Jul 9: MEMO: to Australian Media
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers took 2 years and 872 international matches to reduce 210 participating countries to 32 elite teams, of which Australia was one.
The finals in Russia take a whole month and a further 64 games to produce a winner.
No other sport can compare with the enormous scale of this tournament.
Football is watched by billions in every country worldwide. Australia is a country of worldwide migrants and according to Roy Morgan Research, there are more people playing Football (soccer) in Australia than Aussie Rules and the two Rugby codes combined!
Yet still we get blitzed by the oval ball on Aussie television!
Every game, every training session, every violent tackle, every injury, every transgression, every player accused of serious assault or drug charges, every "judiciary" hearing, every award dinner - its all lapped up and wrapped up in excruciating detail on every news bulletin.
As the late Les Murray once observed, the Australian media treat Football as if it is not the most popular sport in Australia and in the world; whilst treating rugby codes and AFL as if they are.
Please explain your bias.
