Why isn't AFL big overseas?

[Bring-Back-Powell]

I'm living in Seattle and I can watch 2 live games a weekend through Setanta Sports. Usually the 2:10 Saturday game and a Sunday game.

I go and watch the games at the pub, and I confirm that the locals really get into it and enjoy the fundamentals.

AFL could potentially be a lot bigger in the US than it is at the moment.

 

[randyzany]

Soccer was established in Argentina on the back of English engineers who went over there to work. ie there are still clubs in Argentina called Arsenal and a variety of other English sounding teams. Look it up. it is well documented.

I hadn't singled out Argentina in any of my posts as one of the countries the English didn't make it to. I'm well aware of their presence there.

Right now there are approximately 200 nations that compete regularly in the sport and most of those countries have a strong passionate following of the game. I'm fairly certain that the English did not travel to all those nations, let alone merely get there to introduce them to soccer. In South America for example the game reached other countries in the region through Brazil and Argentina and basically now all of Latin America treat the game as a religion

Soccer has numerous flaws - top of the list is whether or not it is a contact sport? the game on the weekend between melb v and adelaide was decided by someone pretending? he got tripped over. i think they should take contact out completely as it makes it too hard to follow.

Aha and this is all where all of this stems from. The reluctance to accept that soccer may have some good innate qualities that attracted people to the game.

I'm not trying to convert anyone to soccer, just pointing out that's a little facile and simplistic to claim soccer's world popularity was all because of the English "Empire". If that were the case other English team games such as Cricket and thugby wouldn't be played only in a handful of countries, they would have roughly the same following as soccer. Hence it's obvious that these 2 sports are not as interesting and entertaining as soccer is, by miles to be honest. I repeat once again that the game deserves a lot of the credit for achieving such a world wide popularity. You may not like it and your entitled to your own view but that doesn't negate the fact that many more people over the world have a different opinion.

 

[harmesy 37]

I hadn't singled out Argentina in any of my posts as one of the countries the English didn't make it to. I'm well aware of their presence there.

Right now there are approximately 200 nations that compete regularly in the sport and most of those countries have a strong passionate following of the game. I'm fairly certain that the English did not travel to all those nations, let alone merely get there to introduce them to soccer. In South America for example the game reached other countries in the region through Brazil and Argentina and basically now all of Latin America treat the game as a religion


Aha and this is all where all of this stems from. The reluctance to accept that soccer may have some good innate qualities that attracted people to the game.

I'm not trying to convert anyone to soccer, just pointing out that's a little facile and simplistic to claim soccer's world popularity was all because of the English "Empire". If that were the case other English team games such as Cricket and thugby wouldn't be played only in a handful of countries, they would have roughly the same following as soccer. Hence it's obvious that these 2 sports are not as interesting and entertaining as soccer is, by miles to be honest. I repeat once again that the game deserves a lot of the credit for achieving such a world wide popularity. You may not like it and your entitled to your own view but that doesn't negate the fact that many more people over the world have a different opinion.

Soccer is big in South America and you want to know why?

I can quote out of the book - World Soccer (football) Yearbook by David Goldblatt.

"Soccer was introduced to Peru at the turn of the 20th century by British residents in the capital Lima."

"The earliest reports of soccer in Brazil are of British and Dutch sailors playing on the Rio dockside... and of British and Brazilian railway workers in Sao Paulo..."


Argentinian teams include-
CA Newell's old boys - established in 1903 - very latin american sounding team that one.
other clubs are banfield and racing club.


"In the last quarter of the 19th century, Buenos Aires had a vibrant British community of around 40,000 people... it was in this outpost of Britain's informal empire that Buenos Aires soccer club was founded."



Fact is that when the british moved to other countries they exported with them their culture and rugby and league were far less important in terms of cultural exports than soccer -less people played it in england hence giving soccer a leg up.


soccer is an english game that has been well exported. in 100 years or so I would think footy (australian footy) (perhaps with a different name.. such as usa footy or nz footy) will have established its footprint in many countries around the world.

 

[Valhalla]

It has everything..yet why do other nations stick to soccer etc. Of all countries you would expect America to be into it atleast but they stick to their boring stop start NFL.

So honestly, what are the reasons it hasnt got big in any other nations? does anybody have any thoughts?

afl will NEVER overtake world football to suggest it should is even more naive than an irish person saying galliec football should overtake afl in australia.... just stupid.

 

[Valhalla]

I'm living in Seattle and I can watch 2 live games a weekend through Setanta Sports. Usually the 2:10 Saturday game and a Sunday game.

I go and watch the games at the pub, and I confirm that the locals really get into it and enjoy the fundamentals.

AFL could potentially be a lot bigger in the US than it is at the moment.

because setanta sports show 2 live games a week?

 

[WCFaithful]

Why do we care what other countries think.

They will only corrupt our great game. Keep them the hell out of it.

Look at Soccer - and how the fans all stab each other. Shocking sport and shocking culture involved with it.

Keep AFL pure and Australian.

'ken oath!
I'd hate see AFL become a worldwide sport. It's iconic to AUSTRALIA lets keep it that way.

 

[MadMac]

Soccer is big in South America and you want to know why?

I can quote out of the book - World Soccer (football) Yearbook by David Goldblatt.

"Soccer was introduced to Peru at the turn of the 20th century by British residents in the capital Lima."

"The earliest reports of soccer in Brazil are of British and Dutch sailors playing on the Rio dockside... and of British and Brazilian railway workers in Sao Paulo..."


Argentinian teams include-
CA Newell's old boys - established in 1903 - very latin american sounding team that one.
other clubs are banfield and racing club.


"In the last quarter of the 19th century, Buenos Aires had a vibrant British community of around 40,000 people... it was in this outpost of Britain's informal empire that Buenos Aires soccer club was founded."



Fact is that when the british moved to other countries they exported with them their culture and rugby and league were far less important in terms of cultural exports than soccer -less people played it in england hence giving soccer a leg up.


soccer is an english game that has been well exported. in 100 years or so I would think footy (australian footy) (perhaps with a different name.. such as usa footy or nz footy) will have established its footprint in many countries around the world.

Are you dumb or just ignorant? You keep mentioning handful of countries, what about the rest?

You don't have to like the sport, moron. No one is shoving it down your throat. Just don't present your dreams as facts. 6 billion people like it and there's a good reason behind it.

And btw. It's "Buenos Aires Football Club"

 

[Bomber Man]

Are you dumb or just ignorant? You keep mentioning handful of countries, what about the rest?

You don't have to like the sport, moron. No one is shoving it down your throat. Just don't present your dreams as facts. 6 billion people like it and there's a good reason behind it.

And btw. It's "Buenos Aires Football Club"

Speaking of dreams as facts, there's 6.8 billion people on the planet, so I don't think 6 billion of them like soccer...

 

[Haggis McHaggis]

It is, just none of you know it. And given the majority of Nauruans will be coming to live here when their nation is submerged in a few years time, maybe we should be developing the game there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlvI1pDuP1c

 

[harmesy 37]

Are you dumb or just ignorant? You keep mentioning handful of countries, what about the rest?

You don't have to like the sport, moron. No one is shoving it down your throat. Just don't present your dreams as facts. 6 billion people like it and there's a good reason behind it.

And btw. It's "Buenos Aires Football Club"

Sure, we can go through country by country if you like. Most have some link to English settlers, English businessmen or English students. This isn't rocket science...

Let's look at Germany - will we?

talking about the origins of the game in Germany, Goldblatt states,
"In the early 1870's, English students and traders played the game in Berlin and the northern ports."

what other country would you like to have a look at ?

Let's try Italy.

"The first organised game is said to have been arranged by Edorado Bosio of Turin, a businessman with extensive connections in Britain."


So what does that prove - that England was able to export its culture around the world. In Australia we have a superior product (Australian Rules) and a superior sporting culture so it hasn't worked over here, but most of the other countries haven't had a choice.

 

[mwalker]

Just so you know. The AFL is here on Setanta. We get a number of games per week, at least 2 of those are live and the others on slight delay. Just remember live means they are broadcast from midnight on the east coast (for day games) and from about 5am (night matches). There is also a footy highlights package and the games are replayed throughout the week. Setanta is primarily a soccer station, but also includes ARL and Union matches. But Setanta is not included in any standard satellite-TV package and must be purchased separately (about $20 per month). Up until this year, Setanta was only available from one of the two major satellite-TV providers but that's now been fixed. So now you know.....

The AFL will never get real traction in the US. It's just not a game made for television. If you've never seen a game live (where you can watch all the machinations around the ground and understand what's going on) it can be very difficult to follow on the small screen. On TV, it really just looks like a mess of a game for the unitiated with players running everywhere and nowhere it seems. The rules are also difficult to follow enough for AFL diehards in Oz, let alone a newbie in another country. Those who have seen it love its toughness. But the game is mocked more than it is appreciated - it is surprising how much attention the flagwaving goal umpires get from those who have watched it - it is something rather quaint in our game after all.

It's pointless complaining about the stupid American football and how, it seems, people think the Americans would only love our game in comparision more if they had it rammed down their throats. Not true at all. The NFL is THEIR sport, they've been platying it for a 100 years. College football still gets crowds of 60,000 in my part of the world. Basketball and baseball are also huge of course. No "new sport" will ever compete with that. The US soccer league, with Beckham (who is a massive star here) will almost certainly fail. It won't get close to achieving its goals. No-one watches it. If soccer with Beckham at the helm won't make it, nothing else will i can assure you.

So forget about it. The game doesn't even have portability within Australia - look at the Brisbane and Sydney AFL crowds recently! It (popularity at any decent level at all) will NEVER happen in the US and the AFL have been smart in not wasting time their time on a very expensive and resource-intensive project destined for failure.

Perfectly summed up!!

I live in Canada and the above applies for them as well. I do watch it on Sentanta each week and I occasionally have some friends watch it on a Sunday with me. They love the spectacle and somewhat understand the game but they will never have the passion for it like we do as it is not inbred into them.

They can't sit around a bar and talk Aussie Rules with their mates. They didn't grow up playing it at school. They have no real option of ever seeing a game live unless they travel to Australia to do so.

 

[mwalker]

Also, why do we want our sport to go global? The Irish couldn't give a stuff if anyone else played Gaelic footy or Hurling. The Scottish don't care that we don't play the Highland games. The NFL hasn't really cracked it overseas (except a few European clubs).

AFL will NEVER make it overseas so STOP trying!

They disbanded that league last year or the year before. So that tells us something about us taking a very popular sport in your home country and trying to shove it down the throats of another.

 

[Gainzo]

They already do, on setanta. I'm not sure how widely available setanta is but you can watch afl games in the states

I'd say the problem is the same we have trying to push the game in the northern states: it's hard to dislodge so many years of loyalty to another sport.

I'd guess that 5% of American households have heard of Setanta. Its not available on cable, only satellite TV. Plus it costs an extra $10 a month if you want it.

If ESPN or Fox Sports showed a season of footy then it would get a cult following, but that's about it.

As many have said. Who cares about the NFL, NBA, MLB, EPL, Gaelic, etc in Australia? Its all relative.

 

[fishmonger]

Perfectly summed up!!

I live in Canada and the above applies for them as well. I do watch it on Sentanta each week and I occasionally have some friends watch it on a Sunday with me. They love the spectacle and somewhat understand the game but they will never have the passion for it like we do as it is not inbred into them.

They can't sit around a bar and talk Aussie Rules with their mates. They didn't grow up playing it at school. They have no real option of ever seeing a game live unless they travel to Australia to do so.

You're absolutely right. TV exposure alone won't do anything.

But combined with grassroots participation, I think it can be very powerful. Before the 1990s, there was little to no TV exposure for the game in Queensland, but there was participation and grassroots structure. Once TV exposure followed, the sport boomed.

That is where the school programs being done in Canada will be so important in the coming decades. There is no reason why, with a little more AFL funding, that these programs can't be expanded.

I like the story of the young Canadian kid, Scott Fleming, who learnt the game in school in Canada and became so passionate about the sport he is now playing semi-pro in Australia - his whole family moved to Australia to support his dream. Having seen him play at the recent International Cup, he is more than a handy player, believe me. And I think he has the quality of an AFL draft prospect.