Not sure if screenshots are cheating or not, but I FINALLY got the world cup streaming on a mobile phone. Note I say “a” mobile phone, not “my” mobile phone. It still doesn’t work on my iPhone 3GS, but it works fine on Mat’s iPhone 3G. Oh well, at least now I can finally watch world cup matches from my bed!
Rewind about 5 years ago and I wasn’t a soccer fan. I followed the paths of most Aussies; it was all about NRL or AFL, swimming, tennis or netball (which I loved because I was an active player myself). I perceived soccer as a boring 90min game where it was a good game if someone scored. When someone did eventually get a goal, I thought it was exciting for all of about 30 seconds while the players celebrated. Then I got bored again.
My sister did the best she could to convince me. She tried to tell me it was a game of passion, and about the struggle to get a goal. She told me of the ultimate elation when they finally did break through and found the back of the net. Still, I didn’t understand.
Then she took me to my first live game, a socceroos match in 2005 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. I was exposed to the crowds and the electricity in the air as we watched the ball going back and forth on the field. I became hooked.
I love tipping comps, free and paid. It’s such an excellent way to really get involved in the sport, and understand who is winning or losing, and who is good or not. I have also come to love soccer (or football) very dearly, and it’s now my most preferred sport to watch.
Every year at work we always have both an A-League and AFL tipping comp open to friends, family and customers. This year I thought I would throw my own personal one in the mix. I’ve never been in a world cup tipping comp, and decided I would love to open it for all of us on twitter who enjoy the sport. It’s free to enter (you just need to sign up for oztips.com, also totally free), and there’s no prizes at the end other than bragging rights. However, I know if I was at the top of the ladder I would feel pretty awesome, and would probably emphasise that I was winning quite a bit! Not to mention I will actually have an interest on who gets through each group rather than purely just focusing on the Socceroos.
If you’re interested in joining up you will need the following details:
Site: www.oztips.com
Comp no: 228750
Password: twitter
So go on – join up and let’s have a bit of fun!
An email I received this morning from FFA:
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Dear Kelly
You may have noticed an article in some of Saturday’s papers which said that the Hyundai A-League and football in general is “in crisis”.
The writer (Rebecca Wilson) said the alleged “crisis” was the reason for the result between Adelaide United and Gamba Osaka in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League and that Adelaide was “humiliated”.
I thought it might be helpful to write to let you know just how wrong this view is.
For a start, I’ve always thought that a team which makes it to a final of a competition has actually performed very well.
Whether it be the NRL or AFL Grand Finals, the finals of the cricket One Day Internationals or finals of the Super 14s, it is generally accepted that the two teams competing have excelled to get that far.
Let’s put Adelaide United’s achievement in making it to the final of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Champions League against Gamba Osaka into perspective.
To get to the final, Adelaide had to:
(a) finish as either minor premiers or champions of the Hyundai A-League to earn the right to represent Australia in the first place
(b) come through a group stage playing six home and away matches against teams from Korea, China and Vietnam
(c) navigate through the quarter finals and semi finals, playing a further four home and away matches, against one of the most successful teams in J-League history, Kashima Antlers, and Bunyodkor from Uzbekistan, and
(d) meet another top team from the Japanese league which is widely considered the top national league in the Asian confederation.
Since 2006, we have been actively addressing the shortcomings of the sport with a long term plan for Australia to improve its technical skills and to achieve sustained success internationally.
Last year, Football Federation Australia (FFA) released the first ever national strategic framework for the development of the sport in this country.
It is a long term plan for Australia to achieve sustained success at international level within the historical context of a lack of investment in the critical area of football development over many decades.
The national football development plan sets out a comprehensive program for improving and upgrading the game at every level and for all participants, whether they be players, coaches, referees, volunteers or other administrators. The plan addresses development at two distinct levels:
Since then, we have delivered a number of the initiatives outlined in the national football development plan all of which have the aim of improving the skill levels and technical proficiency of players. These include:
Small sided football is critical to our strategy as it gives children more touches of the ball, leading to improved skill levels. After just one year, 70,000 children are playing small sided football and this number will increase further over the next two years.
It’s one thing to produce good players, but we also need to produce good coaches.
While it’s terrific to see the ‘mums and dads’ at weekend games helping out their children’s teams, we also want to ensure those mums and dads have the skills they need also to help children appropriately as they guide them in the early years.
To date, we have:
In time for the 2009 winter football season, we will have a new online course available for accredited coaches to supplement and complement certificate courses.
The article also suggested that the best players go overseas.
This is a reality which has been ever-present in football for 25 years and reflects the fact that football is the truly global game.
It is almost a rite of passage for talented young Australian players to try their luck in the bigger and richer leagues around the world, just as it is for young footballers from elsewhere such as South America.
It is a reality which other sports are only now just starting to experience as the epicentre of some of the other sports shifts.
But with our large participant base, our nine national teams for men and women, and regular competitive opportunities through the Asian Football Confederation, the Hyundai A-League (along with the National Youth League and the Westfield W-League) will grow into a more and more significant competition and source of playing talent for national teams as the competition matures and evolves.
At the end of season 3 of the Hyundai A-League, average crowds were 15,350, club memberships increased by almost 100% on season 1 and FOX Sports continued to report increasing viewer numbers.
Even though there has been a small reduction in crowds to date in this season, we are light years ahead of the old national soccer league.
Expansion will not only give us the best geographical footprint of any national sporting competition in the country, but more teams will help make the competition even more vibrant and attractive.
We are expanding to ten teams next season, with the addition of the Gold Coast and North Queensland Fury, and to twelve the season after.
Even further growth of the Hyundai A-League will come from creating local heroes that young players can touch and see week-in, week-out and we are taking positive steps to ensure that we have enough quality players available.
Importantly, an expanded Hyundai A-League will also give clubs an extended season with more games which – as every coach and armchair expert knows – leads to improved skill levels, technical proficiency and match preparedness.
So, far from being “in crisis” we are rebuilding from the grassroots up.
Thank you for your commitment to football.
We hope to see you at a Hyundai A-League, National Youth League, Westfield W-League and Qantas Socceroos match in the very near future.
Cheers
Ben Buckley
Chief Executive Officer
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A link to the article by Rebecca Wilson that prompted the response: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24654341-5006301,00.html