A Small Victory for Australian Soccer
By: Daryl | February 17th, 2009
American readers of The Offside will be well aware of the football vs football, soccer vs NFL battle. They’ll also know that – in the short term at least – it’s not a battle that’s winnable on a national level. If there was ever a conflict of interest, the NFL juggernaut would likely crush MLS into the floor.
There’s a similarish situation in Australia, where the A-League (football as we know it) has to deal with the might of the Aussie Rules Football playing AFL.
But the A-League looks to have won a small victory today, after the two organizations went head to head over the use of a stadium in Melbourne.
The way the A-League works is similar to MLS in that there are playoffs, but… there’s a seeded playoff system whereby 1st plays 2nd in the Major Semi-Final for the right to be at home for the Grand Final.
Melbourne Victory beat Adelaide United, and so the A-League Grand Final will be held at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium/Telstra Dome on February 26th, 2009. Problem is that the Docklands Stadium was also supposed to host an AFL NAB Cup quarter-final between Collingwood and Richmond on that same day. Ruh-roh.
But here’s the thing. The NAB Cup isn’t really a big deal. It’s basically a pre-season tournament. So the fact that there was even a debate about whether to use the Docklands Stadium for this or the A-League Grand Final is testament to AFL’s dominance.
But… after much debate the A-League emerged victorious and the Grand Final will be held at the Docklands Stadium.
OK, so maybe not the biggest victory. Since the NAB Cup isn’t a big deal, this is a bit like David beating Goliath at something Goliath doesn’t care about. But since the A-League only started in 2005, and AFL has been around since 1897, this is a big victory for a little league and a promising sign for soccer in Australia.
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Category: World Football
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Comments
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Let’s not forget that both soccer and Aussie Rules duke it out with Rugby League and Rugby Union down under. The Football Wars never end in Australia.
Posted from
United States
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I know! It’s awesome living here :p
Posted from
Australia -
There wasn’t really a debate about it. The grand final was always going to be played at Telstra Dome on that night. The TV network that broadcasts the AFL were apparently a bit annoyed but no one seriously suggested that the A-league final be moved.
Posted from
Australia -
Isn’t an AFL Pitch twice the size of a soccer pitch?…do they put seats on the ground for a soccer game?
Posted from
United States
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