Play Nice 2020 Non AFL Admin, Crowds, Ratings, Participation etc thread

[Our Game]

My memory of things accords with Wookie, that a lot of soccer fans were beating their chests over this, thinking they had boarded a juggernaut that would steamroll everything before them, and then were laughed out of Geneva with one solitary vote!
Also, it seems a lot of soccer fans had trouble understanding that the AFL Commission would give priority to running the AFL, first and foremost, and they would pay little heed to helping FIFA members line their own pockets.
What a strange set of priorities they had at the time!

Just a reminder what a disaster the Australian bid was We got ONE vote!
What a waste of $44 million of taxpayers money!

Country Australia	Vote 100
1	2	3	4
Total Votes​	22	22	22	22
Qatar​	11	10	11	14
United States​	3	5	6	8
South Korea​	4	5	5	0
Japan​	3	2	0	0
Australia​	1	0	0	0

 

[Kwality]

Just a reminder what a disaster the Australian bid was We got ONE vote!
What a waste of $44 million of taxpayers money!

Total Votes​	22	22	22	22
1	2	3	4
Country Australia	Vote 100
Qatar​	11	10	11	14
United States​	3	5	6	8
South Korea​	4	5	5	0
Japan​	3	2	0	0
Australia​	1	0	0	0

That one vote wasnt based on the bid as I remember, more a return on favours delivered. A system that is as compromised as the AFL FIXture (okay FIFA is a tad more compromised).

 

[BobbyMorri]

Yeah hopefully the crowds will build up as the tournament reaches the quarter finals.
Don't forget its not during the usual holidays,schools are back and people are back at work plus no international travellers allowed.

yeah. the weekend will be a good test. Seems more people around today but they might have just been all around the same court.

TV ratings were mixed. average of 485K, down from the 635K average last year. Though Nicks match averaged 600K, so perhaps it was only a small decrease, which will be similar to most sports during the covid era. Its tough to say cause it is tennis and matches tend to blend into each other.

 

[BobbyMorri]

 

[Aussie in exile]

So instead of explaining yourself you'd rather hurl insults. Are you capable of giving an explanation, or do you have nothing besides bravado? Reminds me of V’landys.

So English isn't your first language

 

[Aussie in exile]

lol. every goddamn time this is mentioned its laughable. The AFL and its fans have nothing to fear from soccer. There was very real commercial and practical concerns that were never addressed.



It was a classic example of people assuming that soccer is the juggernaut at a professional level that it has never been in this country outside of World Cup television audiences and the occasional national fixture.



No one had a real fear of this at all. The only people that ever mention this "fear" are either media blowhards or fans of other codes.



On December 2nd, 2010, Football Federation Australia submitted a bid to host the 2022 World Cup to FIFA. It had also lodged a bid for the 2018 World Cup which it withdrew from in June 2010 to focus solely on the 2022 bid.

The bid was officially launched on June 14th, 2009, about 6 months after the bidding procedure began in January.

On December 5, the Heraldsun wrote that the AFL was preparing for the bid demands with a number of options being considered.

• Close down the AFL for a full season.
• Suspend fixtures mid-year to accommodate World Cup matches across the nation.
• Run a shorter season in a World Cup year

On December 6, 2009, the Heraldsun reported that the AFL was reportedly upset with the lack of detail in the bid, including what constitutes major sporting events and whether matches could be played in Melbourne during the world cup. The FFA was reportedly seeking urgent clarification.

The AFL and MCC also claim to not have been advised of the modifications to the MCG that would potentially close it down for 4 months to other sports.

On December 7, 2009 the Heraldsun reported that the AFL was fuming over FFA demands pertaining to the world cup bid. These included the surprise when FFA told the MCG it would need a $140 million dollar refurbishment to suit soccer. This would put the ground out of action for the AFL for 4 months.

The AFL believed that the 4 week mandatory quarantine before and after World Cup stadium usage means it may not have access to some stadiums for vast lengths of the season.

Andrew Demetriou told ABC Radio’s AM program that the disruption caused by modifying the MCG would affect millions of regular football fans.

On December 8, NRL executives told the Daily Telegraph that they had concerns over the bid and were determined that the NRL wouldnt just disappear with concerns over Origin.

On December 9, 2009, The Age and Heraldsun reported that Docklands had officially declined to host World Cup matches, while the AFL accused the FFA of showing a lack of respect and saying it could not possibly run a season without at least one of Melbournes major stadiums available to it.

FFA believes that it has the option of seeking government intervention to sieze the privately owned Docklands. Being barred from the stadium almost certainly meant less games for Melbourne.

The Age says that the FFA initially didnt need Docklands preferring to use the new rectangular stadium, but when it didnt meet capacity evidently just added in Docklands without letting anybody in on their change of plan. The AFL says the first it knew of the issue was when they saw it in the paper. Demetriou told The Age

On December 10, 2009, the Heraldsun reported that the FFA, Federal Government and State Governments were prepared to go even without the AFL’s co-operation, and believe that the AFL were the only remaining obstacle.

On February 10, 2010, Etihad CEO Ian Collins made the following statement in the Heraldsun.

On the issue of compulsory acquisition he added

On March 2, The Age reported that the Victorian Government had nominated Kardinia Park to be used for the World Cup bid.

On March 15th, 2010, The Geelong Advertiser reported that the AFL was backing Kardinia Park to be the second stadium ahead, in order to free up Docklands for the AFL.

On March 17th, The Courier Mail reported that the NRL would seek compensation for having to move State of Origin.

On March 31, Frank Lowy told the Financial Review that FFA could do it without the AFl and Etihad Stadium.

On May 1st, 2010, The Heraldsun reported that the AFL would seek up to $100 million in compensation for the larger stadiums it had given up for the world cup bid. Senior FFA officials are quoted as saying the AFL was holding the FFA to ransom. For its part, the AFL said no figure had been reached.

On May 10, afl.com.au claimed that the AFL would support the world cup after it had recieved assurances that its season would be able to continue uninterrupted, and that retaining Docklands stadium was integral to that plan.

The article states that the AFL had agreed to give up playing at the MCG, Subiaco, Kardinia Park, Carrara and Adelaide Oval – which would cause about 90 matches to be relocated.

On May 15th, 2010, The Australian reported that due to the AFL not releasing the Docklands stadium for the bid, the number of games available to Melbourne would be reduced.

On June 15, 2010, the SMH reported that the AFL was missing out on a golden opportunity to showcase its game before the international community due to its intransigence.

On July 12, 2010, David Duavutovic wrote an opinion piece in News LTd papers that accused the AFL of being a bully, including forcing radio stations to downgrade Aleagfue broadcast and leaking stories designed to take attention away from soccer in its moment of glory.

In October 2010, just weeks before the bid was officially lodged, Frank Lowy told Fairfax media that the bid was almost cancelled and blamed the AFL for being stubborn over the use of the MCG.

In the same interview he expresses confidence in Australias ability to win the rights to the 2022 world cup.

On October 15th, 2010 the Heraldsun reported that the MCG was still not a given unless the AFL cleared it due to a long term contract the AFL has with the ground. News reported that the ground would only be released if FFA could provide an assurance that the AFL season could go ahead.

On November 21, 2010, The ABC and The Age reported that the FIFA Evaluation report had said that the NRL and AFL seasons as well as the Queens Birthday holiday could interfere with the success of the World Cup.

On September 16, 2011, the Heraldsun reported that compensation agreed to in the last minute secret deal between the FFA and the AFL, NRL would be around $100 million. The AFL would move up to 90 games and matches during the Cup finals would be halted at the leagues discretion.

In March 16, 2012, former FFA CEO Archie Fraser told The Advertiser that soccers inability to stand up for itself led directly to a planned AFL stadium improvement boom.

Timeline

• Oct 14, 2010 – Lowy tells Fairfax he is confident we can win the 2022 world cup bidding.
• Dec 2, 2010 – The FFA officially lodges its bid with the FFA for 2022

Referemces

• 2022 Australia World Cup Bid – Wikipedia
• Mar 16, 2012 – “Soccers big kick for the AFL” – The Advertiser
• Sep 16, 2011 – “Secret Deal over world Cup bid” – Heraldsun
• Nov 21, 2010 – “NRL/AFL still irk FIFA” – The Age
• Nov 21, 2010 – “NRL/AFL could hurt World Cup bid” – ABC Online
• Oct 15, 2010 – “MCG not settled for cup” – Heraldsun
• Oct 14, 2010 – “AFL hard ball almost turned World Cup into non event” – SMH
• Jun 15, 2010 – “World cup would be a major boost to AFL expansion” – SMH
• Jul 12, 2010 – “Time for Australia to get behind world cup bid” – Heraldsun
• May 15, 2010 – “Melbourne to get just a sliver of World Cup cake” – The Australian
• May 10, 2010 – Portected Etihad key to agreement” – AFL.com.au
• May 1, 2010 – “AFL wants $100 million compensation” – Heraldsun
• Mar 31, 2010 – “We dont need AFL says Lowy” – Financial Review
• Mar 17, 2010 – “Origin may be forced into the suburbs” – Courier Mail
• Mar 15, 2010 – “AFL backs plan for Geelong to host world cup matches” – Geelong Advertiser
• Mar 2, 2010 – “Geelong in the mix” – The Age
• Feb 10, 2010 – “AFL Blocks Etihad world cup bid” – Heraldsun
• Dec 10,2009 – “AFL boss last obstacle” – Heraldsun
• Dec 9, 2009 – “AFL rules out Etihad Stadium for World Cup” – Heraldsun
• Dec 9,2009 – “AFL block to world cup bid” – The Age
• Dec 8, 2009 – “NRL concerned about effects of bid” – Daily Telegraph
• Dec 7, 2009 – “AFL fuming over World Cup demands” – Heraldsun
• Dec 7, 2009 – “AFl Concerned as world cup bid appraches” – ABC Radio
• Dec 6, 2009 – “FFA moves to allay footy fears” – Heraldsun
• Dec 5, 2009 – “AFL braces for tall orders from FFA” – Heraldsun
• Jun 15, 2009 – “Australia launches dual bid for World Cup” – ABC News

So in a nutshell some AF fans didn't want the biggest sporting event in the world coming to Australia. Please don't tell me Australian love sport as a whole, because they don't
How unAustralian is that and shows how insecure some of them are

 

[The_Wookie]

So in a nutshell some AF fans didn't want the biggest sporting event in the world coming to Australia. Please don't tell me Australian love sport as a whole, because they don't
How unAustralian is that and shows how insecure some of them are

thats really not what the nutshell was, but you be you

 

[Aussie in exile]

thats really not what the nutshell was, but you be you

Baseball in the US didn't fear the 1994 soccer world cup, but AF did here
So are you saying that outside of AF the fans of the game have no real interest in other sports?

 

[The_Wookie]

Baseball in the US didn't fear the 1994 soccer world cup, but AF did here
So are you saying that outside of AF the fans of the game have no real interest in other sports?

Im saying that your full of it. AF didnt fear any sport here.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

So English isn't your first language

Troll appears to be your first (and only) language.

 

[Kwality]

Baseball in the US didn't fear the 1994 soccer world cup, but AF did here
So are you saying that outside of AF the fans of the game have no real interest in other sports?

Simply the US bid was professional, addressed the issues. The Aus bid was (a shocking waste of money) consistent with the Eurosnob insecurity that overhangs Australian soccer - that the stadiums issue wasnt discussed with stadium managers exposes the naivete of the bid, & those involved.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Im saying that your full of it. AF didnt fear any sport here.

It certainly feared the soccer world cup coming here 100%

 

[Aussie in exile]

Troll appears to be your first (and only) language.

Hurry up and book them English lessons

 

[The_Wookie]

It certainly feared the soccer world cup coming here 100%

utter rubbish. If youd read any of the above, youd know that there were legitimate business concerns and contracts involved. You cant just over-ride existing long term arrangements for the hell of it

 

[RedV3x]

It certainly feared the soccer world cup coming here 100%

People fear the effects of Covid19, the lockdowns and the cessation of business.
The AFL feared the economic effects of shutdown just like it feared the economic effects of Covid19.
That is a legitimate concern for any business - being shut down.

 

[BobbyMorri]

Last 2 days, the attendance at the Ao was 19,900 and today was 21,010. building nicely for the busy weekend.

Nick Kyrgios was the highest rating TV show last night, with around 700K watching. Will build tmw night with another night match v Theim, which will hopefully start on time

 

[Gigantor]

The bottom line with the WC bid is that soccer australia didn't have the werewithal to organise it by themselves. By rights, the AFL should never have been involved in the discussion. Yet the AFL kept getting mentioned in daily dispatches.
Soccer didn't have the funds to get any stadiums built themselves.
Soccer didn't have the clout to get any government to build any stadiums.
And despite the WC supposedly being "big", could not get one single multi-national to commit a single dollar to build just one stadium.
All in all, they just had Lowy's enthusiasm, but they had nothing else.
The sleeping giant showed itself to be pretty hopeless and pathetic at the end of the day.

 

[abcde12345]

Baseball in the US didn't fear the 1994 soccer world cup, but AF did here
So are you saying that outside of AF the fans of the game have no real interest in other sports?

Why don't we actually take 5 minutes to look at the impact to the MLB compared to what the impact to the AFL would have been...

On first glance - the Soccer World Cup shared one city - Chicago - with MLB during the event. Including greater metro areas, LA, SF Bay Area, Dallas, Chicago and NY could be counted, which accounted for 9 of the 28 teams at the time. That makes up 32% of teams, something that could easily be worked around with road trips.

During the event, all 9 of these teams (Dodgers, Angels, Giants, Raiders, Rangers, Cubs, White Sox, Yankees and Mets) were allowed to play at their home fields.

So basically, the MLB was not required to make any changes to its scheduling for the season at all. No other major American sporting league was scheduled to take place during this period either.


Let's compare that to the Australian World Cup Bid:

The World Cup bid was scheduled to share 7 cities with the AFL - accounting for all 18 of its clubs.

The bid was initially expecting to use the MCG, Docklands, Subiaco, Carrara and Adelaide Oval, before Docklands was given up for Kardinia Park. Putting aside the Victorian club situation for a second, 5/8 clubs were being asked to give up their home grounds. Bear in mind, including the 4 week quarantine periods pre and post-event, this meant approximately 50% of the season that 67.5% of the non-Victorian teams wouldn't have their home ground for.

One stadium in Melbourne was available, however it is unsustainable to be playing 5+ games per week, every week, for 3 months straight at the one stadium. This would require further disruptions to the Melbourne teams. 5 would have no access to their "true" home ground (Geelong, Melbourne, Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthorn).

In summary, the Australian World Cup bid was demanding drastic changes to the scheduling of the AFL (and obviously the NRL) seasons, with 10/18 (56%) of the clubs unable to play at their home ground for half the season.

It only takes a modicum of analysis to realise that the impact to the MLB vs the impact to the AFL was not even close to equal. Acting as if they are is at best deliberately misleading and at worst plain stupid.

Sounds more like a massive failing in the preparation of the event, as well as the geographic realities of Australia as a country compared to the US, rather than "fear".

 

[Pippen94]

The bottom line with the WC bid is that soccer australia didn't have the werewithal to organise it by themselves. By rights, the AFL should never have been involved in the discussion. Yet the AFL kept getting mentioned in daily dispatches.
Soccer didn't have the funds to get any stadiums built themselves.
Soccer didn't have the clout to get any government to build any stadiums.
And despite the WC supposedly being "big", could not get one single multi-national to commit a single dollar to build just one stadium.
All in all, they just had Lowy's enthusiasm, but they had nothing else.
The sleeping giant showed itself to be pretty hopeless and pathetic at the end of the day.

Afl fears soccer

 

[Kwality]

Troll appears to be your first (and only) language.

You have to admit there are many AFL fans that contribute here intent on pumping up AFL footy & knocking other sports & their fans. Is that insecurity?

 

[Gigantor]

Afl fears soccer

I'm sure it's top of the agenda at every Commission board meeting.
I can picture them having a tea break, eating their scones, cream and jam, and someone says: What are we going to do about soccer?
The other day they got ratings which reached 20K!
If this keeps up, they might start getting ratings of two-thirds what the women get!
What are we gonna do if the A-League closes the gap on womens footy?

 

[Kwality]

I'm sure it's top of the agenda at every Commission board meeting.
I can picture them having a tea break, eating their scones, cream and jam, and someone says: What are we going to do about soccer?
The other day they got ratings which reached 20K!
If this keeps up, they might start getting ratings of two-thirds what the women get!
What are we gonna do if the A-League closes the gap on womens footy?

Spot on.

Would the % of AFL followers watching the Womens game on live media be greater than the % of soccer fans watching A-League?

There can be little doubt the AFL maintain a watching brief on the big international sports that set the trend for the sports media.

 

[RedV3x]

Afl fears soccer

Like a toy that you might trip over in the dark.

 

[RedV3x]

There can be little doubt the AFL maintain a watching brief on the big international sports that set the trend for the sports media.

Yes, they have made trips to the NFL.

 

[RedV3x]

You have to admit there are many AFL fans that contribute here intent on pumping up AFL footy & knocking other sports & their fans.

You have to admit there are many other sports fans that contribute here intent on trolling AFL footy with ridiculous and inflammatory statements.