The AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has caused major uproar & controversy due to his myopic stance on Australia's bid to stage the FIFA Football World Cup in 2018 or 2022. trying to jealously derail Australia's bit for the FIFA WC 2018 or 2022.
There are various aspects of this controversy which have to be carefully considered:
It is fair to say that as the CEO of AFL, Andrew Demetriou's main responsibility is to make sure the AFL season is a success both on & off the field, protect & expand AFL's market share & profile& promote AFL. He's not responsible or has any moral or legal obligation to support or assist any rival code's aspirations.
At the same time, football codes & indeed other organised sports must be reasonably compensated for the potential loss of income if/when the World Cup is staged in Australia. FFA, The Federal Government & even fans acknowledge & appreciate this point.
However, the timing of Demetriou's comments (and the less publised claim by Shane Richardson of South Sydney) was clearly designed to destabilise Australia's bid because the final day for submissions was Friday 11th.
Sports administrators like Demetriou who are in charge of sports such as AFL which do not have a large international following or profile (and I mean no disrespect to the code by saying so) risk over stepping their authority with inflammatory comments which are designed to embarrass the administration of a rival code which is engaged in the complex web of international diplomacy & power play. Because in doing so, Demetriou's words may go as far as embarrassing the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who had been lobbying tirelessly to advance Australia's bid as a matter of national interest at the same time as Demetriou's comments embarrassed Australia & the FFA on an international basis. (Just check various football websites to see the adverse impact the comments had on Australia's profile) Mr Demetriou & AFL, with their small minded sport administration minds do not seem to have Australia's national interest at heart & are unwilling to acknowledge the positive aspects of staging the World Cup lest it makes fringe players like them look totally irrelevant.
Therefore Demetriou is either a trouble maker or is trapped in a world of small time sport administration & hence unable to grasp the scale & popularity of the FIFA World Cup. Demetriou's sporting world has a fan base of at best 20 million, or even smaller (assuming all of Australia & Ireland follow AFL!). The significance of Melbourne with its sporting infrastructure & passionate fans is massive. Demetriou & his backers are using this as a way of blackmailing the FFA & Australian fans for that matter. What they are forgetting is that AFL has contractual agreements with various venues but does not own Telstra Stadium & the MCG (& has a complex agreement with the privately owned Eithad Stadium). i.e. AFL can not, must not & will not hold the fans & the FFA at ransom over its use of various venues!
Staging the FIFA World Cup is the most sought after event in the world. It has shown to have significant positive cultural & financial impact. The cumulative worldwide audience of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 is estimated to easily be more than the combined accumulative worldwide audience of Sydney 2000 Olympics and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth games! That is why Prime Ministers get personally involved in the lobbying & promoting process. The likes of Andrew Demetriou have no place in the process, not unless their ulterior motives demand they get involved.
The AFL Board & Andrew Demetriou conveniently ignore the time line of 9 to 13 years to plan for the event as well as the cultural, financial & economic significance of hosting the FIFA World Cup.
For example, the USA bid documents (rivaling Australia) claim staging the World Cup in 2018 may bring as much as $5 billion to the USA economy. (please see
On the other hand, AFL Board knows the significance of Melbourne as the Sporting Capital of Australia, both in terms of facilities and its passionate supporters. Melbourne has an integral role in the bid & the event, but Andrew Demetriou is neither the Premier of Victoria nor the owner of the MCG & Telstra Stadium (although AFL has a contract & ownership arrangement with the privately owned stadium!) Petty rivalry & jealousy between various codes must be set aside for a national cause, in order to stage the greatest single event (sporting or otherwise) in the world, the same way Australia came together & made the Sydney Olympics & Melbourne Commonwealth Games successful events.
This is imperative because FIFA is an extremely powerful organisation (in fact too powerful). In 2006, during the last World Cup, FIFA accounts show a gross operating revenues in excess of $800 million. In non World Cup years it's revenue is around $250 million. Getting to stage a FIFA World Cup is a huge financial, marketing, lobbying & preference enticing task which at times can the world of international politics look like child play!
FIFA's power comes from 1) huge media revenue due to football's irresistible marketability around the world, and 2) its vast membership base which currently stands at 208 Federations.
In comparison, United Nations currently has 192 members! (FIFA grants membership to countries/territories which for political reasons are not granted UN membership, e.g. Taiwan & Phalestine)
Of course, neither the worldwide popularity of football nor its powerful representative body FIFA should interfere with the rightful plans of any other sport. But for a sport that runs its fixtures from March to August, Demetriou can easily start to plan to have the code ready in time to have the 2018 or 2022's Calendar altered, the same way school holidays, various sporting leagues & daylight saving were altered during the Sydney Olympics or Melbourne Commonwaelth games! If not, it simply demonstrates incompetence on the part of Demetriou & in his team if they find it impossible to plan to alter a season in 9 or 13 years time!
If Demetriou can't plan for that far ahead then he is showing his administrative incompetence & should resign!
Mr Detemriou & the AFL Board must be careful not to over estimate their code's support base & consider the adverse PR risks involved in their risky strategy. They risk alienating the supporters they need for second AFL teams to succeed, especially in Sydney.
1. AFL does not have as strong a support base base in Australia's Eastern seaboard as it does in Victoria, SA & WA. League, Union, Soccer & cricket are still more popular than AFL in Sydney & Brisbane. Western Suburbs of Sydney is a hotbed of Soccer & Rugby League. If AFL are seen to be derailing the FFA World Cup bid, the adverse PR effect may jeapordise the viability of the planned second AFL team in Sydney.
2. Many loyal AFL supporters in the stronger AFL markets are of European ethnic origins. In fact, AFL supporters of e.g. Greek, Italian, Maltese & Croatian background would like to see Australia stage the FIFA World Cup more passionately than many non AFL supporters. Derailing the bid may also have an adverse PR effect on the AFL stronger markets.
3. Let's not be so myopic! Would Andrew Demetriou have stated the same objection if Melbourne were to be granted the next Olympics which is usually held in August?
4. Andrew Demetriou's legacy will be forever tarnished if he ends up depriving the sport loving people of Melbourne from staging the FIFA World Cup final because Sydney or even Brisbane will pounce at the opportunity to take the final of the world's biggest & most popular sporting event away from Melbourne, and potentially with it Melbourne's title of the sporting capital of Australia
In conclusion, whilst it is ok to demand a reasonable compensation for potential loss of revenue, & FFA & FIFA must acknowledge this fact, various football code adminstrators must understand that blackmail tactics to protect their patch will backfire & they can no longer supress the popularity of soccer in Australia by using the "shielas, poofters & wogs" redneck strategy! Not only more of us are travelling overseas & get to witness the wonders & fantastic atmosphere of football matches in person, we also have access to the internet & pay tv & hence a much broader exposure to the popularity of football across the globe.
Soccer is here to stay & it will challenge other codes regardless of whether Andrew Demetriou & the likes manage to dent our bid to stage the "World Game!" But staging the World Cup is not just about rivalry between codes Mr Demetriou! Wake up to your conscience & acknowledge its national & international significance, and the fact that a united national effort is required if Australia's bid is to succeed.
So, Go ahead! Andrew Demetriou! Give us your best Aerial Ping Pong Shot! It will bounce back & blow in your face so fast that you won't know what hit you!
