(Soccer's image problem - rugby vs soccer)  

From National Soccer League to the A-League

Soccer started off in Australia in the mid 19th century and had as much chance of becoming dominant 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 just 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 message that is continually reinforced by other commentators. It is also 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 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 clearly on show in South America. Despite a fanatical love of soccer, South America soccer leagues are failing. In the last 15 years, averages at Brazilian games have dropped 40 per cent. In 2007, they only average 12,000. Chile averages around 4,000. Peru's crowds are in the hundreds.

In the 2008/2009 season, A-league crowds showed their first signs of falling and predictably, the negative press followed.

The sporting competitions with the greatest revenue are those that contain the elite of the sport. For this reason, America's Football, Baseball, and Basketball leagues have the highest average attendances along with Australian football. Not only do they get the largest crowds, they also get the largest television revenue. Fans the world over simply don't want to watch second best on TV when given the option of the best.

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 because it is owned by an American television actor and has players such as John Alosi. However, if a team like Manchester United plays in Sydney, Sydney FC wont look so glamorous, and John Alosi won't look like a huge hero as he does now. Sydney FC's carefully cultivated image will break overnight.

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