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Soccer died in the 90s in Oz due to as you say, mental wogs.
The writing was on the wall for the traditional NSL clubs once Northern Spirit and Perth Glory came along. A couple of Sydney derby GFs got crowds in the 20-25k+ range but most often it was 10-15k at best. Brisbane hosting the GF got 40k in 1996/97 which was unheard of. Perth came along and by year two were averaging just under 15k a game despite even making the finals. Northern Spirit came along and did similar in 1998/99 (then collapsed). It wasn't just the higher crowds, it was the fact that soccer was actually getting mainstream coverage and not just a few token column inches in the paper to appease the diehards. Over here the West introduced a soccer lift out because people were interested in reading about it, and Channel 7 bought the TV rights (a terrible result for all parties as it turned out) because they saw value in it. Basil Zempilas hosted Glory Days, a TV show just about one NSL team.
The A-League model is better for the amount of support there is for top level soccer here. It has stagnated though and there is a disconnect between the league, clubs, FFA, grassroots etc. I do wonder how popular the state leagues (now called NPLs, shit name) are. I know with rugby that the Shute Shield is getting crowds of 15-20,000 to some big games while interest in test rugby and Super Rugby has completely waned.






Hah




