Two weeks ago, there were two huge news stories and events that potentially will help alter the sporting landscape here in Australia dramatically in the months and years to come.
One was a wonderful achievement and a testament to the Australian sporting psyche of an underdog rising to the occasion and, against all odds, prevailing in the most stunning way possible. The other was yet another ugly story that ultimately mars and detracts from the success and public images of two sports codes in this country desperately vying for fans.
» Talk Football in our Dedicated Boards
The first story is none other than the amazing and surreal triumph of the Western Sydney Wanderers in the Asian Champions League Final in the early hours on Sunday morning. A team not even three years old, restricted by a salary cap and having but a tiny fraction of the resources of the region’s cashed up heavyweight teams available to them taking on the might of Asia.
If you need an example of the chasm between the Wanderers and some of the power clubs in Asia, look no further than Guangzhou Evergrande (the team the Wanderers defeated in the Quarter finals); they were coached at the time (he has since retired from match day coaching) by Italian legend Marcelo Lippi with Lippi being paid a cool 12m Euros a season. In stark contrast, the salary cap the Wanderers play under is around $2.55 AUD million.
Yet despite such a gulf in wealth and with Al-Hilal’s manager Laurentiu Reghecampf labelling the Wanderers pre-match as “a small club”, the Wanderers (albeit with a bit of good fortune that most teams require in big games) upset the odds of defending a slender 1-0 lead, in front of a hostile home crowd of 63,763 fans. There were laser pointers, dubious decisions, heat, humidity, seemingly loud jeers from the locals, and what seemed endless waves of attacks from Al-Hilal, but the resolute Wanderers clung on to record a famous triumph and achieve a feat never completed by an Australian club side – winning the AFC Champions League final.
The year 2014 marks the 10th year of the A League since its inaugural season, and the Wanderer’s triumph is another heartening sign of the progress the game has made locally in that time. In terms of glowing achievements for the round ball game locally, few would be more impressive than seeing an Australian club winning the most prestigious club tournament in Asia.
On the flipside of this crowning achievement, there was disappointment as the war of words further escalated between the AFL and Football Federation Australia, the respective governing bodies of both Australian Rules and Association football, a worrying but not unfamiliar trend in recent years. The most recent trade of punches is the AFL’s statement they would not be able (or willing) to reschedule their fixture to allow either the MCG or Etihad stadium to be available for an A League Grand Final on Sunday May 17th 2015, in the event that either Melbourne City or current A League ladder leaders Melbourne Victory win the right to host the grand final. This creates the awkward scenario where, if either City or Victory hosts the final, the final itself could be played interstate, depriving many local fans the chance to see their team in the Grand Final.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan had previously expressed that the two codes could “co-operate” to help ensure “mutual growth” in Sydney’s west, where the fledgling AFL franchise, ‘the GWS Giants’, have been left in the wake of the Wanderers’ success both competitively and with community engagement. For most commentators, this is hardly surprising give Sydney’s west has historically been of the round-ball persuasion. However, the recent snub by the AFL to try and accommodate for the fixture rescheduling isn’t likely to result in the FFA being receptive to the idea of helping the AFL penetrate a market they’ve struggled to make inroads into.
Indeed, in response to those comments, David Gallop, the CEO of the FFA said, “At the end of the day, we are in a competitive environment. We want people to choose our game to play and watch. Our popularity is booming and we are going to concentrate on our sport – and the business of our sport.” It seems to be a pretty clear message that the FFA aren’t willing to try and foster a harmonious relationship with the AFL at this present time.
In terms of pure business acumen, it makes sense for both codes who are rivals in the wider competitive sporting market, to make these sort of firm statements that potentially antagonise other codes. At the end of the day, McLachlan and Gallop are both employed and handsomely paid to champion their respective organisations and promote their game’s interest for their stakeholders. But ultimately, it’s the Australian sporting fan who will suffer when both codes continue to butt heads and thump their chests to the media and to each other.
The modern-day sports fan is generally a fan who has a vested interest in more than one code. The days of staunch diehards and sporting bigots only following one code and one team are becoming more and more of a relic of the past and it’s becoming increasingly common for average punters to follow multiple codes. It’s distressing to see fans of both codes feeling the need to take sides and pledge allegiance to a code whenever a spat by the governing bodies arises.
There is no real reason why both codes can’t coexist and potentially help one another grow. In Australia (and for me personally), the AFL offers an exciting, hard and fast-paced sporting spectacle that I can attend to live during the winter months whereas it’s generally infeasible for football fans to travel overseas to watch the big European leagues. Similarly, when the AFL goes into hibernation during the Australian summer, the A League picks up the slack and provides an enjoyable alternative where the vibrant crowds and atmospheres help make even drab matches on the field entertaining affairs. The fact the A League is run during the summer months (to match up with the January transfer window and align itself better with the FIFA calendar) is even better as I don’t have any strong interest in cricket.
Lose-Lose
It’s for this reason that the row over the stadiums in Melbourne for Sunday 17th May 2015 is essentially a lose-lose situation for both codes and, more importantly, the fans. Simply put, the scheduled Bulldogs vs Freo match will, barring an unforeseen miracle, not outdraw the potential crowd for the A League Grand Final. The AFL’s refusal, while appearing to be within its contractual rights to do so, ultimately does make it look somewhat petty and the block will inevitably upset many fans, state government officials, event managers, and ultimately the Victorian economy. All because the AFL and FFA powerbrokers continually look to strong arm each other.
Passionate fans and paying member of clubs in both competitions remain hopeful that an amicable resolution can be achieved before things get out of hand. Hopefully when the dust has settled and the time of the A League Grand Final rolls around next year, the only thing people will recall is the monumental accomplishment of the Wanderers and not another incident in a growing list of bad sportsmanship between the AFL and the FFA.
