32 Million well spent

[midfielder]

Need to prove to anyone why the government gave football the 32 million.

Well here is some proof as to the Asia thing people speak of.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/exporters-hope-socceroos-will-kick-open-new-markets/2008/06/05/1212259004789.html

Exporters hope Socceroos will kick open new markets
John Huxley
June 6, 2008


BRITAIN once opened new markets by building empires. This week Australian exporters hoped trade would follow football by joining the Socceroos' World Cup campaign.

The Australian Trade Commission has organised a series of business breakfasts in the Middle East to capitalise on local interest in the team's qualifying games in Dubai on Saturday and Doha a week later.

Austrade's chief economist, Tim Harcourt, said the popularity of the "world game", the profile of players such as captain Harry Kewell and Australia's World Cup finals success in 2006 provided a springboard into huge markets.

Common interests and cultural ties are an important part of the business potential of football, said Mr Harcourt, pointing to the role of migrants in the development of both the game and overseas trade.

"Exporting companies are more likely to be started by immigrants. Think Bing Lee, Crazy John's and Frank Lowy," he said. Mr Lowy is the president of Football Federation Australia and founder of the Westfield group.

Bonita Mersiades, the federation's head of corporate affairs, said it had approached Austrade because it believed football had the power and responsibility to "open foreign doors" to business and government.

The Socceroos play Iraq tomorrow and Qatar a week later, before returning to play China at Homebush on June 22. Big business, more than most, will be hoping they go all the way to the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010.

 

[Arabmariner]

Need to prove to anyone why the government gave football the 32 million.

Well here is some proof as to the Asia thing people speak of.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/exporters-hope-socceroos-will-kick-open-new-markets/2008/06/05/1212259004789.html

Exporters hope Socceroos will kick open new markets
John Huxley
June 6, 2008


BRITAIN once opened new markets by building empires. This week Australian exporters hoped trade would follow football by joining the Socceroos' World Cup campaign.

The Australian Trade Commission has organised a series of business breakfasts in the Middle East to capitalise on local interest in the team's qualifying games in Dubai on Saturday and Doha a week later.

Austrade's chief economist, Tim Harcourt, said the popularity of the "world game", the profile of players such as captain Harry Kewell and Australia's World Cup finals success in 2006 provided a springboard into huge markets.

Common interests and cultural ties are an important part of the business potential of football, said Mr Harcourt, pointing to the role of migrants in the development of both the game and overseas trade.

"Exporting companies are more likely to be started by immigrants. Think Bing Lee, Crazy John's and Frank Lowy," he said. Mr Lowy is the president of Football Federation Australia and founder of the Westfield group.

Bonita Mersiades, the federation's head of corporate affairs, said it had approached Austrade because it believed football had the power and responsibility to "open foreign doors" to business and government.

The Socceroos play Iraq tomorrow and Qatar a week later, before returning to play China at Homebush on June 22. Big business, more than most, will be hoping they go all the way to the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010.

Two years from now we will hopefully be preparing for the World Cup in SA.The A-League V5 with 10 or possibly 12 teams will have just finished.Crowds ,hype,publicity,sponsorship, and exitement levels will be as never before and more $$$$ will be coming footballs way!
Meanwhile AFL will continue on as normal while union and league look for a corner to die in!

 

[RADINHO]

lol thing is though Football is growing at a faster rate than any other and if the crowds increase at the same rate as it has increased in the past three years it will take over rugby league yet u get a sense that league is the word on most people lips and that AFL is hardly spoken about yet i think AFL fans are fanatic and if u like AFL u love AFL

 

[northernspirit]

sleeping giant has awoken, i have said for the last couple of years since the "new football" replaced the "old soccer" that big business will catch onto football eventually

let me see
sponsor an a-league team playing nationwide plus in asian markets or sponsor an nrl team playing in sydney and brisbane

the choice is obvious - much much better value for corporate sponsorship - it hasnt quite caught on yet but a few wise heads are now seeing its potential

ala - the guy bankrolling gold coast united

 

[FFC Mariner]

Knuckledraggers whining on ABC radio tonight that the clubs need to get a % of gambling revenue (that is staked on NRL games) and that they need more TV money.

Some of them can see their future, a dull suburban game played out in shitty local grounds to crowds of a few '000.

All we need now is Uncle Rupert to realise the world has moved on and his stake in the game is a long term dud and the final nails should be in the coffin.

DFD

 

[Arabmariner]

lol thing is though Football is growing at a faster rate than any other and if the crowds increase at the same rate as it has increased in the past three years it will take over rugby league yet u get a sense that league is the word on most people lips and that AFL is hardly spoken about yet i think AFL fans are fanatic and if u like AFL u love AFL

Difference is AFL fans attend matches while so called RL"fans"prefer to sit on their arses  watching telly.I know plenty "i,m a league man myself" people who haven,t actually been near a league match for years.My neighbour for example tells everyone he,s a mad Knights fan....always got the shirt on......I,ve lived next door to him for about 8 years and in that time he,s seen them play live once and I bought him the f**kin ticket.
I,m educating his kid for him though and taking her with mine to the Mariners!

 

[FFC Mariner]

The biggest problem they have is their product.

To see a "high quality" game of RL, you need two good sides. 2 equally shit sides will produce a shit game (80% of NRL games). Thats why they like Origin. Union has the same problem.

Football only requires 2 sides to be equal to produce a good game.

Whilst Arsenal v Barcelona will be higher quality than say Lightning v FC Bossy, as long as the 2 sides are roughly equal you can get a reasonably good match.

 

[midfielder]

Here is some more

Taken from Australian Government site.

Believe it or not.

http://www.austrade.gov.au/socceroos-world-cup-qualifiers-to-help-middle-east-discover-australian-business-potential/default.aspx

Socceroos world cup qualifiers to help Middle East discover Australian business potential


Austrade media releaseWednesday 4 June, 2008


Football Federation Australia (FFA) and the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) will help link Australian companies to the rapidly growing business potential of the Gulf region through a series of business breakfasts held to co-incide with the Socceroos world cup campaign qualifying games against Iraq in Dubai this Saturday (7 June) and Qatar in Doha (14 June).


To capitalise on the profile of the Socceroos qualifiers, events will be held in Abu Dhabi with the support of Australian Business Group on the 9th, Dubai on the 10th aided by Australian Business Chamber, and on June 12th in Doha, supported by the Australia-New Zealand Business Group.


Austrades Dubai-based Trade Commissioner James Wyndham said the Socceroos campaign would capture the attention of the expatriate and business community in the UAE and Qatar.


There are close to 20,000 Australian expatriates in the UAE, compared to just over 3,000 six years ago. Trade is also rapidly increasing. In 2006-07 Australias exports to the United Arab Emirates grew by a staggering 45%, with total two-way merchandise trade expanding by almost 70%. Australian construction expertise, food, fashion, services, and a wide range of products are increasingly in demand, Mr Wyndham said.


"Around 100 business people are expected at each function. Austrade and the Australian Embassy in Abu Dhabi helped connect the FFA to local business groups. Austrade is keen to continue working with the FFA to use the platform of the football as a means to build the profile of Australian companies and generate international business opportunities for Australia, Mr Wyndham said.


Football Federation Australias Head of Corporate and Public Affairs Bonita Mersiades said football is uniquely placed to help Australian businesses integrate into the rapidly expanding economies of Asia and the Middle East.


Building links for the international business community through football also helps repay the Australian Governments investment in developing the game, and supports our goal to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Ms Mersiades said.


Austrades Chief Economist Tim Harcourt said the world games popularity and Australias recent rise to greater prominence in football assisted by the World Cup success and high profile marquee players like Harry Kewell, offered outstanding potential to promote Australian business strengths in Asia, the Gulf region and beyond.


Australia has more trade engagement in the nations that make up the Asian Football Confederation than anywhere else, Mr Harcourt said.


The top ranked Asian Football Confederation nations accounted for nearly $76 billion in exports compared to just over $16 billion of the top ranked FIFA nations.


Mr Harcourt said strong people-to-people and cultural ties are an important part of the business potential of Football.


The migrant community has been the backbone of the game in Australia and according to Austrade research they have also been the backbone of the Australian exporter community, Mr Harcourt said.


Exporting companies are more likely to be started by immigrants think Bing Lee, Crazy Johns, and Frank Lowy himself with many having close ties to football too, Mr Harcourt said.


Bonita Mersiades (FFA), Tim Harcourt and James Wyndham (Austrade), are available for media interviews.




ENDS


Media contact
David Varga
Mob: +61 434 567 673

For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre.

 

[midfielder]

Well F me another article a tad old but can't recall seeing it on the forum before sorry if someone last year posted on old site.

http://www.austrade.gov.au/Football-Fever-the-economic-benefits-of-the-Socceroos/default.aspx

Football Fever: the economic benefits of the Socceroos


Tim Harcourt
Chief Economist
Australian Trade Commission
Sydney
Email: tim.harcourt@austrade.gov.au


9 July 2007

The Socceroos may have had a scare against Oman but were back on track for the Asia Cup. It is great that the Socceroos now get to test themselves regularly against substantial competition. Going to the World Cup through Asia is also important in giving our team some rigorous competition. In the past we would play the minnows of Oceania but then would have to play a major South American team to qualify which was hardly ideal preparation.


However, there are also economic benefits to playing in Asia as well. In a speech presented at the Lowy Institutes conference in 2005 on Football Diplomacy last year, I found that Australia has more trade engagement in the nations that make up the Asian Football Confederation than anywhere else. For instance, the research found that the top ranked AFC nations accounted for around of $42 billion in exports compared to $13.6 billion of the top ranked FIFA nations. Football is also the ideal sport to encourage trade links with given our proximity to Asia and the strong links between football support and Australias own exporter demographics.

So what can we do? In sports like Rugby and Cricket we have the Bledisloe Cup and the Ashes, so why not start a tradition for football matches with our Asian neighbours. Why not a Supachai-Fischer Cup when we play Thailand? The Cup could take the names of the former Thailand Prime Minister and World Trade Organisation Director-General, Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi and former Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer. After all, Dr Supachai has been a long-standing supporter of Australia in international forums such as APEC and Tim Fischer is well known for his enthusiasm for Thai-Australian relations. And how about something with Japan, or China and Korea? Even outside Asia, why dont we have a special football tournament with Turkey and New Zealand in honour of Anzac Day?


Another thing we could do is establish a Football Business Club Australia to help leverage our football links in terms of trade and investment in Asia and at the World Cup. Business Networking or the power of schmooze can have also sorts of possibilities on and off the field. For example, as a result of the Lowy Conference last year, Austrade also helped Sydney FC with some business ties in Japan during their Asian Clubs championships last year.


So good luck you mighty Socceroos and lets hope that your journey through to the Asian Cup Final will help build stronger ties between Asia and Australia in both trade and football.


*Tim Harcourt is chief economist at Austrade and a Socceroos fanatic. He watches Sydney FC at home and supports Liverpool and Roma away.