Quote Originally Posted by Mofra View Post
I have heard similar things for years - the AFL is very concerned about soccer (espcially with two Melbourne teams in the A league shortly), and know that soccer is the most popular junior sport played in Australia. The Western Suburbs of Melbourne are a high growth corridor with a high migrant population - perfect for soccer to try and pick off.
They don't have to even 'pick' it off. Kids world over (and thus kids of immigrants from everywhere bar the US) grow up on soccer as the natural sport of choice. Even if you don't play it you have a club from your home country that you support, or at least one of the global brands (your Manchester Uniteds, Real Madrids etc.). That's the advantage of being an international sport -- you literally have a club in every city in the world.

In fact, when I deal with international students that I teach, or international musicians that I gig with, the easiest way to connect with them is just to name the club in their home city (I am a soccer geek -- I buy the scarf of the local club of every city I travel to/through).

It's more that footy needs to pick off these kids from soccer, and even then, they will love both, not give up soccer altogether, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's also these second/third generation footy/soccer lovers who find the spats between AFL and FFA etc. unbecoming and distasteful.