I suspect the administrations of the AFL, NRL and ARU are concerned at the potential loss in sponsorship dollars in particular the ARU who have a struggling Wallabies outfit. Will soccers success be detrimental to the other football codes in Australia? The following article makes interesting reading.
It's the best of times and the wurst is yet to come
By Michael Cockerill
November 18, 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/its ... 28561.html
Football Federation Australia chief executive John O'Neill said yesterday that while it "was not a time to be boastful", Australia's World Cup qualification had given the sport the platform to challenge the nation's sporting hierarchy.
"We're not going to sit here and talk about becoming the number one sport, or anything like that," he said. "But this is all about accelerating the momentum. Life would have gone on if we hadn't qualified but the important thing is that we are not going to be out of the newspapers next year.
"We have struggled for column inches - the lead in for the World Cup is going to be fantastic. We have a participation level that is the envy of most sports. We have the A-League now that looks the goods and now we have the national team performing at the highest level. We are a very serious player now in mainstream sport and I think our positioning has been enhanced. It's all in front of us."
The Socceroos' epic win over Uruguay on Wednesday night attracted a record audience for broadcasters SBS, and will deliver a minimum of $8 million in appearance money into the coffers of the FFA.
FFA chairman Frank Lowy remains reluctant to quantify the financial boost the game will receive in the wake of making the World Cup, but he is understandably excited by the possibilities. "It's a huge boost for us to move forward but I don't think we can overestimate the win last night," Lowy said. "It was one game and we have hundreds of games ahead of us.
"There is a huge job to put football on the map in Australia. We are only just starting. The momentum will make the job a lot easier and we won't have to fight for the support any more. The fight is now behind us."
