Hiding Women's Football (Redux)

Greg Werner

In a year when we, "football", celebrate 100 years since the beginnings of the women's game in Australia, a wholly manufactured game, AFLW, has pushed football into the shadows with the media refusing to recognise the legitimacy of our game.
Stories in today's papers focus on AFLW and ignore the W-League. This is the front page on the ABC site, while other stories focus on AFLW players whinging about their right to be referred to as elite athletes over and above the professions that earn them the bulk of their living.
Meanwhile the W-League match from yesterday can be found somewhere in the score centre. The big story here being the continued return of Michelle Heyman who bagged another brace in the Canberra win over Western Sydney.
The media bias against football has been going on for over a century while the fawning over AFLW began on day one all of 5 years ago.
If you want to talk about equity and balance in news reporting this is probably a good place to start. The might and muscle of the AFL rules in this country to the detriment of all other legitimate international sports, its not just football who suffers.
The AFLW was concocted not out of a need for it from the natural growth of the sport from the grassroots up, but from a need to fill the AFL void between the coverage of their draft and the men's pre-season, it is an irrelevance to most in any other time. The players are complaining about their media coverage, let them run alongside the AFL as the W-League does beside the A-League and see how they cope.
To put this into some greater perspective, I am a lover of all sports and have followed AFL footy, the Swans & Hawks specifically for over 50 years, but football is my love & I am committed to it all all levels at which it is played.
If you're up for an argument, lets see what you've got.

 

Date	Event
1911
6 Sep	Messrs Dawes and Keil organising association 14 or 15 players
12 Sep	Meeting at Shire Hall 8pm
16 Sep	Report on Meeting: about 30 present Practice match selected from Meredith, Devenport, Nutall, Cohen, Leach, Stevens, Harding, Hilton, Melros, Buchecker (2), Blackburn, Ginn, Dawes, Goodman, Blackburn, Lochhead (2), Keil, Malloch, Holme, Black, Wiltshire, and others.
23 Sep	Benefit match Mildura 3 Ginn, Cohen, Meredith, Keil, Gordon, Mallock, Hart, M'Cowan (Capt.) Alex. Lockhead, Dawes and Wiltshire. Merbein 2 (inclusive of Old Mildura) Hilton, Home, Bashecker (2), Black, Loram, Hardy, Stevens, Davenport (Capt.), Leach and Nutall. Referee Clark Linesmen Keil and Urquhart Poor attendance considering it was a hospital benefit. Ended up £6 6s (suspect the players topped that up)

Australian Soccer in Turmoil 1941

South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus, Friday 31 January 1941, page 2

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Soccer

(By A.D.)

According to Press reports of the State Council meeting the news is most depressing, the State Assn showing a loss of £286 with only a balance of £150 left in the bank. That report in itself is bad enough but the concluding item, so far as the sport in general is concerned, was worse still. The section referred to states 'The Council also decided that for the duration of the war no financial aid would be given for Junior championships.' In present-day terms this attitude is definitely defeatist.

It shows a complete admission of failure to grasp even the most elementary principles of organisation. Can the State Council never grasp the fact that to make progress in this great game the junior bodies, the nurseries of the game, must be encouraged by every means possible instead of being completely dumped, as is evident by this latest edict. What farmer in his worst year of adversity would not make it his first thought to provide some means at any cost to make sure he could procure seed or young stock to lead him back to security or possible prosperity when the bad times were over. If he neglected to make such provision he would head straight for bankruptcy and a business crash and this is exactly where State Councillors seem destined to land their organisation by their present policy. It was only last year that State League dictated to the junior bodies the relation in which the junior players stood in regard to State League soccer. They have for years assumed the dictator attitude to all soccer in the State where they are indeed a very small minority, and now it is apparent that they cannot even dictate to their own clubs to pay their dues as the clubs have not been drawing the money to do so. 

It has been apparent for some time that the clubs had the job in front of them to make ends meet but it has been the representatives of the State League clubs who have been mainly responsible for killing public interest in the soccer game and driving away the public support. They have for years now placed club interests before the interests of soccer in general and have shaped their policy and laid down their laws accordingly. The most recent example of this, of course, was the banning of the 'Works' teams, killing the goose that laid the golden eggs, the goose or geese that might have helped them to draw sufficient to pay their dues. Funny legislation, isn't it, but tragic for the game. Soccer interest has not died a natural death, it has been killed — killed by bad legislation and petty squabbles. Decisions made by State Council were not adhered to, like the St. George - Wallsend points dis-pute in 1939. Referees reputations and integrity torn to shreds without justification, etc., and naturally a disgusted following showed their disgust by staying away. The visit of the English Amateur team showed the grip the soccer game had on the public, over 40,000 being present at the Sydney Test. Allowing for a certain number who would be present from curiosity alone it is evident that good soccer visitors could draw over 30,000 enthusiasts who were soccer followers. Teams such as the Indians and Palestine elevens were good for exhibition games only and could not be classed as draw-cards. Give the public the goods and the public will respond. Neglect the public and it will similarly respond by staying away. One can see from the present finances what policy has been carried out. Newcastle has withdrawn from the competition, leaving a bye each week. This will not help any from either a playing or financial aspect. It was reported in the Press some time before the general meeting that New-castle might withdraw and somo provision could have been made for such an eventuality. 

The only cheerful feature from a South Coast point of view is that our Woonona-Bulli Club can be classed as one of the financial members. It has always had its dues paid and gives a good return to all visiting teams. Steelworks were also in good financial standing when in State League, and we have no doubt that Wollongong will keep up the good record. This is a distinct pointer to soccer interest on the South Coast and if State League is not too blind to see it, we can expect still further teams in that sacred circle, providing an other big deficit does not knock it out of business completely. Even in the event of this we have good junior soccer to start building from again, but spare us from the majority of the present legislators.