Why Is Soccer On The Decline in Australia?

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a Socceroos squad containing the likes of Tim Cahill, Mark Viduka, and Harry Kewell made it through to the knockout stage, where they were only beaten by a 95th minute penalty against eventual winners Italy.
Now, Australia's men's national team is only the fourth highest ranked AFC nation in the FIFA World Rankings, and is in danger of falling behind both Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the imminent future.
So in this documentary, HITC Sevens takes a closer look at some of the reasons behind the decline in Australian soccer, the Socceroos' struggles, and what can be done to fix it.

[@elliotts7006]

The most painful thing about being a football fan in Australia is watching talented athletes take up other sport precisely because there's no real future in soccer in aus.

[@jacknortham8281]

Yep and watching how the AFL see that as such a bragging point, commentators mention it at every moment

[@Herb615]

@@jacknortham8281 Never understood the animosity among AFL and football fans in Australia. A lot of NFL and football fans in the US aren't nearly at each other's throats like this. In fact, there's quite a bit of overlap between these fans.

[@StuTheDon17]

@@Herb615 It is a silly rivalry. Although I think it's just about dead and buried. For the most part, the younger generations appreciate both sports. It's mostly older blokes who'll hate on the other sport.

[@dawnrazornephilim]

@@Herb615 It's more the media and ruling bodies that are disliked. The media has always been aggressively against soccer, AFL and Rugby were their cash cows and as the guy said a network channel bought the rights to soccer games, then bragged later about burying it (killing it off) At State level I know in Victoria both the AFL and cricket associations got support from parliament to stop the growth of soccer and clubs being able to rent public grounds or harder to buy land. Even now, only womens soccer gets grants from the government, where AFL seem to get them handed out whenever they ask, even a stadium for $1. It's also a product of ivory tower v tall poppy syndrome, bad blood building on bad blood.

[@shanksymiester3195]

pure and simple we can say this about footy rugby that's where the money is there is absolutely no incentive in football here for kids , all the big professional sports dollars are in rugby and Aussie rules plus there isn't enough tough competition amongst the junior ranks unlike football only other countries because in those countries being good isn't always going to get you there if you want the big $ you have to be better than good

[@J_ZD]

I'm from Australia and it's good to see this video finally made. Really good point on the cost of playing and the nepotism involved Also you mentioned that we qualified for the WC by beating Peru in a penalty shootout. Last time we were even closer to being eliminated. Right at the end of extra time against Syria in 2017, they hit the post from a free kick and we would've been out on away goals. As well as the improvement of other nations like the ones you mentioned. The "minnows" have invested a lot too and have really reduced the gap between us & them. I'm talking about those you might not expect too much from, like the South East-Asian nations like Vietnam & Thailand On the lack of games. The league only has 26 at the moment, not including a couple of more for finals (playoffs) and the youth league is only 8, that's actually so embarrassing, just like the fact that we still dont even have a domestic transfer system....

[@sh3tpostsgamertime204]

Just a mock league then.

[@isaacfung622]

Is away goal counted against Syria (I watched that game (and then against Honduras) live)?

[@J_ZD]

@@isaacfung622 Yes, we would've been knocked out if they scored, away goals counted in both ties

[@sunnytulen6247]

The media coverage and the FA are the main problems. Our news channels report on every injury of AFL players, but barely talk about the soccer. The World Cup qualification was talked about less than the AFL game that week. Also, the FA threatened to ban one of the most supported teams (Western Sydney Wanderers) entire active support group.

[@sulty0310]

“Cmon you Wandererrrrs” 🙌🔴⚫️

[@harryaye4516]

There is a huge bias against football in the Australian media, the A-league had a great chance to grow around 2014-16 and they pushed a hooligan agenda HARD. And since the media in this country has a bigger interest in AFL/Rugby, the coverage is really poor too. Fans are everything

[@KebenCosme]

Ahh, I knew about this because of the walkouts caused by the demonic witch by the name of Rebecca Wilson who rots in hell right now.

[@BenjaminStokes-benno190]

100%.... in Australian media football/soccer are treated like 2nd class citizens and most times is reported on negativly.... against the likes of AFL and NRL...... even tho it's the most participated in sport ..... still a very good video especially to see the thoughts from an outsiders perspective on the state of the sport here

[@jacknortham8281]

Agree and the hooligan agenda pushed all the AFL style fans away and in Melbourne they would love a second team to support that isn't rugby league. Fa need to tap into having a second code. People in Melbourne support their teams

[@hijisfriend9030]

Man, calling football fans Hooligans and rugby isn't, is fucking hypocrisy. Wtf happened there?

[@jchurchie]

@@hijisfriend9030 You've clearly never been to a NRL game mate lol, Rugby crowds are quite mellow.

[@dantespina7398]

WE HAVE A HITC SEVENS VIDEO DEDICATED TO AUSTRALIA!!!!!

[@marcusflynt810]

not the the type of video youd want your country to be in

[@dantespina7398]

@@marcusflynt810 i’m fine with it, also happy learning more about my country

[@Midnight-ot3oi]

You know what they say, no publicity is bad publicity!

[@jacobpryor2125]

Just happy seeing us get talked about weather it's good or bad

[@gregway410]

iJerkOffToChildPorn

[@leagreenall5972]

I'm an Australian ex-football coach that taught grass-roots football from U7s to U16s/Youth in club and representative level. One thing that was not addressed is the standard of coaching and the politics involved in it. When FFA took over and made sweeping USA type changes, one thing that decimated Australian Football, was their complete greed and disgusting ways they destroyed the foundational grass-roots training for coaches. Back around 2000, a lot of football coaches were usually fathers wanting to get involved. Those that showed an aptitude for coaching - whether in the local Christian football, or normal secular clubs were backed by their clubs to go and take football coaching courses starting for 'kids', 'Youth', and 'adult'. The cost of the courses were minimal and were usually completely covered by the coaches' club. As I went through the system acquiring my badges I saw first hand the passion for coaches getting involved with Children. I myself set up a local academy to teach kids 7-16 years old technical abilities that to be honest is second nature to kids in Europe and South America. I was overwhelmed by the interest and kids that attended. I even went to local schools in promoting teaching the fundamental technical skills to children - the grass-roots of the next generation of footballers. Then the FFA stepped in and stopped it all. How? They changed all the coaching and certification process to ignore and basically destroy the 'amateur' progression, to straight out greed and a more 'professional' standard. Which was in no way professional!. All those coaching courses were now tripled to ten times the cost, and the struggling clubs could no longer fund it. The coach themselves had to fund it, but with costs 'starting' at $3000 to obtain the 'C'-Class licence, as to be expected, it gutted the pool of coaches to virtually zero. What was disgusting at the time was that FFA to promote this new system proudly announced that they had granted Harry Kewell a scholarship for them - a kick in the face to say he could easily afford any and all courses, while the people who were the emerging talent could not. So just like the academy based institutions mentioned in the video, it became more about the financial elites becoming the coaches -pandering to the politics, and all the best coaches and potential was forever destroyed. Now this is clearly shown in the years since, as the decline in Australian players quality of even knowing the basics of ball retention, movement and flair is virtually non-existent. Yes, the FFA's change in policy of the top leagues, and financial system has a major influence, but the reality is, there are very few quality coaches as they lost all by their greedy and filthy policies regarding the up and coming coaches. And the current crop of players can't make the grade in elite leagues because they are simply not grounded enough in the basics that the elite players take for granted. Yes I have an edge of bitterness, as I was a damn good coach that taught many a player and teams from club and representative level. And my opportunity was curtailed due to disgustingly short sighted FFA policy. Australia will NEVER reach their 'pinnacle' or beyond of 2006 until the very foundational grass-roots coaching setup is again re-dressed - everything else is smoke and mirrors.

[@nathancummings306]

Your story seems almost unbelievable. Thanks for the effort and chin up.

[@SHANEO144]

Not surprised corruption is rampant worldwide :(

[@RavenAUS]

100%

[@ayrtonpietrobelli6972]

Agreed, its what made me not wanna play, plus you get to see more in the field and off it as an official. Reffed uni games for a couple years, decent pocket change but the players themselves had to put up the wages. Why couldnt the FAA?

[@kidkaka1787]

As a coach now in Melbourne. Thanks so much for this. Been saying this to everyone who is blinded. I was unlucky to miss out on the NSL days I was only 7 years old when they started A League. Never was shown any pathways and was virtually killed by the politics of modern Aussie football culture. Pay to play greedy slimy bastards

[@horseheadkid]

DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, MATE! WE JUST SENT DENMARK HOME!! 💛💚🇦🇺💛💚🇦🇺💛💚🇦🇺

[@MattOlsen294]

Hi, an Australian here. One thing Alfie has really missed here is that the NSL's clubs for the most part went on to form the clubs that make up our second and third tiers (and beyond) but as a closed system, it means we have a system that is not united, your entry level clubs play at a level that actually isn't that high and also at different times of year to our first (and only) professional tier. Another issue, particularly from the standpoint of who is participating at record high levels, is something we call "eurosnobbery" or simply "eurosnobs" for those that particpate. You may be someone that loves and plays football, but you have literally no interest in our domestic product or the Socceroos because their level is not as good as the Premier League. As daft as it sounds, this is easily the biggest problem in the Australian game today. We are not engaging football people in our football league because they would rather stay up until 3am watching what is in Europe instead of following the game at grassroots or professional level on their own shores.

[@jackphillips6742]

The A-League has a few flaws, but finally the Youth investment is starting to payoff. I reckon when the Socceroos and Denmark get out of this year's pool, the media will briefly stop trying to smother Aussie Football, and interest will continue to rise. Also Rugby Union might die in Aus, so maybe it decreases competition.

[@blinkusfishus2052]

I agree on the Eurosnobs, massive problem in oz football. you get people who contribute nothing positive to the local game, but will happily dogpile on it when things don’t go right. It’s just cancer.

[@jackphillips6742]

@@blinkusfishus2052 It's a shame here in NZ too, the local teams and fans have wonderful passion and great atmosphere but people would rather exclusively watch the Prem and then speak ill about the local scene. I love the Prem. I love being a Utd fan. I also love going an watching my local teams play, and socialising.

[@abheekdasgupta7079]

Eurosnobs, from what I understand, is not limited to one country. It's a problem in every country that is not in Europe and in many smaller European countries too. It's something that FIFA should address. How to make people enjoy local football.

[@billmeat1173]

I live in Brisbane and what seems to be the main issue with going to watch the roar games is the fact that the club does not care about the fans and hasn't even played in a stadium in Brisbane for the past few seasons. The ticket prices are very high, transport to the games is non-existent, the stadium is designed really poorly and can't handle a crowd of more then 5 thousand, I went to watch Adelaide vs Brisbane in the semi finals and it took almost half an hour to leave the stadium due to there being one exit. I watch a couple NPL games a season and follow the FQPL team i play for Western Pride, these games have no tickets which you need to purchase and rarely a canteen so the clubs wouldn't benefit from this anyway? I imagine it's different in other states but there is no point in watching the A league in Brisbane and there is no benefit to NPL clubs through attending their games.

[@todplatinum5789]

To think an Englishman half the world away has more awareness of how to improve our national team than our governing body. Well Done Alfie, this is up there with one of the best documentaries on the channel

[@lardlad12]

Well said

[@SJ-tj8ii]

@@lardlad12 Agreed, well said

[@bigpoppapump430]

Yous pretty much are Englishman, budget Englishman convicts 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@donrobbie160]

where does he live?

[@ryanan8082]

@@bigpoppapump430 I find more Irish Chinese Vietnamese Koreans Croatians and Italians in a 5 minutes drive than the amount of English people I’ve met in my whole life

[@georgichavdarov5787]

Hi Alfie, please make a documentary about the HUGE decline of Bulgarian football, from players like Asparuhov, Stoichkov and Berbatov and 4th place in the world cup to conceding 5 goals to Georgia at home and drawing with Gibraltar and the whole corruption in our football and the fall of Borislav Miihalov as football president and Berbatov trying to overthrow him. Yes, everything is together, unfortunately.

[@mattybaby1116]

Latvia as well.

[@jacksonkosztka1559]

I believe he did that last year, maybe something about Corruption in the top league

[@jacksonkosztka1559]

NVM i was thinking about his video on Tajikistan

[@jacknoone3725]

There was a video about Ludogorets Razgrad, can't remember off the top of my head how much it mentioned about Bulgarian football as a whole!

[@Darwinek]

I can see a general decline in Bulgarian sport as a whole. Even your national volleyball team used to be better. Football is even more tragic with just a couple of footballers playing anywhere abroad.

[@shuucuz]

Interest in international football hasn’t been declining - Football has never been big here. However the problem is that nobody follows the domestic league, despite it being of a decent quality that would be respected in any other confederation.

[@jackphillips6742]

A-League has been great for about 5 years. Youth starting to come through. WSW winning the AFC really set things off. The expansion seems to be somewhat sustainable. I'm not a huge fan of creating clubs from nothing. Also garbage restrictions on fans for health and safety reasons last few years really dampens the mood.

[@glennkeppel9836]

A friend took me to A league games last year. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Crowds were poor each time though and these were MC and MV games.

[@jackphillips6742]

@@glennkeppel9836 Lockdowns broke habits and dampened enthusiasm for most things in life even after they ended. New Zealand didn't go as hard as Vic, and the paranoia of parents, players getting rusty for lack of practice, economic hardships, have impacted the domestic games here pretty bad. An example was my club was supposed to get me my C license in 2020, but the interruptions in the season stopped that from happening. I couldn't do it last year because I didnt have the shot at the time because health concerns with the only available. By the time the alternative vaccine was made available to me, I missed the window. I bet there's dozens of other coaches, referees, and players impacted because of facilities being shutdown, no opportunities to travel etc stunting development. The thing about the A Leagues that pissed me off is people in the media saying the Nix should be kicked because of low fan numbers while they played exclusively in Australia due to restrictions.

[@Shagadelicjon]

Mexican-American here, A league is on par with MLS and Liga MC

[@Herb615]

"the problem is that nobody follows the domestic league, despite it being of a decent quality that would be respected in any other confederation." This isn't a unique problem for Australia. Outside of the top leagues in Europe and South America (Brazil and Argentina mostly), many football leagues receive limited exposure and support. A lot of football fans in China, South Africa, and India would rather support the top European leagues rather than the Indian and Chinese Super Leagues and South African Premier Division. I'm from the United States and most football fans watch Liga MX and the Premier League instead of MLS despite the quality of MLS drastically improving recently and even rivaling the best leagues in both CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. Recently, Canada finally has its own league yet public support for the league, although growing, is quite small with many fans preferring to support the Canadian MLS clubs as well as European and South American leagues of their heritage. Furthermore, top European clubs have poured a lot of money into promotions and friendlies to attract international fans for decades. That's why we are seeing Spanish Cup title matches played in Saudi Arabia.

[@RockyRockstar69]

Aussie’s just made the final 16, not to bad for a minnow team

[@londonisforeverblue1022]

this video did not age well

[@owensunuwar697]

Not exactly... The national team did well in the WC and the fans stayed to watch it kudos to that.. But for the next 4 years there will be ZERO BUZZ about it.. Aussies don't really care about it unless its the World Cup just like the USA. In fact the MLS in USA is much more supported by the Locals rather than Aussie supporting the A league.. I am saying this because I am a foreigner living in Australia for 7 years now.. They prefer aussie Rules and rugby and even cricket over football. You won't see this Lot again until the next wc.

[@souptec]

@@owensunuwar697You are obviously not interested in AU football or you would know that there are many ways to see the game here, you just have to look.

[@ermannoricci6281]

This one didn’t age well

[@Louieinoz]

why not. I think it's spot on

[@noahyoung538]

as a young player in australia the cost of playing at high level is a serious problem. It can cost up to 5000 aud per season to play in an academy. this means that most academies are full of spoilt players who can barely play. most u16 division 1 teams would be easily able to compete with most of these teams.

[@TUPPERWAVE]

Precisely why I play in the Church league, and even that is expensive.

[@Mxrsden]

I completely agree. After five years in NPL, I realised that no matter where I was, it was simply more valuable to have connections with people, rather than skill. Many teams I versed and played for did not have the ability that I had seen previously playing at that level. They simply just had the money and knew people connected to the club. Often, you'll find the people on the committee playing their own family and friends in important matches, rather than the players who actually have good ability. It is disappointing, but soccer is so incredibly corrupt in Australia.

[@Nathan-ur9xi]

@@Mxrsden The "who you know" aspect of getting to an academy level and beyond is a serious roadblock for talent here, I agree.

[@volkira]

Why are the players paying to be in the Academy? If they were scouted by the club then it should be the Club paying the transfer fees and other costs.The whole point for the club is to create a product to sell onwards. My son plays at Eintracht Frankfurts Academy in Germany and we paid €50 for club annual membership. Everything else is free.

[@Shelmer75]

⁠@@volkiracause the clubs have no money. Clubs in our second division charge ridiculous amounts to their junior players so that they can pay their senior players.

[@gussysfootyandcricketflix8493]

Who else is here after Australia make the Ro16

[@Bvxy4n]

Me

[@alexst5055]

guess who made it to round of 16

[@superstick3986]

Australia

[@stackhat8624]

Firstly if you think soccer is going to replace ice hockey as the no1 sport in Canada or American Football in the US then you're delusional on a Trump level. As for Australia: 1. Sport just isn't as big in Australia as it was 20 years ago. Newer generations just arent as passionate about sport as previous generations. I think Australian youth are more inline with youth in other countries when it comes to sport. No longer are young Australians way more obsessed with sport than kids from other countries. The internet age has had a homogenizing effect on Aussie kids. 2. As a result the bigger sports in Australia, Aussie Rules and Rugby League have tightened their stranglehold on the financial aspects of sport in Australia. TV deals are only big for the AFL and NRL. Advertisers and broadcasters are putting all their eggs in the AFL and NRL and its just not soccer that is struggling. Rugby is dying and even cricket, the traditional 3rd sport is being left behind Aussie Rules and League. Though cricket has the advantage of being popular throughout Australia and being a summer sport. 3. Soccer fans in Australia are a cancer to the game. Only rugby union fans are worse. The slavish devotion to European soccer and fanatical opposition in doing anything different to their gods in Europe blocks any advancement of the game outside of soccer fanatics. Soccer in Europe lasts 364 days a year. People here dont want that. The Soccer season just drags on and on and on and people lose interest. What works in Europe doesn't work here. 4. Compare that to basketball which is improving and getting stronger in Australia. Thats because basketball administrator in Australia are way better than football administrators. Basketball is much more open minded than soccer. Basketball in Australia doesn't have to be a slave to America and the NBA like soccer here is to Europe. Basketball has also done a much better job of marketing the game in the internet age and making the game appealing to a wide range of Australians. Also, there isn't anywhere near the corruption in basketball as there is in soccer. FIBA is no FIFA. Also, basketball is way better than soccer. 5. Moving into the Asian conference helped in the short to medium term but in the long term its damaged the game. With 2026 moving to a 48 team tournament and Oceania now having a full qualifying spot being in Asia doesn't seem appealing. Also, if we were still in Oceania we could bid for the world cup everytime. Problem with Qatar winning was not only it corrupt, which put a lot of people off, but Australia being in Asia is locked out of bidding until 2034 and the next time the world cup goes to Asia its almost guaranteed of going to China. For example if China hosts 2038 world Cup Australia will be locked out until 2050. If we were still in Oceania and we lost 2038 hosting to China we could bid in 2042, then 2046 etc.

[@baccamau80]

No , america so bad at basketball and they are good at soccer. American media have post a lot of MLS league and the notice that 220 millions+ American are soccer fans .and australia they just don't care about soccer so sad

[@raymondngo5643]

I can already tell this is going to be a great video before even watching it. As an Australian the lack of local support for the teams in the A League contributes a lot to our decline as most of the sporting audiences in our country are not passionate about growing the local games. Its evident with the attendances of the A league compared to something like rugby league as tonight's State of Origin (Its like an all stars game for rugby league) will have massive crowds and tv audiences. Even the friendly games in football (Just put any European team that come to Australia) attract more people then in the local league games. The closest comparison would be like in the USA but even there the game is growing. Appreciate covering our country Alfie and keep up the good work mate!

[@darkjudge8786]

Oh look, An Australian makes sure to let us all know they are Australian. Cultural cringe still dominating the peasants I see. Glad I escaped backwardland

[@Soyuz2578]

Well I'm going to see Aston Villa v Leeds United tomorrow at Suncorp and I don't think they've sold that many tickets so I guess it depends on what teams. (I'm a massive Aston Villa fan but I've met only 2 Villa fans in the 20 odd years I've lived in Australia)

[@チャーリーブラウン-w8l]

I can assure you mate that the USA league is miles behind the A-League

[@paulbaldacchino7791]

What sport in the world attracts over 70000 spectators FOR A FRIENDLY game besides FOOTBALL

[@raymondngo5643]

@@チャーリーブラウン-w8l Behind in terms of what aspect? The MLS produces plenty of international footballers and players playing the top leagues in Europe for the past few years now which the same can not be said for A-league unfortunately. Their attendance is also growing too from what they were before and is reflected in the national team quality

[@paulfromperth5713]

You’ve got two other codes in Australia that soccer has to contend with, the AFL and the NRL. One of the biggest reasons soccer is not as popular as the AFL and NRL is the state of play with soccer. Soccer is far too defensive a game and they do not score enough goals in a game. There’s not enough chances for the crowd to get “raucous” during a game. We find it too slow. Mind you I prefer it to the bum sniffer’s game, rugby.

[@MenWithVen]

One day I'd love a proper HITC sevens video on Sunderland. We always pop up with mentions on videos about horrendous signings, and how not to run a club, but a full look at how we fell so hard would be great. We are one of the all time meme banter clubs and we deserve a "what on Earth is happening" video. And Sunderland til I Die only shows part of the story before anyone suggests we already have a docco.

[@abhiN3127]

Correct ✅💯

[@finnmcneil7393]

Yeah a Netflix documentary on Sunderland would be really cool too

[@nicholasmackenzie-rowe68]

@@finnmcneil7393 Netflix bothering with a third rate club in England, before doing one about the team that invented the idea of league football? You are joking 🙃

[@SaudiGod]

How you played a sex offender and cheered his name as well

[@MenWithVen]

@@SaudiGod I didn't cheer him, those that did are idiots. But it is worth mentioning how the board tried to cover it up. Just another example of our shambolic management over the years that would go in a docco

[@siddharthaghosh2510]

This world cup campaign I think saved them from declining. I mean this world cup campaign was much more special because they barely qualified for the tournament but still made it to the knock outs by falling in a very difficult group.

[@lardlad12]

Graham "jobs for the boys" Arnold is a huge problem, he is mediocre. When we have a manager who is either European (Hiddink), or has proven his worth in continental competition (eg Postecoglou), the team is far more successful at international level. The national league is self defeating, the salary cap leads to huge player turnover (often within the league) and not attracting outside players (outside of marquee signings who have had wildly varying levels of success) has meant that it has stagnated badly

[@nj0377]

The Socceroos are so Sydney-centric as a footballing body.

[@bury_the_elite65294]

Would be so great to have Ange back (don't know if it will happen anytime soon, though). Fun fact about Postecoglou; when he was a player at South Melbourne (who currently sit atop the Victoria Premier League) back in the day, the side was coached by none other than the great Ferenc Puskas - who AP counts as his biggest football-coaching influence. South won one NSL title (1990), one NSL Cup (1991), and three Dockerty Cup (cup competition based in the great State of Victoria) trophies with Puskas as coach.

[@squalidseal6126]

The biggest thing is that we already have football games. We have AFL and NRL which are by far the most popular sports in Australia.

[@crazyforcoffee5950]

@Mans Aray most kids start of playing but when the boys get older and testosterone hits that’s when they pick up an AFL or Rugby ball instead

[@daleviker5884]

@Mans Aray The high participation rate is a fallacy. It is not 10yo children picking the sport because they love it, but mothers pushing their kids into football because it is less of a contact sport. It is delusional to say that the high participation rate is a sign of popularity.

[@EvilKicksMoney]

​@Lalll-qn5fnirrelevant boring declining sport 👎🏻 no one cares

[@HoratioFitzbastard]

​@@daleviker5884It's a good starting point for a lot of kids. The oval ball is a little more difficult to control for under 8's.

[@chriswoodtoarsenal]

Still qualified from the wc unlike us, rooting for our Aussie brothers from across the ditch!

[@ayondash7063]

Where are you from?

[@TheCatDrinksAllTheRedBull]

@@ayondash7063 he from new zealand. Australians and Kiwis refer to the Tasman sea as the ditch since it separates the two countries

[@chriswoodtoarsenal]

@@ayondash7063 take a wild guess mate…

[@insertnamehere5809]

That game Vs Costa Rica was rigged mate!

[@chriswoodtoarsenal]

@@insertnamehere5809 I know, it was a travesty… still wasn’t going to go anyway cause the bastards at fifa gave it to Qatar… 18 hour flight for a no alcohol 50 degree World Cup? No thanks

[@grahamrigley797]

Go watch a state of origin game and you will no doubt draw your own conclusion

[@commonsense2156]

I lived in Australia for a few months and never did I hear locals discuss soccer its just not mainstream there

[@Louieinoz]

Definitely not the local league. Australia has a huge overseas born population which the majority would be into soccer. The problem is that due to the time zones it's very hard to follow any league in the world. World cup fans need to stay up until 3 am to watch a game... same goes for champions league etc. very hard. If there was a decent league people would watch. The problem is that you don't have free to air games... everything relies in one streaming service and that is very hard for most people.

[@debbieanne7962]

I'm a 60 something woman from Melbourne, Australia. In my experience soccer has never, ever been popular here. We have our own Aussie rules game which is much more exciting. Most people here state that watching soccer is like watching paint dry. Of course Australia plays in the Asian league, we're in the region! Oceania you've got to be joking! What play against Vanuatu, Nauru and New Caledonia!!! Of all my friends only one likes soccer. He was born in Italy and came to Australia as a child. He exclusively follows Italian teams, zero in Australia. I can't see soccer ever becoming very popular here

[@zsht]

Tim Cahill's volley against Netherlands still gives me goosebumps. I hope Straya finds a way to reach their previous level, because they are a joy in every WC

[@benjorgensen2028]

I hope this world cup provided a few for you this world cup

[@danieleyre8913]

I take it you like negative park the bus football then.

[@obamaslefteyeball1710]

@@danieleyre8913 are you danish or Tunisian by any chance

[@n-zedorai6613]

​@@obamaslefteyeball1710 Tunisians are usually muslim. They do not have daniel in their names.

[@Pinpadprompts]

It really isn't complicated. Soccer has to compete with three ball sports that are played at the highest level. Soccer is more of a hobby sport that you play when your mum wont let you play AFL.

[@stoneagepig3768]

Aussies prefer other sports, why do football people think they have some God given right to be the dominant sport everywhere?

[@TayOskee]

Honestly, Aussie rules is a great game which offers things no other sport does and for many people it's just more exciting to watch. Soccer is the world game and is also a great game but it's fine for it not to be the most popular sport in Aus. Imagine the whole world eating the same things, speaking the same language, boring. Heaps of Aussies follow the premier league as it is more exciting than the local league.

[@joaofigueiras1106]

Honestly, I'm a rugby union fan from Portugal and I'm quite aware of how dead that sport is in Australia. Compared to rugby, that was quite popular in the 90s and early 00s, soccer in Australia never really had a "popularity fase" so I think they're actually doing very good considering the circumstances. Plus, the AFL and the NRl are just very well made leagues, you only need to see the play offs of each league to understand the appeal. The A league is still way behind but it can be improved. There is still a lot of time

[@mdjcsmith]

Suffering rugby union and soccer fan from Australia brother, Força lobos!

[@alanbstard4]

Rugby union in Australia is getting OK results but it needs decent administration. Support juniors like they used to is a must. It's still a major sport in Australia

[@flanno8284]

The NRL also poaches a lot of Union players. If you saw the state of origin the other week a handful of those players played Union but all got offered professional nrl contracts when they were in High School. Rugby Union just doesn’t have enough money to compete with league.

[@alanbstard4]

@@flanno8284 and that is what the ARU must stop

[@tamamakiiti587]

@@alanbstard4 nah league is so good, it's niche, basically just played here on the east coast of Australia and in the north of England, I love it

[@TheCatDrinksAllTheRedBull]

If the socceroos do improve and the players become better known, I believe it will be through Scotland. Numerous young Aussies are moving to the scottish premiership, particularly to the Edinburgh clubs. Postecoglou will continue to draw Aussie viewers to the league. Plus, English clubs on smaller budgets often scoop up spfl players

[@aidanm5578]

Ruh roh. Strong decline as a team since 2006. Never really watched it before then, but.. it's been depressing.

[@themoviehobbit355]

Just a few words. Australian rules football

[@nurrr897]

Fantastic stuff Alfie. I grew up watching my local Perth Glory play in the NSL against teams like Marconi Stallions, Sydney Olympic, Adelaide City and South Melbourne who are all gone. The Americanization and franchise nature of the A League today is so soulless compared to the old clubs. Even after Channel 7 bought the rights, you needed Foxtel (pay tv) to watch it for years, all while AFL and rugby were on free to air. I didn't know about the pay-to-enter academies but it made so much sense. Even worse, City group paid for a new franchise and use it as a farm team. The focus is just wrong. There is no community or soul. However! The positive ending note and saving grace of our nation are the girls, they are definitely something to cheer about!

[@bury_the_elite65294]

Yes, the "Matildas" are actually doing quite well. Maybe at some stage in the future, Alfie, that could be another video for you to make. Not right now, but perhaps in the future. :)

[@rogeedodge]

Those clubs are still around, just in their respective state leagues. From what i remember, the old NSL had an issue with corruption and there was definitely a concerted effort with the formation of the ALeague to move clubs away from having such strong ethnic ties (Marconi, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Melbourne Knights etc) because of the perceived ties to hooliganism and violence (based on European experiences). I guess the FFA wanted a "cleaner" and more family friendly product to market.

[@joshgrima5955]

@Nurrr89 i have to agree with you on most of those things, but the womens football is not as amazing as it seems. And it is having similar problems to the mens game with young talent often being snubbed in order to focus on titles and wins. also young talents also being snubbed for players who aren’t up to it but they happen to have family or friends who can feed them through the system, and this is shown in the w-league as these players are in abundance at the moment. The Matilda’s also has its problems with them opting for experience and players who will make headlines, instead of the players who deserve to be seen.

[@Parkertrk1]

The irony of complaining about City but City is the club producing the most Socceroos. And this is from a Victory fan.

[@TOTN17]

@@bury_the_elite65294 Matildas are doing ok for now but there starting to have the same development problems as the Socceroos are having

[@cozzau]

As an Aussie, I’d have to say the issue is the FA being greedy and making a pay to play system. A lack of opportunities both in play time and financially to youth players. And a cultural view of football being soft and an outsiders game. Asian and Middle East investment could help things but in that case we would sell our soul.

[@cozzau]

The going to Asia over working hard in Europe is a big issue as well. But tbh if you aren’t extremely motivated to become the best in the world. Would you rather earn 10k a week at a championship club with a 1/20 chance of getting to the premier league until you are 32 or go to the Middle East and earn 40k a week until you are 38

[@danieleyre8913]

Which is ironic given that Aussie Rules is at least as soft as Soccer is...

[@cozzau]

@@danieleyre8913 you’ve obviously never played afl mate. You can get cleaned up at any second and you don’t even see it coming.

[@danieleyre8913]

@@cozzau And you think that Soccer players can’t also get blindsided? That doesn’t mean anything; all it proves is that a lot of cheap shot scumbags play Aussie Rules. Compared with the rugby codes or American football or Ice Hockey Aussie Rules is soft because it is not full contact, just like how Soccer is compared to those sports. That doesn’t mean that Soccer or Aussie Rules are completely soft sports, but it does mean that Aussie Rules fans and players can’t pretend that Soccer is softer then their sport.

[@halogun8584]

Enter World Cup Round of 16 Consider decline For you? 😗 At national team level They are Rise. At Club level They are Decline because of Salary cap when Neighbouring League Spend multiple amount of Money for foreign player slot .

[@slackjoelyokel88]

back from the dead baby!

[@adriang6259]

Maybe Aussies have found better games to play. Simple as that. Aussie Rules, Rugby league and cricket are more appealing to watch and play.

[@DeftPol]

Australia is just frankly a much more competitive “football” (in the umbrella sense of the word” market for its population size than any other country in the world. If you go to either Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne there are active fully professional teams across 4 “codes” of football - with the National Rugby League and Australian Football League the most dominant, followed by Super Rugby (Rugby Union) and soccer’s A-League. The only other place I can think of that comes close is Dublin, with their Union and Gaelic Football presence. In that environment, it’s frankly just harder for a sport like soccer to compete - and in Australia they even try to minimise soccer’s competition by playing the game in summer, but in recent years even the women’s cricket T20 tournament has been beating men’s soccer for ratings.

[@nj0377]

Scouts need to pay attention to school football over club football due to its financial gap. AFL under 18 teams rarely scout outside of school teams and it means that the best players are seldom covered behind a paywall.

[@BALHAM69]

a documentary on the afc Wimbledon on the nine promotions in eleven years, how they’re a fan own club and how they have a stadium in plough lane now. The story of they lost the club, how the F A allowed that and won’t allow that anymore. How they were very close to moving to ireland How they went up the English football leagues. It would be a good documentary video if you can do this. #thepeopleschannel

[@riverdobsonwallace]

Make sure you include how Kingstonian were kicked out of their OWN GROUND by AFC Wimbledon!

[@BALHAM69]

@@riverdobsonwallace technically helped them back in 2004 when they brought the stadium and let them play there for many years after.

[@ayrtonpietrobelli6972]

So happy now coming back to this video, you arent even wrong, our spirit just overcame typical expectations

[@owensunuwar697]

Yeah.. Gotta wait next 4 years again for the same spirit.. Pretty much like the US who only support football when it's their national team playing in WC.

[@ayrtonpietrobelli6972]

@@owensunuwar697 it sucks, I support australia through and through yet i dont think ill ever see a government/ffa that will appreciate this/make changes to help rebuild our culture

[@Not_Sal]

With Australia right now I see a lot of parallels with the USMNT when they missed the last World Cup. USA were humbled and had to wake up and make some drastic changes. The fact Australia made the World Cup makes me think Australia is gonna continues to ignore these problems they are facing, but I sure hope not.

[@BobSanders33]

I’m not sure that I agree. Due to being far less popular than American football in particular, the USMNT has depth issues that ebb and flow. The team that missed the World Cup was supposed to be led by a lost generation that produced almost no good players. The supposed stars of that generation were overpaid in MLS so they didn’t bother to challenge themselves in Europe and wasted any potential they had. They were followed by a generation that knew that to reach their potential, they had to get to Europe as soon as they could legally do so. Does US Soccer deserve credit for Christian Pulisic escaping to Dortmund at age 16 using his Croatian passport? I hardly think so. For the time being, the USMNT will continue to rely on immigrants, the children of immigrants, and the children of (often US military) expats to make up a large portion of the player pool. Luckily for them, the US has more of all of those demographics that’s any other country on earth. They simply aren’t getting Weston McKennie to play soccer if he didn’t spend his formative years immersed in German soccer. He would have just played American football. Over time, there may be a shift from football to soccer, but that hasn’t happened yet. I don’t think the rest of the world is ready for it because the sheer number of elite athletes that the US produces is staggering. There are dozens and dozens of college football players per year that the NFL judges to be too small, but would easily be the most explosive athlete on any top European club. When even some of those kids start training to be soccer players at 10 years old, look out. Just look at the USWNT for a snapshot of this, they are the deepest and most athletic roster in every match they play.

[@TickleMeElmo55]

@@BobSanders33 The Lost Generation is simply a weak narrative. "Escaping to Dortmund" That's an exaggeration of the actual event. Please get a grip. Not sure if you're an American, but if you are, you American soccer fans continue to display a large sense of insecurity who latch onto any narrative that discredits the US soccer system. It's almost as if there's a bias.

[@TheBloggme]

And yet we had our best ever world cup haha

[@michaelklaassen6961]

Being an Australian I think the biggest reason is actually the A-League itself…it’s provided a safety net for young players who go to Europe & don’t make any progress. The different ethnic clubs here are the reason for the Socceroos Golden Generation in 2006 sending all their products to the old countries worked…. Another big reason is the mainstream media always punching down on football as it’s majority NewsCorp (Fox News in 🇺🇸 & Sky in 🇬🇧) owned

[@lukemckean6155]

Agree 100%. Young players need to get out of their comfort zone and go abroad.

[@shuucuz]

@@lukemckean6155 Wrong, in Australia its proven that players who break out and get experience in the top tier before moving become better

[@ziudra91]

Australia is an awesome place to live in. Lol I can't blame them

[@michaelklaassen6961]

@@shuucuz they then can’t crack Europe for whatever reason (injury, form etc) & decide instead of toughing it out & truly competing go “ah well there’s the A-League” & become a big fish in a small pond

[@BerserkerGlen]

it's definitely not the aleague it's the backwards media that ruin everything. not enough access to watching it

[@noahdarcy7891]

It's definitely on the up here now 🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@adamwaters9110]

I don’t think it can be understated that the sheer amount of sport that is available to consume in Australia is extraordinary. Despite being a hot nation, we’re fanatical about the Winter Olympics, so you can only imagine how massive the Summer Olympic are here. There’s the Australian Open in Melbourne for Tennis that attracts a large audience. The Melbourne Cup and Royal Randwick Cup (Sydney) for Horseracing The Bathurst 100 for Motor GP is popular. We have two massively famous Cricket grounds for International Cricket in the MCG and SCG. American Football is even on the incline. Yes, Rugby Union is on the decline in Australia, and there’s a few reasons for that, but that shouldn’t undermine the two MASSIVE sports in Australia that I haven’t even mentioned yet. In Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Victoria and Tasmania, the game of Aussie Rules (AFL) is the predominant sport, whilst in Queensland, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, Rugby League (NRL) is the predominant sport. Both are also good secondary options in their opposing states. The NRL also has an internationally watched spectacle between Rep sides for New South Wales and Queensland called State of Origin.

[@juan1189]

I live in the US and we have as many if not more sports available to us, but football/soccer has made leaps and bounds because the media has helped on top of a group of talented players play in Europe. The MLS also attracts top talent.

[@deanmccourt4800]

Don't forget the Netball. It gets more viewers than the A-league

[@taliamason7986]

Also the Melbourne Grand Prix which this year had a record 400,000 plus fans and spectators.

[@sellars8107]

as a fan of cricket and the afl I’ve never been compelled to watch the a-league despite my growing love for soccer, the league is seen as a bit of a laughing stock among fans of cricket, afl, nrl, rugby union and tennis, which are all bigger, better supported, advertised and attended. I’d much prefer to watch a european game at 3:00 am than watch an a league game

[@danielparsons2859]

All the good talent play AFL football. Sam Kerr's brother was a top AFL player. The 2006 generation were more of an anomaly than anything else. A bunch of passionate people that elevated football to a level way higher than what was sustainable. We are still doing alright and a foundation is being built. We just need to produce more world class players.

[@ant7396]

Barely anybody outside of Victoria plays AFL football.

[@yellowdog2359]

Afl or Rugby are just more exciting and tougher sports. Big bumps, fights and high scores.

[@trainco1643]

@@ant7396 barely anybody outside of Victoria? Mate, AFL football is the most popular sport in every other state and territory except NSW and QLD. Idiot.

[@kalesaladgeoguessr]

@@trainco1643 and AFL is pretty big in even qld

[@trainco1643]

@@kalesaladgeoguessr exactly

[@basedxennial6269]

You've also got to look at the fact that some of the biggest advocates of the game in Johnny Warren and Les Murray are dead, and SBS is no longer pushing the game like it did

[@Hayych.]

Honestly, personally, I could have had a potential future playing in the NPL as a kid (the league under the a-league). But the payment for it was just genuinely too expensive that all that was affordable was to try out.

[@sizzledan31]

When Australia calls it soccer: :) When the USA calls it soccer: :(

[@chuckobscure5622]

This

[@baccamau80]

No, everybody in europe will hate australia

[@markdouglas9182]

A little strange.. Australia and USA call it soccer because they have a code of football far more popular going back to late 1800's... Before 'soccer' even left the shores of the UK!

[@Alex-xn2pj]

Day 4: A detailed look at the state of Crotone would be nice, going from Serie A in 20/21 with a 20 goal a season striker to Serie C by 22/23. Two relegations in a row, something surely has to be wrong at that club.

[@21hazza]

Who was the striker?

[@Alex-xn2pj]

@@21hazza Simeon Tochukwu Nwankwo, better known as Simy. Scored 20 Serie A goals in 38 games in 20/21

[@h3omm431]

@@21hazza probably Simy

[@akshadchavan5528]

Sunderland vibes. Although kinda more expected

[@21hazza]

@@Alex-xn2pj Fair, i actually used to have a friend from Crotone. Is would make a interesting video

[@bruno2331]

THERE IS NO MORE CROATS IN AUSSIE FOOTBALL Mark Viduka, Josip Skoko, Zeljko Kalac, Jason Culina, Mark Bosnich, Bresciano, Mile Jedinak etc Those were really good players

[@georgekoussoulas4575]

My man, Bresciano is Italian. Viduka and Bosnich were quality, the others were pretty average

[@ant7396]

@@georgekoussoulas4575 Bresciano is half Italian and half Croatian. I know this because I myself am the same.

[@totallynotblakem]

stfu, we're going to be accused for buying players from other nations and then we're going to be the most hated team in the world for doing so.

[@milanhrvat]

Zato što je nogomet u Hrvatskoj bolji.

[@beanjman2110]

thank you for shining a light on this Alfie, as an Aussie with English parents who used to play football I can validate what he is saying. my parents are still confused to this day on how football here is run and why it costs so much. along with the fact that a lot of the clubs from where I live are also very disorganised especially with the younger or lower skilled teams at the club, speaking from experience I have been left off of a team until the end of preseason multiple times because the clubs just forgot to add me to one. This all ended up with me playing basketball which is actually a lot more popular nowadays but also a lot cheaper only costing around $50-$150 depending on your club. it also sucks that most of the A-league games nowadays are only accessible through streaming services and only having a couple of games on free tv, this has lead to more people paying for streaming services that show premier league games because the league is more popular, better and it costs the same to watch, most people including me know more about English teams and their leagues that anything we have in Australia.

[@fishburger8177]

good rugby league is the better sport

[@Patrick61804]

And then Australia get out of the group of the World Cup and Canada gets 0 points lol

[@harrisonsearle4854]

Thanks Alfie for making this video about Australia. I thought since last November that we weren’t going to make it, thankfully due to the teams heroics throughout the playoff matches we’re in another World Cup. I know that failing to qualify might of made those in charge to fix the problems at large, however I’m very happy that we qualified. There’s another issue that Australian Football must fix, and that’s making sure that our own talent doesn’t slip away. Currently Christian Volpato from Roma (who’s lived his whole life in Australia) is leaning towards Italy over us. The same goes with Scott Chiperfield’s (Socceroos legend) son “Liam” who wants to play for Switzerland it seems. I’m realistic with our chances in the World Cup and we’ll most likely finish dead last in our group, yet I still feel that there’s some chance we’ll make it haha. Australia are used to the region and played in Qatar for most of their qualifiers due to Covid. Last time a World Cup was in an Asian country teams who were used to the heat such as Brazil and Turkey did well. Australia can tactically frustrate teams as well with their organisation and physicality. This was demonstrated against Peru recently, as well as France and Denmark in the 2018 World Cup. We’ll have to see what happens, go Socceroos 🇦🇺🦘🟢🟡.

[@Herb615]

"Currently Christian Volpato from Roma (who’s lived his whole life in Australia) is leaning towards Italy over us." I wouldn't be too concerned about that given that Australia has a better shot at making it to the World Cup at this point than Italy.

[@pyfinx]

AFL/Rugby/Cricket are what aussies play. that doesn't really put australia on the map. let's add swimming to the list. all aussie's wanted are "beat" india in cricket, new zealand in rugby.

[@stackhat8624]

1. Rugby is almost dead in Australia. If we didn't get the hosting rights to 2027 World Cup League would have finally killed it off. Rugby League is much much much more popular than rugby. 2.Swimming isn't that popular anymore. People Ariarne Titmus, Kyle Chalmers or Zac Stubblety-Cook aren't exactly household names despite being Olympic gold medalists. 3. Basketball is going through a huge boom in Australia. In many ways basketball has taken over soccer's position. Also lets face it, soccer is a boring sport for 3rd world countries and Eurotrash countries. There's a reason in virtually every developed country outside Europe soccer is not the biggest sport. Japan, Canada, Australia, USA, New Zealand and the tv ratings and crowds for baseball in South Korea absolutely destroy soccer despite all the morons on the internet claiming soccer is bigger than baseball in South Korea. Soccer is a terrible sport thats great for kids and poor people.

[@pyfinx]

@@stackhat8624 i mean the NRL. i think we're talking about the same thing. it's (well, was) all over network TV along with AFL. at least they were when i was growing up. i wouldn't call football a terrible sport just because it isn't huge in australia or somewhere in asia. i wouldn't think baseball is huge in the UK or somewhere in europe. it is none the less sad to see the golden era of socceroo's gone.

[@stackhat8624]

@@pyfinx Guessing you're from an AFL state. People from AFL states are like Americans. Very ignorant about things outside their area. Rugby = rugby union. If you want to talk about rugby league you have to say league.

[@baccamau80]

@@stackhat8624 american and european don't know who is fucking afl 🤣soccer /football is our religion, not in Australia

[@saikatghosh9073]

Hey New Zealand has a good Cricket team too

[@mythix5906]

While all this is true and remains so, with Australia beating both Tunisia and Denmark to go through to the RO16 in Qatar, a lot of names in the Socceroos have been noticed, with players such as Harry Soutter - Stoke City Kye Rowles - Heart of Midlothian FC Riley McGree - Middlesbrough FC Ajdin Hrustic - Hellas Verona FC Milos Degenek - Columbus Crew Mathew Leckie - Melbourne City FC Jackson Irvine - FC St. Pauli Mitchell Duke - Fagiano Okayama Craig Goodwin - Adelaide United FC Being a massive reason for the sudden improvement in the socceroos line up. I already have heard people talking about Harry Soutter going to a bigger club after having so far a great campaign for the Socceroos. With the performances of Rowles and McGree so far, I would expect them to move forward in their careers, with one of Australia's finest young talents in Garang Kuol already being signed by Newcastle United in the Premier League. Hopefully, these four players can help spearhead a new generation of Australian talent. I like to think of this as an upside of Australian football. PS. It would be cool so see your analysis on the Socceroos and how they have done what many thought was impossible and make it to the round of 16

[@crispykfc454]

Craig Goodwins gone back to Saudi and Irankunda's going to fucking Bayern, Adelaide is FUCKED

[@mitchellsmith300]

It is? youth players in Australia are very good when I saw that I mean early teens not current youth players. Glad your finally doing a video on my country though

[@jackphillips6742]

A League youth investment is just starting to pay dividends

[@rogergreen9861]

Easily answered. Rugby league dominates in NSW and Qld, while AFL owns Vic, S.A., Tas, W.A. and the N.T. Football/Soccer cannot compete with the pace of either code, and our national team is average. As a "challenger" product in a busy marketplace, that's two BIG strikes against it succeeding. The recent flailing about of rugby union testifies to the need for international wins for Aussies to support it.

[@eddievuong2811]

There is a book titled Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters that speaks about Australia's view of football. Sadly Aus Kick, a childrens program for Australian Rules Football, is much cheaper than joining an academy for football. Drawing children to AFL. The cheapest grass roots football program is mini roos sponsored by aldi.

[@DW-rs1pr]

Because AFL is a far superior sport. Its not run by corrupt billionaires who massive destroy a league without a salary cap. Its not overseen by a villainous corrupt international body. Its not played by effeminant men who cry, dive, bite and whinge every game. Its severely limited by only using your feet. There's a thousand reasons why. The sport kinda sucks

[@danielhackett1581]

The decline occurred from 2008 onwards getting to its low point in 2013, having a brief reprieve with Postecoglue, Ono heskey and ADP joining the A league and the Socceroos winning the Asian cup on home soil in 2015. After that there was a decline again. If anything things have improved recently with Covid - our clubs were forced to start playing youngsters - something that hasn't really occurred ever since the league went fully professional with the intro of the A league in 2005. So sorry to say but i think this video should have been about 3 yrs ago. I think we will win at least 1 match this WC

[@thetrashmaster1352]

More people in Australia go out and watch womens rugby and cricket than they watch mens soccer. In Australia, soccer is just not a spectator sport. A lot of people play soccer because of how easy the rules are, it's non contact and gender neutral. It's good to screw around and play or even to play in a local team, but it definitely isn't considered a serious sport. The perception is basically that it's a safe sport for kids.

[@markmooroolbark252]

Because Aussie Rules dominates the landscape as does Rugby League. AFL is simply a far more exciting , entertaining sport.

[@MsNosis]

last time I checked, Australia's women had a row of quarterfinals in recent world cups and olympic games, and they are hosting next year's world cup. they are doing just fine. very strong , actually. this video should have been called "why is MEN's soccer on the decline in Australia?". Too bad it wasn't because I recognize and praise all the research and effort being put into this video.

[@TOTN17]

Matildas are having simular youth problems to the Socceroos they will decline

[@stthcnths]

Sam Kerr is one of the top 5/ top 3 female strikers on the planet

[@paulorocky]

The Matildas suck at the moment. Sure, we defeated New Zealand but the results against European teams leave a lot to be desired. Not to mention that the USA are still head and shoulders above our ladies even with the likes of Rapinoe and Morgan sitting out. I just hope it isn’t too embarrassing next year, I really want them to do well.

[@daveb5998]

The media in Australia will only ever mention football/soccer if its for a negative aspect. There is a clear bias, or agenda in the media against football/soccer. But it will jump on the bandwagon during World Cup's, as recently proven yet again with the Matilda's. But the first sign of crowd trouble and the media is all over it. Yet the constant crowd issues at Rugby league or AFL games rarely gets a mention and even if it does, it's quickly brushed aside. Where else in the world can the most participated sport in a country be put so far down the pecking order by it's media?

[@RavenAUS]

As an Aussie with a young one trying to get ahead in football is near impossible. You are 100% accurate with the state of our youth development and national League. It's an absolute joke here.

[@michaelgurnaut2436]

And why in France, there is so much talent coming from Ethenic /Africain back ground ? If they have to paid so much fee, they would not turn up to club . They do have and received financial support from club and Federation for developpement something that is Australia we need desperately. No enthousiam, No passion, No beleive, No Football culture, No confidance , Anotherword, No ideal at all here in Australia and we have been told so many time that think will change !! That was 40 years ago

[@Omer-lr2fm]

@@eddybulich3309 literally most of them are born in France what are u on about

[@stevenharris7614]

Australia especially Sydney has the most competitive sports market in the world for such a small population but massive money..id hate to live in a one sport country like Peru (pop 32mil) which Australia(pop25mil) recently beat there's no fall back to a sport that might be winning.like rugby League rugby Union Australian Rules cricket

[@btf_flotsam478]

This video has aged relatively weirdly, with Australia winning 2 matches and only losing against the grand finalists. In 2023, the women's team finished 4th! Yet, we still give little attention to our domestic competitions. (Also, no mention of the Confederation Cup in the golden generation?)

[@MatoBateman]

All that aside, football in this country is at it's lowest point. Losing money, massive staff cuts, lack of crowds and viewership, FA having to take control of two clubs due to having no owners, Western United postponed a game cause they had no home ground or any ground to play at and have to take following home game to Tasmania, Unite round was a disaster...list goes on

[@SuperGlotta]

Because it’s so many people who think SOKKA it’s a second degree sport they got the own 🦶 foot ball 🏈 playing with hands n fingers !? BIG IGNORANCE

[@willassAUS]

I was one of the best footballers in my region and age group. My parents were poor and could never afford to send me to anything above local level so I missed out. I know a few other boys that had the same issue as me and only know one who could afford to go higher and he honestly wasn't that good.

[@zachjudge5885]

The more countries soccer doesn't grow in, the better.. not because it's a bad sport but because it would force other sports to decline.

[@ElCap1van]

Australia Finished 2nd in a group with france and held on with Argentina in R16 not too bad for a minow country

[@dropbear3434]

i grew up with some soccer but for me i got drawn into AFL and i still play that sport all my mates played AFL no one in my town i knew at the time played soccer and currently there's some soccer on but im in the middle of AFL season as well and the training clashes so i choose AFL it is just a higher energy sport i find in general

[@havanadaurcy1321]

Stolen from the Irish.

[@aaronkahland9896]

Higher energy in Oz for certain but, compared with football in Europe or Latin America, AFL is a snoozefest.

[@baccamau80]

@@aaronkahland9896 europe,the us ,south america, asia too

[@EMarinoTrumpet]

Thank you for mentioning Venezuela. It has improved a lot. I played baseball, but my dad was probably one of those Italian Immigrants that brought the game back in the 1960s and 70s. He played when there were no professional teams in his town. It was not until 2002 that our city (Puerto La Cruz) got its first professional team. We did not get a proper pitch until 2007 for the Copa America. Furthermore, finding a real pitch with grass was rare. The last time I visited Venezuela, I now live in the USA, I saw there were new local turf pitches. The economic crisis has affected the domestic league, but it has not stopped Venezuelan talent from making it to the most competitive leagues around the world.

[@clarencesammah632]

It would be so refreshing to see the day when Venezulan men and women's teams rise above the levels of Brazil and Argentina (with out the play acting) and be a force to be recoken with in this part of the world.. From your neghbour across the Gulf of Paria.

[@mannyb7949]

Peruvian here, I have to give to Venezuela, you guys have made such fantastic progress for the past 10-12 years, the team definitely took off during the 2011 copa america and despite ups and downs later on Venezuela has produced very good players (Soteldo, Rondon and Savarino are the ones who got my attention, specially Soteldo), hopefully with Pekerman at the helm Venezuela may finally get the necessary results and that little "click" to make them even more competitive.

[@EMarinoTrumpet]

@@mannyb7949 You are correct. I think a good head coach and hopefully a less corrupt administration will help. Having a foreign coach like Perkerman will help for sure. Peru has improved a lot. I met several of the players when they played Venezuela in my hometown back in 2010 I think.

[@rawpowerinmotion]

This aged well

[@GooseGumlizzard]

I mean, Australia, like the US, Canada, and others, have other sports. Most countries in Europe are one sport nations. Whats the second biggest game in the UK, darts? At least in eastern europe they have basketball and ice hockey but in western europe and latin america, soccer is literally the only game in town.

[@LHBH8]

Darts? Try Rugby, Cricket and boxing you sap.

[@pht9317]

@@LHBH8and they suck at all of them

[@baccamau80]

@@pht9317 england cricket

[@baccamau80]

Why england people don't care about soccer, europe not england, usa,south america, asia are soccer fans

[@stackhat8624]

France has basketball and rugby. Spain plays basketball as does Germany now. Italy sucks at everything outside football. But basketball and football can co-exist very easily because of the height differences required for football and basketball players. Peter Crouch was considered a giant in football at 6' 7" but that is only one inch above the NBA average.

[@0P9ine]

I dont get it why you would want all countries to play the same sports. I find it more interesting that each country have their own inique sport instead of everyone playing soccer. We get it its the worlds game but not everyone in the world has to like or play it

[@yuehanbai9984]

I'm a huge football fan, but I love the fact that there are still huge parts of the world where football isn't the number one sport and I hope football won't go on to "take over " the whole world. I like a little diversity when it comes to sports.

[@chalkandcheese1868]

That's true, it's much better to live in a multi sport country like Australia or the US.

[@realtalk6195]

When all things are considered Association Football can be boring. The higher the quality of the team the less likely you are to see goals. Then when there's a tie-breaking shootout, the skill goes out the window and the players are left to _guess_ which angle the opponent is going to kick the ball into the goal. Studies have been done that's confirmed that the goalie can't react to the kick itself and stop the goal in time, it's always guesswork before the kick actually happens. Rugby League and Australian Football are both more entertaining than soccer, so it makes sense that they would be the most popular in Australia. Personally, I'd like to see RL gain traction internationally. It's such an underrated sport compared to even Rugby Union which can also often be boring.

[@sma5605]

It is nice to see countries like NZ where there is one stand out sport that isn’t football but for me, as an Australian, it sucks having so many competing sports. I can only talk for Sydney, but it’s extremely rare that there are packed venues for club matches, in the office environment or at school there are only pockets of people (if any depending on the code) that follow the same sport as you and there are dumb rivalries between sports - lots of people hate seeing other codes do well. I know a lot of rugby league fans put the boot into our national rugby and soccer teams when the lose or have poor attendances. I would love it if football was the only sport here!

[@TickleMeElmo55]

This. People are too gung-ho about soccer/football being #1 that they forget it does get monotonous.

[@TickleMeElmo55]

@@sma5605 So basically you only want your sport to do well. Sounds rather juvenile and selfish. Weird, because I only find this mentality in football/soccer fans.

[@frankmiranda707]

And yet this team is going to the World Cup instead of Peru

[@youngtasty1524]

the things holding back soccer in australia combination of, soccer never being huge to begin with, sports like afl, cricket, rugby being way more popular with longer histories and being cemented into australian sport. the a league being kinda shitty and not super enjoyable to watch. and the cost of academys being too much for a lot of people who actually have the talent to pursue the sport professionally instead of just the rich kids who might be a bit above average.

[@jds997]

Do you actually watch the A league? Because if you did then you would know how enjoyable it is. I agree with most of the stuff that you said, but I can’t help but think you are just a euro snob that just assumes these things and doesn’t actually check if it is correct, or gives it a chance.

[@youngtasty1524]

@@jds997 watched a league since I was like 6 no matter whether you and I enjoy it the skill level is nowhere near the top leagues in the world leaving more casual supporters drawn to other leagues elsewhere where there are massive household names and highly skilled players playing which the a league only offers little of in comparison

[@jds997]

@@youngtasty1524 agreed

[@andrew_l1900]

The first bad move was shutting down the institute of sport steups, then in trying to grow the A-League the FFA has tried to keep the best young talent here in Australia and have them hopefully play in the A-League instead of helping to facilitate moves into world class European academies so they can learn and compete amongst the best. Keeping them here stifles their growth as our coaching and development isn’t where it needs to be, and neither is the level of competition they have to go against. This all leads to a massively sub-standard domestic competition and a below par national team of home grown players who can’t compete on the world stage like we used to. The best thing that ever happened to grow the game in Australia was having our best playing on top teams and leagues in Europe, not playing in the A-League.

[@piendawg]

This is totally spot on mate

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Waste of money

[@jlbjlb4208]

U tell me which players that have gone straight to Europe instead of playing in the a-league have done well? Hardly any whereas some of our best players now (mooy, ryan, rogic) were all developed in the aleague. It’s better we keep good young players in the aleague were they play regularly at a professional level instead of getting no game time overseas in an academy and eventually just come back to the aleague as wasted potential. I can’t think of one good aus player in the past 10 years which didn’t play in the aleague and went straight to Europe.

[@richardboult2187]

Depends what you mean by "growing the game"? Highest participation of any sport? A league has bigger crowds than NSL (at the end) Is slightly more success by our national team once every 4 years actually going to "grow the game" in any way? Will it change the Eurosnobs from paying to watch TV at 3am, buying international merch, instead of supporting their local A league club?

[@peternut358]

Australian Rules Football is a far better game and we are blessed to have it

[@fletch6183]

Hey Alfie, great video as always, just letting you know however at around 27:00 that we are currently working on adding a second division in the next 5 years or so

[@vader745]

a 2nd division is not going to do much, the issues are much deeper than that

[@cap306]

Personally, when I grew up in Australia, I had 4 codes to choose from and play at School. I generally went with the one I enjoyed the most, which for me was Aussie Rules, obviously every person’s circumstance are different, but from a fun perspective as a kid, this is what I enjoyed the most, the game just seemed more dynamic.

[@qcthesxientist]

aussie rules would be the world game if other countries had a go at it.

[@benjaminrowley]

@@qcthesxientist also if the afl higher ups had more balls to take it overseas to give it exposure it would explode with the right promoting

[@tp9386]

They just won 2 World Cup games and are in the final 16

[@jackthelad9933]

Because Australia has more exciting sports to watch.

[@nocapbarnz]

As an Aussie, you got this video pretty spot on with most the info. But I personally wouldn't say that Soccer in Australia is on a decline in all areas, one area you forgot to touch on was the recent rise in young players getting game time in the A-League over the last 18 months. In fact, the A-League is in present time one of the top 5 leagues in the world with the young players under 21 getting the most minutes, alongside established countries known for developing young players like Germany and Netherlands. The pandemic played a big part in the recent rise of young players getting more game time and clubs being cash strapped, but for us Aussie football fans it's proof that the academies the professional clubs started running are now finally starting to bear fruit. Despite the lack of games being played and all the wel known issues, it's no secret now that some of the youngsters coming through are looking like a potential new golden generation such as McGree, Rowles, Kuol, Atkinson etc.

[@12angryrealists]

Big Ifs there. Will take years to undo the damage from the past 15 years

[@nocapbarnz]

@@12angryrealists 100% bro. It's not gonna be a quick fix, could take missing out on an Asian cup or world cup beforehand drastic change happens

[@ivanpetrov5185]

@@nocapbarnz Australia will not miss a World Cup anymore. And this might be a tragedy. Qualifying for every World Cup from now on will incentivize your FA to stick to mediocrity. FIFA's decision to increase the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams benefits greatly AFC, CAF and CONCACAF. And OFC to the extent that New Zealand will always qualify which means that they will never have the incentive to move to AFC, which means that they will always be mediocre. You will always be good enough to take one of the direct slots from AFC.

[@nocapbarnz]

@@ivanpetrov5185 you're right bro. There's no way Australia can miss out now in the future tournaments, but they're still definitely among the best in Asia regardless of the current state of the squad. But not competitive enough against the Asian elite like Japan

[@ivanpetrov5185]

@@nocapbarnz How many direct slots would AFC get from 2026 onwards? 6? 8? 9? Anyway, this is a chance for China and India to take football a little bit more seriously.

[@danielviles.a2gsm]

Lots of us Aussies are leaving comments on here and, beyond the odd quibble with a minor point, we're not really disagreeing with you in any great numbers. One minor factor in Australia not getting behind football was the manner of our exit from the 2006 World Cup. Much of the League, Union and Aussie Rules culture in Australia sees football as a soft sport where diving and faking injuries is rewarded. Australia's play during the group stages, which combined intelligence with physicality, in 2006 went a long way towards getting the 'bogan' crowd onside. Then came Fabio Grosso. The way he fell over Lucas Neill's leg and acted like he'd been hit by a sniper, and then benefitted from it, confirmed every prejudice about the nature of the football world held by the Australian proletariat. This is not even close to being the most important reason that football has not and will not become Australia's national sport, but it is a neat illustration of why the average blue collar Aussie bloke tends not to sit down on a weekend and turn on the soccer.

[@TheLowrider2040]

Growing up playing club soccer in Adelaide durinf the 2000's, club fees for junior levels were quite reasonable up until around 2005 at around $350-400 per season until they effectively doubled to over $1,000 for most clubs. The talent flowing through was undoubtedly limited as a result and we now have less talent in this current generation of players.

[@eddybulich3309]

Blame Football SA and Football Australia - when NPL teams have massive fees to compete in the State NPL league they derive those funds from the junior teams. Everything in football in Australia is fcuked. Its starts with Football Australia - Which is not and association but a Pty Ltd Company. Clubs have no voting or representation rights - they are simply stakeholders without any say.

[@brent3449]

wow, that's heaps... how old are the kids when you have to pay $1000 a season for them? my 2 boys play footy 10 and 8 and It's only $145 a year

[@louiscypher4186]

@@brent3449 It varies greatly depending on where you live. The nearest soccer club to me is mounties which would be $300 for your 8 year old and $350 for your 10 year old. Of course there's only 3 clubs nearby and they are all Wanderer affiliates so that's why they can get away with it. It's utterly ridiculous that I can register an 18 and 20 year old at a local RL club ($290 combined) with a better ground, better facilities and a proper coach all for less then it cost for an 8 year old to muck about on the weekend.

[@bucky3725]

Australia produces some of the best athletes in the world, imagine if some of the afl and rugby greats choose European football. Imagine coming up against a midfield or a defence with names like Gary ablett, Luke Ball, Chris judd, Ben cousins, riewoldt. Imagine an eddie betts or a cyril ryoli on a wing or as a small striker? Would be interesting at least if they were more inclined with a round ball.

[@daveduglass2093]

Why does it take 30 minutes to say ‘because it’s a shit sport’

[@PussianoGaynaldoPiuu]

Declinining? but Football has never been popular there lol

[@BDK888]

Yes it is popular, the most played sport in the country

[@MatoBateman]

​@@BDK888from a participation standpoint, you are right. But the game is behind Rugby League, AFL and even Rugby Union, in terms of viewership and attendance. While the Matildas broke records with viewership in the World Cup, the real test is to see what ratings and attendances will be like after in the W-League.

[@baccamau80]

@@BDK888 u mean afl football 🤣🤣lol

[@max-mk1pl]

​@baccamau80 afl is alright football >>>>>

[@MatoBateman]

@261i7 how so? The crowd numbers and TV viewership will tell you otherwise. Western United had to postpone their home game because they had no where to play, nuff said. That's not just embarrassing for the club, but the league in general.

[@doallwell1]

Football is the best sport in the World!! 🌎⚽️❤ Oval Ball is garbage! NRL copied Rugby Union AFL copied Irish Football

[@fluerichetlived7729]

Thanks for making a video on this Alfie, as an Indian football fan, I also noticed a decline in their A-League when suddenly our country's premier football league ISL clubs started to sign top stars from A-League one after another even though our national team is still quite far behind in quality compared to Australia. This made me wonder about what was going wrong in Australian football. Now I can get the picture. Keep up the excellent work man.

[@1607Adi_Manz]

ISL simply have money to backup all those salary

[@realtalk6195]

Rugby League and Australian Football are the most popular _spectator_ sports in Australia, whereas Soccer, Rugby Union, and Cricket are niche sports.

[@fluerichetlived7729]

It's not all about the money. ISL has got a few billionaire owners who could compete with Europe or Asian top dogs, but money or better salaries is not everything for a league like ISL to attract top players from a better league like A-League, I mean they're not even fringe players, they were one of the top performers of the league, when you see all of a sudden players like Partaalu, Delgado, Krishna, David Williams, Le Fondre, Bobo, Luna, Hooper, Donachie, Rostyn Griffiths, Brendan Hamill, etc signing for ISL clubs one after another, you have to think something's weird going on over at Australia.

[@xenobladesrg7729]

@@realtalk6195 but most of test cricket matches vs ENg and INdia is full house in mcg and gabba

[@saikatghosh9073]

​@@xenobladesrg7729Cricket is more suitable to watch on Television rather than Stadium