AFL seeks compensation for World Cup disruption

[SaintsSeptember]

The AFL is a business that has legal contracts with some stadiums out to the year in question.
They also have the legal right to play football during the time of the world cup.
Despite many people thinking otherwise the Australian government is not some sort of fascist dictatorship, and they cannot extinguish the AFL's rights.

In making a world cup bid the bidding party will have to ensure that they are legally able to meet FIFA' s conditions.

The AFL is within its rights to negotiate compenstaion in order to support the WC bid.

The Fact that the world cup /FIFA is really really big doesn't affect the above.
And if we are totally privelaged to have a world cup bid, that doesn't affect the AFL's rights for compensation either.

Of course a Chinese bid woudln't have these sorts of issues.

 

[Play by Numbers]

Pretty much.

I lold so hard at some of the claims in this thread.

One of the funniest being the Government would somehow pass legislation that would force the AFL to comply.

If the Government try to get into an arm wrestle (and I am not talking about something as rediculous as trying to pass legislation) with the AFL, expect implied threats of a storm of legal challenges, compensatory demands and a hefty PR campaign that could seriously damage the Governments credibility and would sink our chances for winning the bid in no time.

The only way this will go ahead is if a whole raft of organisations (AFL, NRL, both major political parties state and federal, the major stadiums etc) and the public are all in sync with what FIFA want.

I have strong doubts we can achieve this.

 

[treefingers]

Is there any reason why FIFA can't hold the World Cup over Dec-Jan and organise the club football seasons around this?

Do you really expect every soccer code around the world to change their entire season just so the AFL can keep running? In the grand scheme of things the AFL is very small compared to the EPL, Spanish leagues and FIFA in general.

 

[yodellinhank]

Do you really expect every soccer code around the world to change their entire season just so the AFL can keep running? In the grand scheme of things the AFL is very small compared to the EPL, Spanish leagues and FIFA in general.

So it makes perfect sense that one code can disrupt its season but not another?

 

[mickctiger]

gotta love the arrogance of soccer types

 

[speedpeck23]

Interesting how FIFA demands no other elite sport should be played locally during the World Cup. The AFL has the perfect opportunity to capitalize on relinquishing their rights to continue matches during this time. The obvious claim should be new stadiums in Western Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

 

[Giants FC]

One of the funniest being the Government would somehow pass legislation that would force the AFL to comply.

That would be Robert Mugabe's solution.
But, although I'm no constitutional lawyer, I suspect that in Australia the High Court would throw any such legislation out.

 

[Rasp]

No worries. Any other difficult concepts you need assistance with, I'm here to help.

No problem, ill give the ******* centre a call if I ever need you

 

[Shinboner Schem]

gotta love the arrogance of soccer types

the problem is that they are able to be arrogant. They have about 8 countries all clamoring for the opportunity to host the world cup.

With the likes of England, USA, Spain, etc all putting in bids that wont have any problems with local competitions from rival codes, how much notice is FIFA going to give Australia who represent a comparatively small population when they can't get everyone on the same page.

Yes it is the biggest sporting event in the world and not all that many Australians would care if we didn't get to host. But it is a fantastic opportunity to bring people into the country, and with that comes many opportunities including the opportunity to introduce our local game to an inceased number of visitors.

 

[db26]

Gez it's great to see so much bitter people here on Bigfooty who just hate other codes ,but world football is the one they love to kick in the guts harder and harder.I love both codes ,but when I read the such negativeity towards world football it turns me off AFL but lucky all supporters arent like some of the peanuts.I wonder how many people here posting would love to see the our national team and beloved Socceroos fail in the world cup next year in South Africa??? I would bet many because they a to bitter and cannot respect peoples love for other codes to.Funny thing is that, the socceroos a the most popular national team of Australia these days thanks to Cahill,Kewell and Neill just shows you doesnt it.Maybe you folks should recall when Gary Lyon and Sam Newman went to the World Cup in Germany 2006 and followed the socceroos .Lyon said that I have never seen a sporting event in my life as big as this nothing compares to it the passion,the atmosphere etc

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

So by your reasoning soccer isn't even on the radar in Australia .

.

It competes with cricket. Theres plenty of room for soccer in the summer months.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Gez it's great to see so much bitter people here on Bigfooty who just hate other codes ,but world football is the one they love to kick in the guts harder and harder.I love both codes ,but when I read the such negativeity towards world football it turns me off AFL but lucky all supporters arent like some of the peanuts.I wonder how many people here posting would love to see the our national team and beloved Socceroos fail in the world cup next year in South Africa??? I would bet many because they a to bitter and cannot respect peoples love for other codes to.Funny thing is that, the socceroos a the most popular national team of Australia these days thanks to Cahill,Kewell and Neill just shows you doesnt it.Maybe you folks should recall when Gary Lyon and Sam Newman went to the World Cup in Germany 2006 and followed the socceroos .Lyon said that I have never seen a sporting event in my life as big as this nothing compares to it the passion,the atmosphere etc

Many are indifferent towards soccer and happy enough to play host to the WC if it benefits the country. It's the soccer crowd's insistence that we must sacrifice our enjoyment for theirs which raises the hackles.

Remember, this is an AFL forum.

 

[Pessimistic]

Where is the requirement that each WC team have a STADIUM as a training base ? If there is it must be new beacause in the last WC Australia used a village field in a small tourist village/town as it's training base.

such as glenferrie oval would be ideal

 

[Pessimistic]

Also the Henry incident won't help the image of international soccer. How many games no have been decided by referees succumbing to pressure by the 'professional' teams in the last few minutes of the game.

Henry blatanly fouls, ref ignores it, france go through.

Italian diver dives - perhaps australian player intentionally fell under his feet = instant penalty - italy go through.

Everyone in soccer acknowledges countries need to 'do their time' before they can progress.

 

[Chuq]

So it makes perfect sense that one code can disrupt its season but not another?

The entire international structure of soccer is based on domestic leagues running from August to May, leaving June-July for continential and international competitions. 80+ domestic soccer leagues around the world run their competition in this way. There are 2 domestic leagues in Australia that overlap. Which solution do you think is easiest?

If AFL was one of the 80+ leagues and the 2 domestic leagues were soccer, which solution would you prefer then?

 

[Chuq]

The AFL is within its rights to negotiate compenstaion in order to support the WC bid.

No-one disagrees with this. That is what new oval venues in Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast are, for a start. Calls for $1b in cash are a joke.

Of course a Chinese bid woudln't have these sorts of issues.

Lucky China aren't bidding then.

 

[DaVe86]

Don't think Soccer has really caught on in China yet. And i never hear about how the Indian team is going in WC qualification. 2 and a half billion people who don't give a sh!t.

Of course the AFL will make space for a soccer world cup. But there would have to be some clauses in stadium deals to give us concessions over A-league etc. Its just common sense.

Is there any reason why FIFA can't hold the World Cup over Dec-Jan and organise the club football seasons around this?

Mate, every soccer competition in the world plans their season around international representation etc. The EPL has weeks where they do not play because their players represent.


FIFA is not going to push the world cup to December. It is always held mid-year. Doing this would throw every soccer competition in the world off.


It makes sense because soccer is a sport where you represent your country. Footy you do not.





And to people saying "the arrogance of soccer types...".........I think there are a lot of people like me in this thread who don't give a crap about soccer. I do not like watching a game of soccer at all. It is boring, weak and slow.


But, the World Cup is huge, and I'd love to see Australia host it. I also love supporting my country...which is something I don't get a chance to do as an AFL lover.

I love supporting Australia...in any sport. So hosting the World Cup with the Aussies on home turf would be a thrill for me....even though I do not like soccer.




I am not converting to soccer. I am not asking AFL to bend over for soccer. I am merely suggesting that for one year the AFL can be a little bit flexible and have a split season.



How boring is life without footy at the moment?? Imagine footy going through to November and starting in Feb. Would be awesome.

The AFL have been masking the prospect of hosting a night GF. Well this would be the year to do it since the weather would be hotter. The Feb games could all be night games as well to cope with the heat.

Footy in all but 2 months, with a 10 week break in between for Australia to play in the soccer would be an awesome year I reckon.



And again, I'm not getting into the argument about whether Australia should host it or not, or whether soccer is a good sport. That is up to the government and Soccer Federation to decide. I am merely saying as an AFL lover, I'd love to see a Soccer WOrld Cup.


But FWIW, AFL will always be 10 times the sport soccer is.

 

[DaVe86]

May as well be, because they are both boring games to watch & I played badminton, but it is boring as bat shit to watch.

soccer is a boring sport...I agree with you. I do not enjoy it either.


But the point isn't whether you or I enjoy watching a game of soccer.

The point is that Australia would get behind it, the crowds would be huge, the hype would be huge, and we'd get to support our country...which is something we do not get to do as AFL fans.

Like soccer or not, the World Cup is amazing. Did you see any of the German one??? The crowds that were at Lygon st and Fed Square at 3 in the morning were amazing.



Ultimately we go from September to March without footy. So we can go 10-12 weeks without it mid-year, considering there would be the Socceroos to follow during that time.

Then we get 5 extra weeks at the beginning of the year and 5 extra weeks at the end.


It wouldn't really clash with cricket. Cricket hasn't even started yet and its the end of November. The footy would be just about over by then.

 

[yodellinhank]

the problem is that they are able to be arrogant. They have about 8 countries all clamoring for the opportunity to host the world cup.

With the likes of England, USA, Spain, etc all putting in bids that wont have any problems with local competitions from rival codes, how much notice is FIFA going to give Australia who represent a comparatively small population when they can't get everyone on the same page.

Yes it is the biggest sporting event in the world and not all that many Australians would care if we didn't get to host. But it is a fantastic opportunity to bring people into the country, and with that comes many opportunities including the opportunity to introduce our local game to an inceased number of visitors.

Which we won't be able to, as we won't have access to any of the stadiums.

 

[qldbluesman_43]

AFL is my number 1 sport by a LONG way.

Holding the world cup is something so amazing that I would be prepared to forget about football for a few weeks. I watch soccer very occationally but the world cup is a one-off event that pretty much can't be matched.

In 2006 Germany, I got up at 2 or 3am every morning for Australia's games and loved it so much I was yelling at the TV as much as Carlton vs Hawthorn last quarter this year.

Still annoyed at Italy.

 

[yodellinhank]

O

The entire international structure of soccer is based on domestic leagues running from August to May, leaving June-July for continential and international competitions. 80+ domestic soccer leagues around the world run their competition in this way. There are 2 domestic leagues in Australia that overlap. Which solution do you think is easiest?

If AFL was one of the 80+ leagues and the 2 domestic leagues were soccer, which solution would you prefer then?

Soccer can be played year round. Australian Rules Football cannot. All they have to do is alter their schedule to accommodate the internationals at a different time of year. Simple. Surely an organisation so big and important as FIFA could manage this? You still get your year round soccer, and there is no economic detriment to either code.

 

[Dasher39]

Threads like these are hilarious!

It's so funny to see provincial, small-minded idiots make fools of themselves because they have no idea about how the world operates outside of the AFL.

I'm dumbfounded that people think the AFL should tell FIFA to "go and get f*cked". Umm, the AFL have no say in this. The FFA is being nice by even offering to talk to the AFL and NRL and work out a solution.

I can guarantee this, there will be no contractual problems with the FIFA World Cup getting access to any stadium it wants in the country. Why? Because if the AFL and NRL refuse to come to the party the Govt will simply pass Legislation (and believe me they will, they've already flagged it as an option) to make it LAW that the AFL and NRL don't have access to those stadiums.

And if the AFL and NRL refuse this do you really think the Federal Govt is then going to turn around and give them compensation? There certainly wont be any compensation coming from FIFA, they couldn't give a f*ck about the AFL...and rightly so.

It's great to see the bully become the one being bullied. People think the AFL is the be all and end all of the world, that the AFL are the biggest sporting administrators and can tell anyone anything they want and get away with it. Because basically that is what they do in Australia.

But then comes along an organisation with far greater power that just laughs at the AFL and people here cannot accept that the AFL might not get it's own way.

 

[speedpeck23]

How boring is life without footy at the moment?? Imagine footy going through to November and starting in Feb. Would be awesome.

The AFL have been masking the prospect of hosting a night GF. Well this would be the year to do it since the weather would be hotter. The Feb games could all be night games as well to cope with the heat.

Footy in all but 2 months, with a 10 week break in between for Australia to play in the soccer would be an awesome year I reckon.



And again, I'm not getting into the argument about whether Australia should host it or not, or whether soccer is a good sport. That is up to the government and Soccer Federation to decide. I am merely saying as an AFL lover, I'd love to see a Soccer WOrld Cup.


But FWIW, AFL will always be 10 times the sport soccer is.

Hey, I like your thinking. Why not have a split AFL season?? The winter can be a drag sometimes...let Soccer have that time. Feb to April...Aug to November sounds fine. Great marketing opportunities for the AFL if the World Cup comes to Australia....Better stadiums... by the time the World Cup is over many more people will be indirectly aware of AFL ..will recognise the Stadiums on TV and will say "oh yeh..thats the Australian Game...how fast is that game compared to foosball"...and "look at the crowds..as big as the World Cup Football" If handled correctly the World Cup could be a golden opportunity for Aussie Rules. Of course Cricket and the A-League would have to step aside a bit for the AFL.

 

[mickctiger]

Threads like these are hilarious!


I can guarantee this, there will be no contractual problems with the FIFA World Cup getting access to any stadium it wants in the country. Why? Because if the AFL and NRL refuse to come to the party the Govt will simply pass Legislation (and believe me they will, they've already flagged it as an option) to make it LAW that the AFL and NRL don't have access to those stadiums.

contractual problems aside, the Government will not pass legislation, not the least because of that little thing called the constitution will not allow it, and even if they were to somehow circumvent that, it would be political suicide for them to do so

 

[Chuq]

It's great to see the bully become the one being bullied. People think the AFL is the be all and end all of the world, that the AFL are the biggest sporting administrators and can tell anyone anything they want and get away with it. Because basically that is what they do in Australia.

But then comes along an organisation with far greater power that just laughs at the AFL and people here cannot accept that the AFL might not get it's own way.

I think this is the key. AFL supporters have no experience of their code being at the smaller end of the scale. If you want to know what it will be like for you for 4-8 weeks in 13 years time, it's about the same as what soccer, basketball, rugby league/union (outside NSW/Qld) supporters in Australia have been putting up with for the past 30 years.