Getting to watch Man U and Liverpool matches in the same week would be a treat even in England. Here in Australia it was a joy. And a GREAT chance to use sport to promote Britain a year on from the London Olympics.
Football, or soccer as they call it here, is the weakest of the four footy codes in Australia. In terms of match attendance, TV coverage and cash, it lags behind rugby league (the largest spectator sport by some way), AFL (dominant in Victoria) and even rugby union.
Traditionally it was seen as an “ethnic” sport dominated by migrants from southern Europe, and stars like Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka had to go to Europe for their careers to prosper.But in recent years, soccer has become more and more popular at the participation level, particularly among schoolkids.
More people are playing soccer than all the other codes put together. And the A-League is beginning to flourish, under new CEO David Gallop. When Australia recently qualified for the World Cup finals, for the third time in a row, in an exciting match against Iraq, the sport was given another fillip.
Add to all that the huge following for EPL from Australia-based fans, many of British descent, who stay up late into the small hours on a Saturday night watching matches on cable TV, and you have a sport on the rise here.
And over the last few decades no English teams have had a bigger international following than Man United and Liverpool FC. So it was great to see them here as part of the Asian tours which have become part and parcel of the EPL summer break nowadays.
A capacity 83,000 crowd packed the ANZ stadium in Sydney to watch Man U beat an Australian All Stars XI five-one. And at Melbourne’s famous Cricket Ground, where Liverpool beat local side the Melbourne Victory two-nil, I have to say that 95,000 honorary Liverpudlians singing “You’ll never walk alone” had the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.
We worked together with the two clubs to organise business receptions in both cities: a great opportunity to promote trade and investment, and particularly the North West of England, from where the two teams hail. Politicians and business leaders attended enthusiastically, clearly relishing the chance to meet legends like Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Dennis Irwin, Ian Rush and Craig Johnston. As a Man U fan, I was in my element.
Football is big business in its own right. Liverpool Managing Director Ian Ayr told me that Australia is Liverpool’s largest merchandise market outside the UK. And the support base in Asia is truly extraordinary, as I recall from my time in Singapore. As they say on the telly “the boys done good”.