FIFA 2022 WORLD CUP - NRL Support

[kmav23]

How do you guys feel about the FIFA 2022 WORLD CUP now that Austarlia is favourite to host.

The benefits are once in a lifetime.

- upgrade facilities and stadiums in australia to world class levels
- international exposure to australia
- biggest sporting event in the world

The only negative i see for NRL is disruption to the NRL season, however this is 11 years away. Plenty of time to plan for anything.

Discuss.....

 

[Bulldog Force]

I would be in favor for this. Once in a lifetime event and it only comes once every 4 years... whereas the NRL comes every year for 30 weeks

 

[BunniesMan]

Of course, any reasonable person would be in favour of this. This is one of those situations where if you're against this for any possible reason, you're wrong.

 

[Mickyd39]

i agree with BF.

Unlike those AFL merkins who almost derailed the whole bid with their self importance, as it may threaten a game cared about in 3 states of Australia compared to a game cared about around the world.

 

[docbrown]

I don't have a problem with soccer - I watched quite a few games from the last world cup.

Yes - we'll get stadium upgrades unlike anything we're ever likely to get otherwise.

But the whole reason FFA wants to host the World Cup is to make soccer not only the number one football code but also the number one sport in the country - their XO's have plainly stated this.

To do it, they will not only have to create and expand upon new and existing fanbases - but also cannabilise the fanbases of other sports. In a country like America where attendance of the big 4 leagues is in the ten's of millions and revenues in the billions, the World Cup will have an impact but those 4 sports will remain on top.

In Australia, with a 12 year build up dominating government funding, audience focus and hundreds of millions financial windfall, it's obviously going to have a big impact on all the other major Australian sports, in particular the alternate football codes.

 

[***MH***]

I would choose a disruption of NRL for a season to back a Soccer World Cup. Way too many positives that outway the negatives in this decision. We're all better off if we work together with FFA on this one.

If AFL don't want to play ball.... F*(& em. Their loss.

(btw, With A-League and NRL playing in each others off-season, it would be beneficial for clubs from both comps to talk to each other about joint memberships and facility sharing.)

 

[Danish]

Would love to see it hosted here...


Mind you when I stop and think about how old I'll be when it finally roles around (37) the reasons I'd love it probably wont apply anymore.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

I don't have a problem with soccer - I watched quite a few games from the last world cup.

Yes - we'll get stadium upgrades unlike anything we're ever likely to get otherwise.

But the whole reason FFA wants to host the World Cup is to make soccer not only the number one football code but also the number one sport in the country - their XO's have plainly stated this.

To do it, they will not only have to create and expand upon new and existing fanbases - but also cannabilise the fanbases of other sports. In a country like America where attendance of the big 4 leagues is in the ten's of millions and revenues in the billions, the World Cup will have an impact but those 4 sports will remain on top.

In Australia, with a 12 year build up dominating government funding, audience focus and hundreds of millions financial windfall, it's obviously going to have a big impact on all the other major Australian sports, in particular the alternate football codes.

It won't have any impact on the popularity of rugby league at all the A-League is hardly in direct competition with rugby league and the other two fluff codes so what does it matter? Rugby league survived the Olympics and that didn't see thousands of people trying to be the next Ian Thorpe instead of being the next league sensation. It would be beneficial for atleast the NRL and the A-League to work together rather than against each other to capitlise on the 12 months of each sport. You could have deals for clubs like Newcastle or North Queensland where if you buy a special 5 game ticket pack for one get a family pass to the other or if a Perth RL team came in you could integrate memberships between the Perth Glory and the Reds.

There's too much paranoia that if one code is successful it means others have to fail when Australians just love sport in general and most Australians love multiple codes so capitilising on that is a must imo.

The Soccerroos are just about the most supported national team in this country but lets face it the domestic scene will never be that well supported and will probably struggle to be as popular as the EPL is over here.

 

[kmav23]

it will be a 1 month long party !!!

olympics on steriods...

 

[The Tank]

This thread has been done before...

 

[Gaba]

Don't know about many benefits for the nrl clubs,

After the stadium been upgraded the clubs will have to pay for the maintaince

Clubs will charge higher ticket prices


Rugby league clubs wont get much profit from it

 

[docbrown]

the A-League is hardly in direct competition with rugby league

All sports are in competition for funding and audiences. It doesn't matter that one is in summer and one is in winter. Yes - there are fans that follow both - but there is still a limited amount that people will spend on sports entertainment during a year. If someone goes to a few more A-League games because of the hype surrounding the upcoming cup, then they may also be inclined to scrimp later on going to NRL games. Also - in 2022 if fans are forking out hundreds/thousands on WC tickets and associated costs, how inclined are they to go to NRL or AFL matches that year?

Rugby league survived the Olympics and that didn't see thousands of people trying to be the next Ian Thorpe

Soccer's biggest challenge has always been connecting its grassroots juniors to the club level. In the majority of other countries where soccer is king, there are no historically strong competitive leagues in other codes so fans flow through. In Australia there is AFL & NRL. So there is a dissociation when the grassroots turn to other codes as they grow older. If A-League can use the world cup, they might be able to convince a generation to follow through to the domestic competition - and that will be an audience lost to AFL & NRL - not to mention their children.

 

[DRAGONZ_RULE]

I don't have a problem with soccer - I watched quite a few games from the last world cup.

Yes - we'll get stadium upgrades unlike anything we're ever likely to get otherwise.

But the whole reason FFA wants to host the World Cup is to make soccer not only the number one football code but also the number one sport in the country - their XO's have plainly stated this.

To do it, they will not only have to create and expand upon new and existing fanbases - but also cannabilise the fanbases of other sports. In a country like America where attendance of the big 4 leagues is in the ten's of millions and revenues in the billions, the World Cup will have an impact but those 4 sports will remain on top.

In Australia, with a 12 year build up dominating government funding, audience focus and hundreds of millions financial windfall, it's obviously going to have a big impact on all the other major Australian sports, in particular the alternate football codes.

There is no real issue of cannabilisation, because the majority of the A-League season is played when the NRL/AFL are on their off-seasons.

The true aim is to make NRL/AFL fans into football fans as well, so that they support their NRL/AFL club in the winter, and then support their A-League club in the summer.

And even if their aim was to cannibalise the AFL/NRL market, it will simply never happen - and neither will it cannibalise the Rugby Union market either.

 

[juro]

I thought one of the main reasons for the A-League running during our off-season was to avoid conflict because they knew they would lose.

If the A-League became as large as the NRL or AFL, do you think they would expand or shift their season?

 

[DRAGONZ_RULE]

All sports are in competition for funding and audiences. It doesn't matter that one is in summer and one is in winter. Yes - there are fans that follow both - but there is still a limited amount that people will spend on sports entertainment during a year. If someone goes to a few more A-League games because of the hype surrounding the upcoming cup, then they may also be inclined to scrimp later on going to NRL games. Also - in 2022 if fans are forking out hundreds/thousands on WC tickets and associated costs, how inclined are they to go to NRL or AFL matches that year?

In terms of 2022, that argument is fair enough - but ultimately irrelevant. If NRL and AFL clubs have to take a 30% match-day tickets income reduction for one season, so be it ... the money gained from the WC would far outweigh that, so in economic terms, we would be much better off. Add the tourism and all that, and there is no debate that in the end, the 2022 NRL, AFL and Super 14/15/16 (?) seasons are irrelevant in comparison.

In terms of any other season, even if A-League ticket revenue increases by 10% and NRL decreases by 10%, it's no big deal ... the real money comes from TV rights, and once the Independent Commission fixes that up, we will be fine. If the average NRL fan attends 2 less games a season to save the money so that they can attend 2 more A-League games in summer, they will still watch the NRL games on TV, so we don't lose out on the TV rights deal.

 

[Bastard Squad]

It will piss-off the fumbleballers, so I'm all for it.

 

[Edwahu]

Out of interest has Soccer actually had a a big impact on other codes anywhere the WC has been held? I get the impression it didnt make much difference in South Africa and the US.

 

[DRAGONZ_RULE]

I thought one of the main reasons for the A-League running during our off-season was to avoid conflict because they knew they would lose.

If the A-League became as large as the NRL or AFL, do you think they would expand or shift their season?

It's not merely an issue of crowd competition etc - it's also renting out the grounds.

Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Heart, Brisbane Roar, Gold Coast United, Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners all play out of grounds that the NRL uses (Roosters, Storm, Broncos, Titans, Knights, and then occasionally Souths, Manly, Newcastle etc take games to Central Coast .. by then we would probably have a Central Coast Bears team anyway).

The grounds would be double-booked etc, and even if they could sort something out, the grass would be so chopped up due to overuse.

Further, it is in the interests of the ground owners to have the stadium rented out for a whole year, rather than intensively for 6 months and then sitting empty for 6 months.

Add to that the fact that the European football season occurs during our summer, it makes some sense for our domestic league to run at the same time as that.

So I personally don't think it will ever happen.

 

[kmav23]

Don't know about many benefits for the nrl clubs,

After the stadium been upgraded the clubs will have to pay for the maintaince

Clubs will charge higher ticket prices


Rugby league clubs wont get much profit from it

Stadium / facility upgrades worth hundred of millions..paid by govt and fifa

do you prefer crowds and sponsors play in crap stadiums...

 

[BuffaloRules]

Im really happy that Perth & Adelaide get new round AFL stadiums built for them....

What were the benefits for the NRL again?

Upgraded stadiums in Canberra and North Queensland increasing the capacity to 40,000...

Not sure that it is that big of a legacy for the NRL....