(Soccer's image problem - rugby vs soccer)  

From National Soccer League to the A-League

Soccer started in Australia in the mid 19th century and had as much chance of becoming the dominant code as any of the other football codes. For reasons not easily explained, it never took off as a spectator sport.

After World War II, soccer had a revival on the back of a massive immigration intake from mainland Europe. In 1977, migrants established the National Soccer League to remind them of their home countries. Although the league was Australia's first national sporting competition, racism ultimately led to its failure. Instead of the clubs being named after ideals that all Australians could identify with, they were named after European concepts such as "Sydney Croatia" and "Marconi” that excluded others and led to racial conflicts.

Aside from alienating mainstream Australia, the racial identities also made it very difficult for soccer's administration to co-operate as a unit. Board meetings were characterised by racist comments, support for own ethnic groups, and threats of violence. In the absence of productive decision-making, soccer went bankrupt.

With soccer on the verge of complete oblivion, in 2003 the federal government was asked to finance a restructuring of a new league without racial associations. In 2005, the A-League came into existence. So far, crowds and media coverage have been quite positive. The highlight has been a clash between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory that drew more than 50,000 supporters.

Most of the marketing of the A-league has been based around hype. Firstly, it has been hyped around the idea that soccer is the "world game." The second is that the A-league will become Australia's national sport. For example, in 2008 on Total Football, A-league commentator Robbie Slater said,

"This is not taking a pop at the other codes but I think they are going to struggle to find players in 10 years time because every kid in Australia will be playing soccer."

It is a very effective marketing strategy. Message board posts illustrate that, rather than be excited by the image of their club, soccer fans are excited by the prospect of their game dominating one day. Typical comments include:

"I think the Socceroos already are the second most popular national team. When Australia consistently qualifies for the World Cup and regularly put in a good showing, they will move up."

"I agree with Hid, I'm frokm Newcastle and all you see is Jets jerseys everywhere and no Knights. This has been the case for around a year now. The only people who wear NRL jerseys in Newcastle are people who can't spell their own name and bogans with no teeth. Also they are the people in town who always get into fights."

"The A-Leeague needs more quality then it will be the number one sport because football is global."

The danger of the hype marketing strategy is that when people eventually see through it, the appeal of the code crashes. If all Australian kids aren't playing soccer by 2018 and the code has plateued, then some people will desert it.

Aside from the dubious marketing, it is easy to be cynical about soccer's prospects because there is little global precedant showing that a soccer league can be popular outside of Europe. The lack of interest in second rate leagues is best seen in South America. Despite a fanatical love of soccer, South American soccer leagues are failing. In the last 15 years, average crowds at Brazilian games have dropped 40 per cent. In 2007, they only averaged 12,000. Chile averaged around 4,000. Peru's crowds were in the hundreds.

The lack of crowd interest in also reflected in a lack of television interest. Fans the world over simply don't want to watch second best. South American soccer fans would rather watch the great players of their country, even if they play in European leagues, than watch some nobody play for the local club.

The same problem is inevitable in Australian soccer. Why would a true soccer lover want to watch a local team full of players no other country wants when they can watch Australia's best players in a European league?

Aside from losing players to Europe, Australian soccer risks European leagues expanding their market share in Australia. Presently, the English Premier League is considering playing some rounds in countries like Australia or China. If they did, they would destroy the image of some of the Australian clubs such as Sydney FC. Presently, Sydney FC markets itself as the "glamour" team. In its communications, it makes the public aware that it is owned by an American television actor and has players such as John Alosi. However, if a team like Manchester United comes to Australia, Sydney FC wont look so glamorous. Furthermore, John Alosi won't look like the big fish that he does now. Sydney FC's carefully cultivated image will break overnight.

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