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Australia Football Future
With the 2022 World Cup now over, Australia is at a crossroads. The country has won hearts and minds all over the world with its performances, but back home, it's a different story.
The Australian Professional Leagues announced that they will be staging the Grand Finals of both the men's and women's A-League divisions in Sydney, regardless of which teams qualify for those six fixtures.
This is a major break with tradition; previously, whichever of the two finalists finished highest in the regular season got to host the game. This has meant that four different cities have hosted games in the past five years and six different cities over the past decade. Fans are furious at this change and so are clubs, stakeholders, and even players.
A supporter walkout has been promised in the middle of this weekend's Melbourne Derby.
At least one APL board member has tended his resignation and Adelaide United forward Craig Goodwin, who was just part of Australia's squad in Qatar, has announced his opposition on social media. The Socceroos have taken Australia by storm in the lead-up to their World Cup match against Argentina. They beat Tunisia and knocked out Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark, before succumbing to Lionel Messi and Argentina 2-1 in the round of 16. It was all part of a great showing for both team and fans alike.
Back home, thousands of fans watched and celebrated every step the Socceroos took, and the pictures from Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney are and remain among the most compelling of those generated by the tournament. It was also proof of life of potential. Among team sports, football has the largest participation rate in Australia, but just two years ago there was doubt as to whether it would be able to compete with other popular sports like basketball or cricket when it came to viewership at home or on television channels like Fox Sports or Channel Seven.