Discussions

Klinsmann on course to win the Qatar Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years.

They qualified for the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout with Saudi Arabia in the round of 16. Their opponents are Australia, who are favorites along with Japan. The Socceroos, who won the 2015 tournament on home soil with an overtime victory over South Korea, will be looking to win their first trophy in two tournaments. Australian fans have been cheering for their team, nicknamed the Socceroos, at every World Cup, and the fact that their quarterfinal opponent is Asian powerhouse Korea is sure to get them excited.

However, one day before the quarterfinals, the mood in Australia was subdued, to say the least.

Local media coverage of the Asian Cup, and soccer in general, is a drought. There is zero coverage of the Asian Cup for the national team. However, cricket, Australia's "national sport," is covered on a regular basis, both men's and women's matches. Rugby, the sport played by the Commonwealth nations, as well as Aussie Rules Football (a cross between rugby and soccer) and horse racing, are on the airwaves throughout the day. Terrestrial radio and sports channel broadcasts, as well as local newspapers, are dominated by cricket, rugby, and aussie rules football, with the Asian Cup and soccer nowhere to be found.

According to national polls, soccer is one of Australia's favorite sports. However, its popularity pales in comparison to cricket, rugby and Australian rules football. There is a long-running domestic league, the A-League, and teams like Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC have competed in the AFC Asian Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup. However, 온라인카지노 soccer is considered a "minority sport" in Australia. This is puzzling when you consider that the United Kingdom, a member of the Commonwealth and virtually the same culture, prides itself on being the "home of soccer" and even has one of the best leagues in the world, the English Premier League (EPL).

So why isn't soccer more popular in Australia?

"Australians think soccer is too low-impact compared to rugby and aussie rules football," said one expat I met in downtown Canberra. "There's also a perception that soccer is a 'manly sport,' with so-called 'Hollywood action' scenes that often involve violent collisions and real-life injuries," he said. "There is also a perception that soccer is an 'immigrant sport' compared to cricket, rugby and Australian rules football."

This picture of Australia is not unlike that of the United States many years ago.

In the U.S., where soccer is referred to as "soccer," as it is in Australia, baseball, ice hockey, American football, and basketball are the four major sports. Soccer used to be a fringe sport with a strong perception that it was for kids and girls, but with David Beckham founding a team (Inter Miami) and entering Major League Soccer (MLS), and the recent signing of Lionel Messi, the sport is rapidly growing in popularity, with season tickets selling out.

There was a time when soccer was popular in Australia after Gus Hiddink led the Socceroos to the round of 16 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. However, its popularity seems to be limited to the World Cup and not to domestic interest. The mood in Australia at the moment, with the Qatar Asian Cup in full swing, is indicative of this.