Unless you’re thinking about an oval ball, Australia is probably not the first country that comes to mind when you’re talking about “football”. Maybe if you were eagerly following the drifting careers of Jack Rodwell, Carl Jenkinson or Joe Lolley, the A-League might have been on your radar, but chances are, the “soccer” Down Under would pass you by.
That changed in August 2023 — in Australia with the rise of the Matildas, and in England with the emergence of Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur.
Australia is taking soccer seriously. So seriously that the younger generations call it football, not to be confused with ‘footy’, the term usually reserved for one of their national sports, Aussie rules. It is on the rise. Average attendances are up from last year but still not quite what they were pre-pandemic. The women’s game appears to have had a mini boost from the World Cup staged in the country last July and August. Additionally, there was the announcement that a ‘B-League’ would be launched in 2025, creating a second tier that will include Postecoglou’s former side, South Melbourne.
However, with every hurdle cleared, another larger one stops the game’s development in its tracks. The inaugural ‘Unite’ round has just taken place, where every team…
