99,382 v 26,815

[madmug]

Sa


Yeah you're right mate, good thinking. AFL has nothing to worry about.

Well it has very little to worry about with the A-league.

Last nights exhibition match was a nice glimpse of superstar entertainers playing a friendly game & playing up to the crowd. They will be back in a few years I guess. Geez, Billy Graham attracted more than that

Meanwhile the A-league will just plod along. Anyone who shows potential will piss off to the UK, or Italy or Turkey or China or wherever the money is. The Adelaide coach just left for the USA, Adelaide was a stepping stone, or maybe just a door mat for him. Joseph Gumboot or whoever he was.

Meanwhile the A-league will just plod along as a 4th rate competition. A few 3rd rate Europeans or 30 something has been retirees will come over for a bit of superannuation, so the A-league will continue to just plod along.

Yawn.

 

[Milanista28]

You just have to look at the A-League crowd and TV numbers to know that AFL isn't in much trouble at all.
They only way soccer in Australia could overtake AFL is if it some how found away to attract the best players as people have shown they'll turn up for that.
Don't know why they could coexist either, what's wrong with having two major sports?

Look how far the A league has come in 10 years, Melbourne victory next season will have more season ticket holders than half the AFL competition, You can only imagine what they will be like in 10 years time, And if in the next 20 years we get the chance to host a world cup the game will explode.

I'm not saying the AFL is in trouble both sports can co exist, But the A leagues growth has been good.

 

[Caladriusse]

The AFL is in some strife with it all now. You just get the feeling this time next year more huge football teams will come over and play because they've seen the numbers Australia has produced. This year it was Real Madrid, Man City and Roma, just wait until Barcelona, Manchester United and Arsenal start planning their visits. I would not be surprised if we see Liverpool and Real Madrid revisiting again soon too. The response to these sides coming here has been enormous and FIFA will surely start pushing for a World Cup to be in Australia eventually. Once that happens, Australian Rules will be temporarily dead and it will go through a significant recovery period. This has been a long time coming though, football is too powerful and AFL will never be able to compete with it, which is why they have tried to embrace it and used it as an opportunity to promote our game. I do fear for the AFL once A-League starts increasing their salary caps and more marquee players come across to play for the Melbourne sides. Not only that, with the way our government lets internationals migrate here so easily, it will only strengthen football's grip on the Australian market.

Hello. I have been an AFL fan for three seasons now even though I have never been to Australia. I watch the game each week now but have never posted on here before because I am still new to the game. I reckon though as someone 'outside looking in' I have something to contribute here. Might I also add that I have been an Everton Football Club supporter for over 25 years.

I can understand why you might think football/soccer is a threat to AFL but I really don't think that it is! The reason being is that football actually has a multitude of major problems that you will not notice until you become a real fan (and preferably one in Western Europe).

Here in England football is being run into the ground. We have the strongest structure in the world (five professional leagues/~100 clubs) yet many of our clubs are struggling to stay alive. Money is being thrown at players who really do care sod all about the team, professional clubs have nearly gone out of business because of these actions, the players live in La La Land and have little connection with fans now, some clubs are now being run by rich Asians and Arabs who see the club as nothing more than a vanity project or a way of extracting cash. Last year one Thai-owner of Cardiff City Football Club (founded 1899) actually changed the teams colours from blue to red because "Thai people like red"! No I am not joking. The transition from 'football club' to 'sports business' has not gone unnoticed and European soccer is leading the pack. The biggest problem that football has? The big clubs are becoming huge and the small clubs are becoming mere trampolines. In the major four leagues (England/Spain/Germany/Italy) even as late as the 1980s there was genuine competition. Now it is clear who is going to win. It is the same teams year after year - "he who spends the most wins". I hear Carlton fans and St Kilda fans and Western Bulldogs fans on here wondering "when is it going to be our year?". Do you know what? All three clubs have a greater chance of winning the AFL 2016 than Everton have of winning the Premier League 2015/2016. Even the bookies will agree. As a young man in England I can say without a doubt that as each year passes football loses more and more fans. Why bother when Chelsea or City or United have it sewn up?

But hey is it right to compare England and Australia? Of course not. So lets look at Ireland or France or even Denmark or the Netherlands. Ireland is a country that SHOULD really be football mad right? The English Premier League on their doorstep, conducted through the English language. Well actually wrong. Professional football doesn't even exist in Ireland. Their top league is struggling to stay afloat. Gaelic games and even rugby union are much more popular in that country. Of course some people support Premier League clubs but they are not in the hearts of the Irish like the GAA is. Unlike Australia, football has had decades of opportunity to batter the Irish but it hasn't. In fact the all-powerful life-sucking Premier League probably has had more of a negative influence on Irish football than a positive one. I was surprised by this at first but after living in Ireland for two years I realised why this was the case.

What about France? A nation that has won the World Cup, hosted the World Cup, and who even has two clubs owned by filthy rich billionaires (Paris and Monaco - might I add: Monaco spent £150 MILLION POUNDS in 2013 yet get average crowds of 8,000; their rich Russian billionaire wants them to win the Champions League soon). Yet despite all this football is even losing traction in France. Southern France still loves it's rugby union, and Ligue 1 still struggles financially. Probably the best example of how football continues to kill itself domestically is in the Netherlands. Unfortunately despite being a football mad country the Netherlands does not have the population to support a league like Germany or Spain does. Decades ago clubs like Ajax (1995) and Eindhoven (1988) used to win the Champions League. Now, despite still producing great talent, no club of The Netherlands will ever win the CL and they are used by the bigger clubs for poaching players. The Dutch domestic league has suffered because of this degradation. Smaller countries like Denmark and Norway and Scotland especially have seen this too. Scotland used to be a great football nation but is now a complete basketcase that struggles to uphold a professional league.

The idea that the A League will breeze into Australia is in my opinion laughable. You talk about Australia getting more marquee players but my God it will surely be a long time before it gets even one marquee player? To be the best in football you have to play Champions League, which means you have to play for one of the 10-15 clubs that play Champions League year in year out. Australia will NEVER have that draw. All I see is a bunch of has-beens who don't give a stuff about Australia nor the A League, coming over to Australia to beef up their pension packet. Is this really what the Australian public want? Even Brazil and Argentina struggle domestically because they struggle to keep hold of their players, so I really don't think A-League has a chance. Australian fans of the AFL will know that they are witnessing the best in their sport, week in week out, A League fans will only ever get to see fifth rate players week in week out. Apparently the A League is now the 99th best football league in the world...

To be honest it baffles me why so many people in Melbourne went to see the football. Here in England it is known by all football fans that these 'international matches' are simply there to make $$$$$$$. Manchester City doesn't give a stuff about Australia, heck it barely gives a stuff about Manchester. It is a business decision dressed up as a sporting contest. Manchester City have maxed out the revenue that they can get in the UK (population 60 million) so they will jet off to Japan, Australia, Thailand, China etc to try and make some more. The money made from the Melbourne public will then go into a new players back pocket next year. That's how football now works. I do hope that Australians who watch these matches don't genuinely think that these clubs actually care... It may look like it on their Facebook page but they really don't! I wouldn't want you Australians to be duped by them, but a 100,000 crowd sounds like you are!

The only two changes you might see concern the World Cup and kids participation. One of the reasons football is so popular is because you can play it in the Sahara desert, the Brazilian rainforest, or a Canadian park in freezing temperatures. It requires no money to play (like ice hockey for example). Women can play, 4 years old can play, even 60 year old men can play. Football will always be the most popular sport for participation because of that. In my secondary school people who liked sports played rugby, cricket AND football; the ones who hated sport just played football. In fact I believe even in Australian schools football/soccer is No. 1 and I have heard that it will soon be No. 1 in the United States too (not sure how true that is but it wouldn't surprise me). I personally don't think football/soccer has had much effect on our Olympic, cricket, rugby union or rugby league teams being internationally competitive. The other change concerns the World Cup. Any nation that gets into that competition will see interest in that competition (and thus soccer) skyrocket. If I were the AFL I would accept that. Here in England, when people don't even care for football, they will still watch England getting whooped in the World Cup. It was the same for Korea, Costa Rica, Ireland, Serbia, Iran etc. Whatever cricket and rugby union like to think, the football World Cup and the Olympics are the only true worldwide events and so it is no surprise that they ignite national pride and passion. Even my Mother watches the World Cup and she doesn't even understand all the rules of football/soccer. It does not necessarily mean that soccer will do well domestically because of all this. If I were the AFL I would celebrate Australia being in any soccer World Cup. Heck I would tell footy fans that they could watch the WC soccer match on the big screen before/after the AFL game at the MCG if the two ever clash with regards to times. Learn to live with it. It only comes round every 4 years and hey you might not even qualify next time!

The immigration factor may have a role to play but I can't say much about that. I disagree completely with the philosophy of 'multiculturalism' and believe that the recent rate of immigration into England has had a negative effect on the country. I am not sure of it's effect on sport here. You would think that the African/Carribean immigrants would all like football, and the Indian/Asian immigrants would all like cricket but it is not quite like that simple. One thing I would say is that apparently Rugby League (a sport with a very white fanbase imo) is struggling in it's traditional heartland of Yorkshire because western and southern Yorkshire in particular have seen huge numbers of immigrants from India/Pakistan who apparently do not see the appeal of 'rough and tumble northern' Rugby League. Bradford is one example. But I don't know how accurate this is because I don't follow League much. Australia could be totally different, I really don't know.

It is bizarre because most people on this Big Footy forum moan and moan about the AFL but when I first watched the sport I was refreshed by just how damn good it is and by how well it is run. You guys have a country of just 23 million people spread over thousands of miles and yet you have a world class sporting competition in the AFL. The impression I get from players is that they genuinely care about the sport, and most of them for the club they play for. The fans for AFL come out in HUGE numbers and seem passionate in the stadiums. There is a striking array of fans too. More kids, women, and elder people than I am used to seeing at sports matches. The players are professional and dedicate their lives to their sport but don't live in Cloud Cuckoo Land like soccer players do on £200,000 a week. Even the moaning about club owners and directors is NOTHING like what you get here with soccer. Some of you might like to have a rich Russian or Arab take over your club but trust me it will probably do more harm than good. As far as I know, no AFL club knows what it's like to be some foreigners play-toy run like a dictatorship. Also some people lament the fact that AFL is only played in Australia (not internationally like football) but don't you see, that should be used as an advantage - it should be considered a positive not a negative. Even the two new teams - Gold Coast and West Sydney - they have been implemented well in my opinion and shows the ambition and unity that the AFL has. Comparing it to that other Australian league the NRL or the soccer leagues up here (who put club over sport) this is a real revelation! You should be proud and thankful of the sport you have, you genuinely should be. Most importantly on the pitch AFL is an exciting game, with the athletic players on the pitch needing to master a variety of skills (kicking, bouncing, handballing, obstructing, marking etc) and this impresses most first-time viewers (like myself a few years ago).

I think AFL has a very bright future and looking from the outside I think the game is being run well.

Football I feel is a juggernaut that seems to be eating itself up. I reckon Australia has nothing to fear, as the focus increasingly becomes stuck to the Champions League. I do still love Everton - there is too much history there - but I am one of the many people who are becoming disillusioned.

This is my opinion anyway, but I hope it's shed some light. Goodday.

 

[Milanista28]

Just wanted to throw this out there, I have 10 -15 1st and 2nd cousins and not one of them plays footy, All play Soccer because my Aunties and uncles don't think AFL is safe.

 

[WCErevival]

Why does this get brought up every time another code has a game? You are comparing a run of the mill home and away game with one of the bottom teams against a once off soccer match featuring some of the top level teams in the world. The attendance is no shock

 

[Punt Road Feral]

For those who think the A League is a backwater. You might want to absorb that Melbourne Victory already have close to 20,000 full season ticket holders months out from round 1.
They really are a part of this cities sporting culture now.

 

[HowYouDoin]

For those who think the A League is a backwater. You might want to absorb that Melbourne Victory already have close to 20,000 full season ticket holders months out from round 1.
They really are a part of this cities sporting culture now.

It doesn't make the A league any less chit.

 

[WagonBang]

For those who think the A League is a backwater. You might want to absorb that Melbourne Victory already have close to 20,000 full season ticket holders months out from round 1.
They really are a part of this cities sporting culture now.

Yes real life people who can attend 14 games. We don't allow 3 game memberships, don't allow you to sign up your pet gold fish Stan, or buy a Guernsey get a membership for free AKA Collingwood.

 

[Lithium]

Look how far the A league has come in 10 years, Melbourne victory next season will have more season ticket holders than half the AFL competition, You can only imagine what they will be like in 10 years time, And if in the next 20 years we get the chance to host a world cup the game will explode.

I'm not saying the AFL is in trouble both sports can co exist, But the A leagues growth has been good.

Is ticket holders the same as membership? Because I thought the victory broke their membership with only about 22000 last year.
Anyway, I'm a member of both victory and city because I want to support soccer because I know how great the sport can be, I never attend a game though and I'm sure quite a few others do this.

 

[Kangapirate]

World class soccer is a global monster, I mean Barcelona played la galaxy in front of 95,000 midweek whilst the la dodgers probably played in front of 30,000, does this mean soccer is overtaking baseball in America?

These are event matches, teams and players you know you will see once every few years or a lifetime depending on which teams tour, most of those 99,000 in attendance last night would struggle to name you a current A league player.

The biggest problem is that the A league is a 2nd or 3rd tier league by global standards, we don't have the money to compete with similar leagues like mls, you got steven gerrard, andrea pirlo, frank lampard etc all heading to America, these guys would be huge in australia but we simply can't compete with countries where soccer isn't the big sport let alone Europe where it's number 1.

If soccer is ever gonna go from 4th best to close to number 1 it will be in the United States and that won't be in our lifetime, here in australia forget it, let's revisit this when the 2016 afl season starts and games at the mcg are getting 80,000 whilst melbourne cit are playing in front of 5,000 across the road.

 

[Hollins]

The legacy and the monster that this greedy man has created

Please fix it Gil

Absolutely spot on mate. Hear hear.

Head pig in afl house Demetriou caused critical damage to the brand and a lot more is going to be known and confirmed about his behaviour once the WADA appeal gets underway.

I think there will be lawsuits afterward, brought by players against the club and likely against the AFL. Then Demetriou may finally face judgment.

 

[Hawthorn United]

23k at Essendon vs Port without a Real Madrid vs Man City being played at the same time.

 

[Groucho]

Good crowd. I might go and watch em next week,when do they play?

 

[Ant85]

Yep, you're right, the rest of earth is wrong.

You're a champ m8

To be clear, it's not the rest of the world. It's the Europeans and most of their former colonies.

Soccer is a legacy of European colonialism, just like the English, Spanish, and French languages and Christianity.

And if you want to be really accurate, the two most populous nations (China and India) who make up 1/3 of the world's population couldn't give a rats arse about soccer. Add the 300m from the US, and that's a fair chunk of the world that doesn't follow soccer.

 

[WagonBang]

To be clear, it's not the rest of the world. It's the Europeans and most of their former colonies.

Soccer is a legacy of European colonialism, just like the English, Spanish, and French languages and Christianity.

And if you want to be really accurate, the two most populous nations (China and India) who make up 1/3 of the world's population couldn't give a rats arse about soccer. Add the 300m from the US, and that's a fair chunk of the world that doesn't follow soccer.

You do realise the Indian Super League and I-League (two Indian Soccer Leagues) both draw regular crowds above 50k.

Then there's the MLS that pulls crowds 40-50k regularly largest being 62k Orlando v New York City.

 

[Oblivious Troll]

But hey is it right to compare England and Australia? Of course not. So lets look at Ireland or France or even Denmark or the Netherlands. Ireland is a country that SHOULD really be football mad right? The English Premier League on their doorstep, conducted through the English language. Well actually wrong. Professional football doesn't even exist in Ireland. Their top league is struggling to stay afloat. Gaelic games and even rugby union are much more popular in that country. Of course some people support Premier League clubs but they are not in the hearts of the Irish like the GAA is. Unlike Australia, football has had decades of opportunity to batter the Irish but it hasn't. In fact the all-powerful life-sucking Premier League probably has had more of a negative influence on Irish football than a positive one. I was surprised by this at first but after living in Ireland for two years I realised why this was the case.

You should understand that Association football has always found life difficult in southern Ireland particularly. I'd make these points:

• the "ban" by the GAA stopped many young people taking up the game in any serious way - particularly outside of Dublin. Not for nothing was it known as the "Grab All Association". In addtion the game always struggled to get enough grounds to play on. There was huge pressure on people to play GAA (both football and hurling) and not "foreign" games especially when the local PP was strong on GAA.
• not having a 32 county competition and governing body was an issue - and still is.
• most of the elite private schools both Catholic and non-Catholic only had one winter sport which was Rugby. Some used to offer Hockey as an alternative for the less robust.
• a lot of UK clubs used to take on many promising young Irish players as apprentices thus they were lost to the local clubs as they rarely ever came back.
• given the way the FAI ran and continues to be run you'd be excused for being amazed that Association football exists at all. At all.

Otherwise you make a lot of good arguments.

 

[SterlingArcher]

Let's be honest. Ronaldo is arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Real Madrid are one of the biggest sides in international football. If they didn't get at least 85k they'd be disappointed. It just so happened that a despicable Carlson played an amazing Hawthorn

I'm not a huge soccer fan, but if I was in Melbourne on Friday, I would have absolutely chosen to go see Ronaldo and Madrid play. I would do it even if Carlton were 15-0 with a percentage of 160%, or even if it was a huge match v Collingwood or something. I go to as many Carlton games as I can, but, I'm going to go to a once in a lifetime match if I have the chance.

It's not that big a deal that the AFL got thumped in crowds and TV. It is concerning that the crowd was 26k, regardless of other factors. Half full between two decently supported Vic sides. However, "being a big deal" or being a "concern" does not mean it's up to the AFL to help us out. We need to get ourselves back on our feet and get back to being good on field and off field. In the meantime, give the Dogs, Giants etc more Friday night games.

 

[bombersfan4000]

Look how far the A league has come in 10 years, Melbourne victory next season will have more season ticket holders than half the AFL competition, You can only imagine what they will be like in 10 years time, And if in the next 20 years we get the chance to host a world cup the game will explode.

I'm not saying the AFL is in trouble both sports can co exist, But the A leagues growth has been good.

Yeah how are the rest of the a league clubs going?

 

[Rob]

You do realise the Indian Super League and I-League (two Indian Soccer Leagues) both draw regular crowds above 50k.

Hang on a sec, the I-League averages just 5,000 a game (only 2 teams average over 10k, so not sure how many 50k crowds there could possibly be). The Indian Super League has done a lot better for crowds, but it's played just 1 season and it only goes for a few weeks anyway.

I don't know if you've ever been there, but soccer is by no means a major sport. It's cricket then daylight. If it started getting a strong following then you'd expect the national team to be pretty reasonable given the number of people they have.

 

[HawkMongrel]

To be clear, it's not the rest of the world. It's the Europeans and most of their former colonies.

Soccer is a legacy of European colonialism, just like the English, Spanish, and French languages and Christianity.

And if you want to be really accurate, the two most populous nations (China and India) who make up 1/3 of the world's population couldn't give a rats arse about soccer. Add the 300m from the US, and that's a fair chunk of the world that doesn't follow soccer.

looooooooollll @ China doesn't care about soccer.

You're embarrassing yourself now.

 

[Sausages]

Well it has very little to worry about with the Lions.

Last nights exhibition match was a nice glimpse of superstar entertainers playing a friendly game & playing up to the crowd. They will be back in a few years I guess. Geez, Carlton - Hawthorn attracted more than that

Meanwhile the Lions will just plod along. Anyone who shows potential will piss off to the SA, or WA or Victoria or Sydney or wherever the money is. The Adelaide draftess just left for home, Brisbane was a stepping stone, or maybe just a door mat for them. Go Home 5 or whoever they were.

Meanwhile the AFL in Queensland will just plod along as a 4th rate competition. A few 3rd rate locals or 30 something has been retirees will come north for a bit of superannuation, so the AFL will continue to just plod along.

Yawn.

Edited for accuracy

 

[Furn2]

Look how far the A league has come in 10 years, Melbourne victory next season will have more season ticket holders than half the AFL competition, You can only imagine what they will be like in 10 years time, And if in the next 20 years we get the chance to host a world cup the game will explode.

I'm not saying the AFL is in trouble both sports can co exist, But the A leagues growth has been good.

By half the AFL competition you mean GWS and GC ?

 

[madmug]

Edited for accuracy

You need to see someone about you morose mood.

Keep chatty

 

[Sausages]

You need to see someone about you morose mood.

Keep chatty

I'm happy as larry mate

Listening to this

 

[Borussia Teeth]

Hello. I have been an AFL fan for three seasons now even though I have never been to Australia. I watch the game each week now but have never posted on here before because I am still new to the game. I reckon though as someone 'outside looking in' I have something to contribute here. Might I also add that I have been an Everton Football Club supporter for over 25 years.

I can understand why you might think football/soccer is a threat to AFL but I really don't think that it is! The reason being is that football actually has a multitude of major problems that you will not notice until you become a real fan (and preferably one in Western Europe).

Here in England football is being run into the ground. We have the strongest structure in the world (five professional leagues/~100 clubs) yet many of our clubs are struggling to stay alive. Money is being thrown at players who really do care sod all about the team, professional clubs have nearly gone out of business because of these actions, the players live in La La Land and have little connection with fans now, some clubs are now being run by rich Asians and Arabs who see the club as nothing more than a vanity project or a way of extracting cash. Last year one Thai-owner of Cardiff City Football Club (founded 1899) actually changed the teams colours from blue to red because "Thai people like red"! No I am not joking. The transition from 'football club' to 'sports business' has not gone unnoticed and European soccer is leading the pack. The biggest problem that football has? The big clubs are becoming huge and the small clubs are becoming mere trampolines. In the major four leagues (England/Spain/Germany/Italy) even as late as the 1980s there was genuine competition. Now it is clear who is going to win. It is the same teams year after year - "he who spends the most wins". I hear Carlton fans and St Kilda fans and Western Bulldogs fans on here wondering "when is it going to be our year?". Do you know what? All three clubs have a greater chance of winning the AFL 2016 than Everton have of winning the Premier League 2015/2016. Even the bookies will agree. As a young man in England I can say without a doubt that as each year passes football loses more and more fans. Why bother when Chelsea or City or United have it sewn up?

But hey is it right to compare England and Australia? Of course not. So lets look at Ireland or France or even Denmark or the Netherlands. Ireland is a country that SHOULD really be football mad right? The English Premier League on their doorstep, conducted through the English language. Well actually wrong. Professional football doesn't even exist in Ireland. Their top league is struggling to stay afloat. Gaelic games and even rugby union are much more popular in that country. Of course some people support Premier League clubs but they are not in the hearts of the Irish like the GAA is. Unlike Australia, football has had decades of opportunity to batter the Irish but it hasn't. In fact the all-powerful life-sucking Premier League probably has had more of a negative influence on Irish football than a positive one. I was surprised by this at first but after living in Ireland for two years I realised why this was the case.

What about France? A nation that has won the World Cup, hosted the World Cup, and who even has two clubs owned by filthy rich billionaires (Paris and Monaco - might I add: Monaco spent £150 MILLION POUNDS in 2013 yet get average crowds of 8,000; their rich Russian billionaire wants them to win the Champions League soon). Yet despite all this football is even losing traction in France. Southern France still loves it's rugby union, and Ligue 1 still struggles financially. Probably the best example of how football continues to kill itself domestically is in the Netherlands. Unfortunately despite being a football mad country the Netherlands does not have the population to support a league like Germany or Spain does. Decades ago clubs like Ajax (1995) and Eindhoven (1988) used to win the Champions League. Now, despite still producing great talent, no club of The Netherlands will ever win the CL and they are used by the bigger clubs for poaching players. The Dutch domestic league has suffered because of this degradation. Smaller countries like Denmark and Norway and Scotland especially have seen this too. Scotland used to be a great football nation but is now a complete basketcase that struggles to uphold a professional league.

The idea that the A League will breeze into Australia is in my opinion laughable. You talk about Australia getting more marquee players but my God it will surely be a long time before it gets even one marquee player? To be the best in football you have to play Champions League, which means you have to play for one of the 10-15 clubs that play Champions League year in year out. Australia will NEVER have that draw. All I see is a bunch of has-beens who don't give a stuff about Australia nor the A League, coming over to Australia to beef up their pension packet. Is this really what the Australian public want? Even Brazil and Argentina struggle domestically because they struggle to keep hold of their players, so I really don't think A-League has a chance. Australian fans of the AFL will know that they are witnessing the best in their sport, week in week out, A League fans will only ever get to see fifth rate players week in week out. Apparently the A League is now the 99th best football league in the world...

To be honest it baffles me why so many people in Melbourne went to see the football. Here in England it is known by all football fans that these 'international matches' are simply there to make $$$$$$$. Manchester City doesn't give a stuff about Australia, heck it barely gives a stuff about Manchester. It is a business decision dressed up as a sporting contest. Manchester City have maxed out the revenue that they can get in the UK (population 60 million) so they will jet off to Japan, Australia, Thailand, China etc to try and make some more. The money made from the Melbourne public will then go into a new players back pocket next year. That's how football now works. I do hope that Australians who watch these matches don't genuinely think that these clubs actually care... It may look like it on their Facebook page but they really don't! I wouldn't want you Australians to be duped by them, but a 100,000 crowd sounds like you are!

The only two changes you might see concern the World Cup and kids participation. One of the reasons football is so popular is because you can play it in the Sahara desert, the Brazilian rainforest, or a Canadian park in freezing temperatures. It requires no money to play (like ice hockey for example). Women can play, 4 years old can play, even 60 year old men can play. Football will always be the most popular sport for participation because of that. In my secondary school people who liked sports played rugby, cricket AND football; the ones who hated sport just played football. In fact I believe even in Australian schools football/soccer is No. 1 and I have heard that it will soon be No. 1 in the United States too (not sure how true that is but it wouldn't surprise me). I personally don't think football/soccer has had much effect on our Olympic, cricket, rugby union or rugby league teams being internationally competitive. The other change concerns the World Cup. Any nation that gets into that competition will see interest in that competition (and thus soccer) skyrocket. If I were the AFL I would accept that. Here in England, when people don't even care for football, they will still watch England getting whooped in the World Cup. It was the same for Korea, Costa Rica, Ireland, Serbia, Iran etc. Whatever cricket and rugby union like to think, the football World Cup and the Olympics are the only true worldwide events and so it is no surprise that they ignite national pride and passion. Even my Mother watches the World Cup and she doesn't even understand all the rules of football/soccer. It does not necessarily mean that soccer will do well domestically because of all this. If I were the AFL I would celebrate Australia being in any soccer World Cup. Heck I would tell footy fans that they could watch the WC soccer match on the big screen before/after the AFL game at the MCG if the two ever clash with regards to times. Learn to live with it. It only comes round every 4 years and hey you might not even qualify next time!

The immigration factor may have a role to play but I can't say much about that. I disagree completely with the philosophy of 'multiculturalism' and believe that the recent rate of immigration into England has had a negative effect on the country. I am not sure of it's effect on sport here. You would think that the African/Carribean immigrants would all like football, and the Indian/Asian immigrants would all like cricket but it is not quite like that simple. One thing I would say is that apparently Rugby League (a sport with a very white fanbase imo) is struggling in it's traditional heartland of Yorkshire because western and southern Yorkshire in particular have seen huge numbers of immigrants from India/Pakistan who apparently do not see the appeal of 'rough and tumble northern' Rugby League. Bradford is one example. But I don't know how accurate this is because I don't follow League much. Australia could be totally different, I really don't know.

It is bizarre because most people on this Big Footy forum moan and moan about the AFL but when I first watched the sport I was refreshed by just how damn good it is and by how well it is run. You guys have a country of just 23 million people spread over thousands of miles and yet you have a world class sporting competition in the AFL. The impression I get from players is that they genuinely care about the sport, and most of them for the club they play for. The fans for AFL come out in HUGE numbers and seem passionate in the stadiums. There is a striking array of fans too. More kids, women, and elder people than I am used to seeing at sports matches. The players are professional and dedicate their lives to their sport but don't live in Cloud Cuckoo Land like soccer players do on £200,000 a week. Even the moaning about club owners and directors is NOTHING like what you get here with soccer. Some of you might like to have a rich Russian or Arab take over your club but trust me it will probably do more harm than good. As far as I know, no AFL club knows what it's like to be some foreigners play-toy run like a dictatorship. Also some people lament the fact that AFL is only played in Australia (not internationally like football) but don't you see, that should be used as an advantage - it should be considered a positive not a negative. Even the two new teams - Gold Coast and West Sydney - they have been implemented well in my opinion and shows the ambition and unity that the AFL has. Comparing it to that other Australian league the NRL or the soccer leagues up here (who put club over sport) this is a real revelation! You should be proud and thankful of the sport you have, you genuinely should be. Most importantly on the pitch AFL is an exciting game, with the athletic players on the pitch needing to master a variety of skills (kicking, bouncing, handballing, obstructing, marking etc) and this impresses most first-time viewers (like myself a few years ago).

I think AFL has a very bright future and looking from the outside I think the game is being run well.

Football I feel is a juggernaut that seems to be eating itself up. I reckon Australia has nothing to fear, as the focus increasingly becomes stuck to the Champions League. I do still love Everton - there is too much history there - but I am one of the many people who are becoming disillusioned.

This is my opinion anyway, but I hope it's shed some light. Goodday.

Excellent debut post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.