Australians followed them to Germany, the largest outward movement of population since World War Two. Many did not have tickets but enjoyed the tournament in the fan fests in all of the World Cup cities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/50556/original/wwmqh2g8-1402309336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An estimated 60,000 Australians followed the national team to Germany in 2006.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roy Hay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At home, thousands got up in the middle of the night to watch Australia on big screens in cities across the country. Australia beat Japan with three very late goals, lost to Brazil, but then drew with Croatia to qualify for the knockout stages. Only a late penalty to the eventual winner, Italy, brought the campaign to an end. </p>
<p>Australia has since qualified for South Africa in 2010 – where it went out in the group stages after a win, loss and draw – and the tournament in Brazil is now about to start. Bring it on.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Roy Hay and Bill Murray’s new book, <a href="http://www.hardiegrant.com.au/books/books/book?isbn=9781742707648">A History of Football in Australia</a>, is published by Hardie Grant.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27508/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roy Hay received funding from the Australian Research Council in 2000.
Roy Hay is a member of Football Federation Australia's Panel of Historians.</span></em></p>Australia will soon begin its fourth football World Cup finals campaign – the third successive tournament it has qualified for – with group stage matches against Chile, the Netherlands and Spain. While…Roy Hay, Honorary Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/236962014-03-20T19:36:27Z2014-03-20T19:36:27ZThe case for Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters by Johnny Warren<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44247/original/ntgdhj6r-1395194384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Johnny Warren argued that no other sport reflects life the way football does.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>If you had to argue for the merits of one Australian book, one piece of writing, what would it be? Welcome to our occasional series in which our authors make the case for a work of their choosing. See the end of this article for information on how to get involved.</em></strong></p>
<p>The late Johnny Warren – also known as Captain Socceroo – was a legend of Australian football. He is fondly remembered as a player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster, and the award for the best player in the A-League is named the <a href="http://www.jwff.com.au/news/article.aspx?id=53">Johnny Warren Medal</a>.</p>
<p>And yet his 2002 biography <a href="http://www.api-network.com/main/index.php?apply=reviews&webpage=api_reviews&flexedit=&flex_password=&menu_label=&menuID=homely&menubox=&Review=4999">Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters, an Incomplete Biography of Johnny Warren and Soccer in Australia</a>, which he co-wrote with Andy Harper and Josh Whittington, seems eternally destined to raise eyebrows. </p>
<p>It was published when football – some people still call it soccer – was in a “transitional phase” regarding its profile as a national spectator sport in Australia. In the context of the sport’s burgeoning popularity, you’d think we’d now be well past the misogyny, racism, homophobia and other associated stigmas the title refers to. </p>
<p>But in May last year, AFL coach Kevin Sheedy, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/sheedy-links-wanderers-success-to-immigration-department-20130513-2jgnj.html">suggested</a> the Immigration Department were the best recruiters for A-League newcomers Western Sydney Wanderers; and David Gallop, Football Federation of Australia CEO and recent convert from NRL, seemed to revel in the opportunity <a href="http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Sheedys-immigration-comments-clumsy/67207">to stick a boot in</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1246&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1246&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44243/original/67j8v28q-1395192391.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1246&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Everyone moved on; we got over it. And quite honestly, that’s what you would expect to happen to a book with a title like Warren’s.</p>
<p>It hasn’t because the book is just too important.</p>
<p>Its “story” follows Warren’s career as player, coach, captain and mentor, and his effusive post-career advocacy as a commentator and benefactor. </p>
<p>Simultaneously, it captures the history of Australian football from the darkness of the 1950s through to solemn days of administrative greed, redundant power-struggles, and political self-destruction. </p>
<p>Undoubtedly the text is weighed down by requisite facts and figures; it’s also repetitive, a little flabby, and yes, Warren is prone to preaching. But it is lifted beyond the vast grey swathe of sports biographies by the author’s low key awareness of his contribution to the game’s social and cultural history. </p>
<p>It is not a work that prises open scandal-filled cans, or aims to justify embarrassing public mistakes. The gentle voice lends itself authority through its intelligence, keen insight and overwhelming honesty. </p>
<p>Along the way, Warren shames those responsible for the sport’s lack of unity, champions players who should have been famous long before the lionising of Australian players such as <a href="http://lucasneill.com/site/about-me">Lucas Neil</a> or <a href="http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/players/Harry-Kewell/461">Harry Kewell</a>.</p>
<p>There are fantastic stories, such as the doomed 1966 campaign (the Socceroos lost to North Korea who then became the darlings of the same World Cup), the infamous witchdoctor’s curse that John Safran <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_RPfOiKINE">reversed in Mozambique in 2010</a>, and the ridiculously small payment the players received for the nation’s first World Cup Qualification in 1974 (reportedly less than A$14 each).</p>
<p>Warren was born in Australia. His family are “sixth generation Australians”. He grew up playing a sport he loved and was chastised for it almost every day. His playing ability, his understanding of a responsibility for something much larger – and the constant push against the stigma he and the game have undergone – are carefully linked in this book. </p>
<p>In the “Where to from here?” chapter that closes the work, Warren highlights the need for a strong national league. The A-League was established in 2005, the year after his death from lung cancer. He also underlines his disgust for FIFA, the international governing body of association football, and makes an argument for Australian club and national level engagement with teams from Asia, which has since happened. </p>
<p>The book’s title refers to what Warren described as a “mentality” that exists around football in its early days in Australia, a mentality he implied was borne of fear. Commentator Les Murray <a href="http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/les-murray/blog/1090063/Sheilas-wogs-and-apologists">argued in 2012</a> that stigma still surrounds the game in Australia, and that its reputation is “soiled” by influential media commentators, who see it as: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>some kind of alien animal to which real Australians will never take because there are far too few goals, there are too many prima donna divers, there is no video refereeing and their fans are far too violent and, in any case, not like us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although the book’s title was allegedly contested by the publishers, Warren was adamant, and Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters prevailed. It seems outdated now, but the book’s content remains the best, most insightful account of the Australian game’s contemporary development. </p>
<p>In the opening chapter, Warren argues that no other sport reflects life the way football does. I agree. Football changed my life too. Warren’s vociferous passion is contagious, his vision realised. Even if you dislike the sport and never feel the need to buy a ticket for an A-League game, when someone is able to articulate the depth of their soul-brimming passion we can’t help but be a little changed by the experience.</p>
<p>Like the Socceroos, the book’s name requires a revisit – but while the national team will struggle against their opponents in Brazil in June, had it not been for Johnny Warren they would never have made it in the first place. </p>
<p>That alone makes his biography worth a second look.</p>
<p><br>
<strong><em>Are you an academic or researcher? Is there an Australian book or piece of writing – fiction or non-fiction, contemporary or historical – you would like to make the case for? Contact the <a href="mailto:paul.dalgarno@theconversation.edu.au">Arts + Culture editor</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Further reading:</strong><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-kim-scotts-that-deadman-dance-22162">The case for Kim Scott’s That Deadman Dance</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-john-brysons-evil-angels-23763">The Case for John Bryson’s Evil Angels</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-henry-handel-richardsons-the-getting-of-wisdom-23697">The case for Henry Handel Richardson’s The Getting of Wisdom</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee McGowan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you had to argue for the merits of one Australian book, one piece of writing, what would it be? Welcome to our occasional series in which our authors make the case for a work of their choosing. See…Lee McGowan, Senior Lecturer, Postgraduate Coursework Studies, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/191422013-10-16T02:57:28Z2013-10-16T02:57:28ZThe case for a home-grown coach in a global sports market<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33044/original/cw9dhtps-1381807220.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C57%2C2968%2C2265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The man touted as the next Socceroos coach, Angle Postecoglou, meets Australian soccer's greatest export Craig Johnston. Should we have local coaches for our national teams?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Hamish Blair</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Another foreign coach of an Australian national sports team has been ushered to the overseas departure terminal. Having overseen the team’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Socceroos’ German coach Holger Osieck <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-12/osieck-sacked-after-socceroos-hammered-in-paris/5018284">has been sacked</a> only eight months out from the event.</p>
<p>Still, Osieck’s successor will have more time to get organised than Darren Lehmann. The former Australian player <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-24/lehmann-named-australian-coach/4777030">replaced South African Mickey Arthur</a> as coach of Australia’s cricket team only two weeks before commencement of the last Ashes series in England. </p>
<p>Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, who also once played for the team that he now coaches, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-09/ewen-mckenzie-unveiled-as-wallabies-coach/4808328">took over</a> from New Zealander Robbie Deans in July this year. Deans’ failures included his countrymen winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup and an unbroken series of Bledisloe Cups.</p>
<p>Is there a pattern emerging here? Could it be that foreign-born coaches, so often the epitome of cosmopolitan sporting sophistication, are now being supplanted by home grown talent?</p>
<p>Debates about nationality in sport are perennial, and extend far beyond the passports of coaches. Sport’s most prestigious national and international competitions are awash with capital from the media, sponsors, spectators and governments. This creates a ruthless, restless search for the best athletes, supported by the most able coaches.</p>
<p>For this reason, a global sport labour market has developed that I and colleagues describe as <a href="http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book207268">sport’s contribution</a> to the New International Division of Cultural Labour. This is the apparatus through which athletes and coaches flow around the world, free of the confines of the individual nations that spawned them.</p>
<p>Sporting mobility has many dimensions. It involves young footballers from Africa and Australasia - and baseballers from Central America - supplying inexpensive and often-exploited athletic labour to cost-inflated sport markets in North America, Europe and East Asia. Or, as has <a href="http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/six-charged-over-soccer-match-fixing-scandal/story-e6frfkp9-1226719864029">recently been alleged in Australia</a>, it may entail “journeyman” footballers and coaches moving into low-profile leagues around the world in order to fix matches at the behest of illegal gambling organisations in third-party countries.</p>
<p>At the top end of the global sport labour market there are elite players and coaches plying their trade in countries that pay handsomely to retain them. Their employers are haunted by the fear that they will be lured across borders by ever more extravagant rewards. </p>
<p>This geographical fluidity of personnel varies across sports and competitions. For example, there is negligible movement of Australian rules footballers between countries and there are few foreign players in Sheffield Shield cricket. The reasons are fairly obvious – the former lacks an international professional presence and the latter is a low-profile, poorly remunerated domestic competition.</p>
<p>By contrast, Australian players and coaches in rugby league and cricket substantially populate, respectively, the UK Super League and the Indian Premier League. In Olympic sports such as athletics, swimming, and cycling, there has also long been a vigorous trade in coaches in both directions.</p>
<p>What do sport fans and the sport media make of this fly-in, fly-out sporting workforce? Their reactions typically display the ambivalence attending a certain pride at a local player or coach making it in the big wide world, but also a sense of loss at the diminishing domestic sport scene. </p>
<p>Similarly, hiring an international marquee player or a renowned coach validates Australian sport’s global status, but also prompts concerns that importing overseas talent deprives locals of opportunities and ultimately stunts the development of domestic sport.</p>
<p>Sporting success tends to soothe such discomfort. But its absence invites little sympathy and, frequently, provokes hostile judgement.</p>
<p>In the specific case of soccer in Australia, the game’s development was <a href="http://www.routledgementalhealth.com/books/details/9780415575621/">long retarded</a> by its close association with the world beyond its shores. For the xenophobic, the non-Anglo migrant ethnic bedrock of football symbolised a lack of commitment to its newfound, New World home.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33048/original/88k7qrxn-1381808917.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Soccer in Australia has slowly evolved into a more mainstream pursuit for fans and professionals alike.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Paul Miller</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The positioning of multicultural broadcaster SBS as the <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/10/09/new-football-show-launch-sbs-2">“home of football”</a> confirmed the suspicions of those who demanded a closer affinity with the traditional Anglosphere. There was also a corresponding inferiority complex about the quality of the local game, meaning that the appointment of foreign coaches to the national team was favoured.</p>
<p>It has now been <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/australian-will-be-next-socceroos-coach-frank-lowy-confirms-20131015-2vkwg.html">confirmed</a> by Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy that a local will take charge of the national team. But it is the sport’s troubled history that reveals why the strength of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/home-grown-the-way-forward-for-socceroos-20131014-2vhzt.html">calls</a> to appoint an Australian as Socceroos coach is indicative of the comparative health both of multiculturalism and of the world game in Australia. </p>
<p>Conventional advocacy of the recruitment of star overseas coaches such as Guus Hiddink has been overshadowed by arguments in favour of the likes of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/ange-postecoglou-firms-for-socceroos-hot-seat-20131013-2vgx0.html">Ange Postecoglou</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/wanderers-striker-tomi-juric-sees-tony-popovic-as-a-socceroos-coach-20131013-2vgbv.html">Tony Popovic</a> - respectively Australians of Greek and Croatian background. The once-bemoaned problem is now the suggested solution.</p>
<p>As it prepares for its third consecutive World Cup appearance and experiences a surge of interest in its domestic A-League, soccer in Australia occupies a mid-market position in world sport, attractive to itinerant and settled sports workers alike. This is something of an historical turnaround for a nation more accustomed to being a net exporter of its best personnel to Europe.</p>
<p>But, paradoxically, the demand for a home-grown coach may also betray a tinge of xenophobia. Having forsaken a foreign white knight or “rainmaker”, it is likely that more tolerance of failure will be temporarily extended to a coach who is “one of us”, and not the caricatured globally mobile gun for hire with no greater investment in the national soul than their latest sizeable paycheque.</p>
<p>Lingering doubts that a foreign coach’s heart isn’t really in it (or, worse, that they’re a Trojan horse) can be soothed by a belief that a local will have a deeper, more intuitive understanding of the players and the domestic game’s traditions. The home-grown coach might buy a little more time and sympathy, but if unsuccessful on the unforgiving field of play, the call of the global will be heard once more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe is currently receiving Australian Research Council funding for A Nation of ‘Good Sports’? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia (DP130104502).</span></em></p>Another foreign coach of an Australian national sports team has been ushered to the overseas departure terminal. Having overseen the team’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Socceroos…David Rowe, Professor of Cultural Research, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/153742013-06-24T20:37:10Z2013-06-24T20:37:10ZAll business roads lead to Rio<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/25962/original/szrnt483-1371787606.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C1%2C998%2C666&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When the sporting gods smile at Australia, we go to Rio, but Brazil has long been on the international business map.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We have recently witnessed Brazil being hit by mass protests not seen since the days of the military dictatorship, but apart from the Socceroos going to the 2014 World Cup and the Rio Olympics in 2016, does Brazil really matter to Australia?</p>
<p>Well, just like 10 years ago, if a country didn’t have a China strategy, it didn’t have an international strategy. The same has been said about having a “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) strategy. </p>
<p>With Australia and Brazil historically not in each other’s sphere of influence, our country has typically ignored Brazil. But the times they are a-changin’ as Australian companies look seriously at a number of Brazil’s industries.</p>
<p>First, at rocks and crops. Australian resources and agribusiness players are forging ahead in Brazil, where both countries have a comparative advantage. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are there (just like Vale is in Australia), and Australia’s CSIRO benchmarks itself against Brazil’s respected Embrapa in agricultural research.</p>
<p>Second, at alternative energy. Pacific Hydro has made headway with wind and solar power after some success in Chile. Their CEO Rob Grant says, “Australia and Brazil share several similarities, including geographical conditions and water supply, and the development of clean energy will be needed as Brazil’s middle class increases along with their expectations of having access to resources, food and water.”</p>
<p>Third, at the service, retail and education sectors. Westfield has made a strong investment in Brazil, and there are over 16,000 Brazilian students in Australia, with strengthening ties in architecture, urban planning, creative industries, sports, recreation and culture.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/25959/original/7x6pwbqm-1371780365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The recent protests in Brazil highlight the country’s ongoing struggle with social issues such as inequality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>And finally, as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games approach, Australia has put its event-management skills into action. We are helping Brazil learn from the successful 2000 Sydney Olympics and other global events managed by Australians at home and abroad.</p>
<p>This is being spearheaded by the Australian Government through the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and its highly respected Business Club Australia programme. With the global spotlight on Brazil over the 2014-2016 period, the Australian government sees it as a vital time to show exporters and investors the opportunities at hand in the vast Brazilian market.</p>
<p>But we are not alone. Australia has only just realised that Brazil is already a major global economy. And as an agricultural, mining and aviation exporter, it is also a food, aerospace, resources and energy superpower, with Petrobras, Vale, Embaer, JBS Beef and Ambev some of the world’s most influential multinationals and investors.</p>
<p>We are not getting first-mover advantage either. Brazil has been attracting attention from many of the world’s most important international business diplomatic delegations from the US, Canada, Germany, Japan, China and increasingly the emerging powers of Asia, the Middle East and Africa too.</p>
<p>But Australian businesses have also found frustrations in Brazil in terms of bureaucracy, tax laws and infrastructure; they notice the social issues, too. And while Brazil has reduced inequality under presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, there is still a long way to go - as the protests highlight.</p>
<p>However, as the world’s sixth-largest economy and with the spotlight on it from 2014 to 2016, Brazil is now just too big to ignore.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/15374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Harcourt has received a grant from the Council of Australia Latin American relations (part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) to write a book on Australia and Latin America.</span></em></p>We have recently witnessed Brazil being hit by mass protests not seen since the days of the military dictatorship, but apart from the Socceroos going to the 2014 World Cup and the Rio Olympics in 2016…Tim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.