Asian Cup 2015: Does the Asian football boss want to kick Australia out of Asia?
AUSSIES, get out. That’s the message from the boss of Asian football, a sheik who wants Australia expelled from the Asian Cup. And he’s not alone.
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THIS was always going to happen. As Australia flexed its sporting muscle in Asia, there were always going to be people who would say we’re not welcome.
What no one expected is that the boss of Asian Football would echo those sorts of comments in the hours leading up to the final of a hugely successful Asian Cup tournament hosted on Australian soil.
But reports have emerged overnight that in an interview with a Dubai newspaper, Asian Football Confederation president, Sheik Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, said he was aware of a movement to have Australia expelled from Asian football.
And it’s not just the Gulf nations like Bahrain, 2022 World Cup host Qatar and UAE (who the Soccerroos beat 2-0 this week in the semi final) who want Australia out.
According to reports in Fairfax media, the Asian football boss told the Dubai-based newspaper Al-Ittihad that “there are indications that prove that such desire exists among the confederations of West Asia to evict Australia”.
“But I also know that the Arabs are not the only ones who are not convinced that Australia’s membership in Asia’s football is feasible,” Sheik Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said.
In other words, nobody likes us. Or perhaps they just don’t like that we’re successful at this level.
Australia’s involvement in Asian football dates back to the start of 2006, when we left the Oceania conference.
As a member of Oceania, Australia had endured super tough qualifying roads to the FIFA World Cup. Every four years we were forced to play the fifth-best qualifier from South America. Every four years, we lost.
Then in 2005, we played Uruguay for a spot at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The Socceroos famously squeezed through, thanks to Mark Schwarzer magic and that John Aloisi penalty with its shirt-swirling aftermath. It would be the last time we were forced to qualify via South America.
From 2006 onwards, Australia has sought World Cup qualification via one of the four spots reserved for Asian teams. The move has worked. We made it to the World Cup in both 2010 and 2014, and have also performed well at the Asian Cup (although we haven’t won one yet — fingers crossed for Saturday against South Korea!)
But Australia’s World Cup qualification success and Asian Cup success has made life tougher for Gulf nations and other football hopefuls in Asia. And despite the 2015 Asian Cup being a fantastically successful, friendly tournament (as you’d expect for any major sporting event hosted here), there are apparently those who want Australia out.
The fiery quotes by Asian football chief Sheik Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalif are not available online. However news.com.au did find on the Al-Ittihad website a piece from a columnist which appears very much in step.
The following has passed through Google translate so it’s a bit grammatically loose, but we’re sure you’ll get the gist. It reads:
“Is it time to assess the decision to enter Australia AFC system, the question presents itself, and also pointed to achieve yesterday that the relationship between the two parties (Australia and AFC) nothing more than (the love of one party), is the Australian party certainly, private with confirmation of the marketing committee of the Asian continent that football has not benefited from the participation of Australia.”
To us, that just sounds like sour grapes from the citizens of oil-rich states unaccustomed to things not going their way.
Meanwhile, Australia continues to forge cultural as well as footballing ties as the Asian Cup progresses.
Football Federation Australia hosted a lunch on Thursday, at which federal Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb said football had created new connections. And 50,000 Aussie schoolkids have undertaken an Asian Cup primary school course.
While Asia seeks to disengage, Australia engages.
NOTE: Sheik Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa responded to coverage of this issue later on Friday.
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Does the Asian football boss want to kick Australia out of Asia?
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