Socceroos on verge of clinching match against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in China

Australian soccer officials hope the match would help improve diplomatic and business relations with Beijing, and also mark an important moment for the sport.

Superstar Lionel Messi of Argentina is set to play against the Socceroos in Beijing in June

The Socceroos are on the verge of clinching a lucrative game against world champion Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi next month, with plans being formulated for the match to take place in Beijing.

The match would take place in mid-June during an official “window” for games between national teams, and would also mark another step in improving diplomatic, sporting and business relations between Australia and China.

While the match will be marketed in China as a chance for soccer-mad fans to see the legendary Messi in action, it also looms as an opportunity for Australian government, sporting and corporate leaders to boost ties with their Chinese counterparts.

The game would take place only weeks after Trade Minister Don Farrell is expected to travel to Beijing to meet with his Chinese opposite number.

Canberra hopes that the long delayed meeting will encourage Beijing to continue to unwind restrictions it has imposed on Australian exports previously worth $20bn annually.

The Argentinian team will command an appearance fee of at least $US5m ($7.4m) for the game, which is earmarked for the 80,000 capacity National Stadium in Beijing – the site of the 2008 Olympics known as “the bird’s nest” for its unique design.

With China in the same timezone as Perth, the match would be telecast back to Australia in evening prime time. The Socceroos lost 2-1 to Argentina in a closely contested knockout match at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, before Messi led his country to victory in the final against France to confirm his status as one of the best players in the sport’s history.

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson told The Australian if the contract for the match against Argentina is confirmed he expected Australian government officials and business executives would be keen to attend.

“What I can say is the federal government‘s policy on China is to stabilise the relations with China and its reopening communication at the highest levels of government. We consider ourselves as football, a friend of governments, and as such, we want to ensure that we align our international relations strategy with Australia’s foreign policy,” Johnson said.

“And if there‘s an opportunity through football, which like government operates both locally and internationally, to improve relations with China and to open up opportunities to communicate then naturally that’s something that is of interest to us.”

Soccer is hugely popular in China where Lionel Messi has a massive following. The Argentine star has played in China at least six times, most recently in 2017.

China‘s president Xi Jinping, a player in his youth, is the country’s best known soccer fan. In 1983, he was in the stands in Shanghai to watch China’s national team lose 5-1 to a visiting English club side. Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan has told Chinese state media that her husband often stays up late to watch late night matches.

The Chinese team — a continual source of national frustration — is currently roiled in a corruption scandal, with the former head coach under investigation for “serious violations of the law”.

Meanwhile, Australian copper has joined coal as goods previously black-listed by Beijing which are now clearing Chinese customs. Beijing is also reviewing its 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley.

Unofficial restrictions on timber and live lobsters remain in place. China’s more than 200 per cent impost on Australian wine is the subject of an ongoing case Canberra has taken to the World Trade Organisation.

Australia‘s relations with China have modestly improved since the Albanese government came to office a year ago, but Beijing continues to criticise Canberra’s defence policy, particularly its AUKUS security arrangement with the US and UK.

“Now, one year into Anthony Albanese‘s term as prime minister, it is time the Australian government decided what is good for the country: to go ahead with the AUKUS deal, or annul the deal and expand its trade with its largest trade partner,” the China Daily wrote on Monday.

Johnson said the potential Socceroos match was also important for the sport’s standing in Australia, particularly with the Women’s World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand in about 10 weeks time in July and August.

While Football Australia would receive a match fee for the Argentina game and potentially other financial benefits such as broadcast rights, it is the Matildas, led by captain Sam Kerr, who have grown rapidly in popularity in both a sporting and commercial sense.

Football Australia’s revenue is set to top $100m for the 2023 financial year. New sponsorship deals have helped FA’s bottom line, including a $10m three-year agreement with Subway to sponsor the Socceroos and a headline deal with Commonwealth Bank to sponsor the Matildas. (The bank is also a FIFA sponsor for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.)

The Matildas, considered one of the favourites for the Women’s World Cup, have also gained further exposure around the world in a recently-launched documentary series on Disney.