23 September 2019

Controversy means football will be the winner on Sunday

| Charlotte
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Canberra United

One of the hottest debates around town this week has been around the scheduling of the our elite women’s football team’s home semi-final on Sunday afternoon, which on the plus side means a lot more ACT soccer fans are now aware of Canberra United’s hugely successful 2016-17 season and that Sunday will provide them with a veritable festival of the world game out at Bruce.

Update: The W-League semi-final has been rescheduled from 2pm till 8pm due to the extreme temperatures forecast for Sunday.

Our W-League side finished the home and away season as premiers, and the team was looking forward to playing the semi at McKellar Park, their usual home turf.

Meanwhile, the Football Federation of Australia and its local arm, Capital Football, saw an opportunity to double Canberra football fans’ fun by scheduling the game at GIO Stadium as a curtain raiser to this Sunday’s men’s A-League round game clash between the Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United.

Thus United’s game was locked in for a 2pm kick-off at Bruce ahead of the A-League at 5pm.

I’ve read plenty of comments on social media and in the mainstream media complaining about the loss of home ground advantage and about playing in the hottest part of the day when the temperature is forecast to reach 35. The talk has come from fans, players and even the Canberra United coach.

Who can blame them? It is going to be obscenely hot for players and fans alike on Sunday.

Pack (and drink) plenty of water, wear a hat, lather yourself in sunscreen and try to find a shady spot from which to watch, Canberra.

As for the home ground dilemma, the Sydney Swans have faced the same challenge year in, year out, winning match after match at the Sydney Cricket Ground only to find themselves forced to play some home games and many finals at Homebush, a ground in which their fan base suddenly appears tiny compared to the sea of red and white of the smaller SCG. Swans fans, players and executives were thrilled when a decision was made to play all their home matches at the SCG from 2017. Finals remain on a case by case basis, with clashes against GWS still to be played at the former Olympic Stadium.

Still, it could be argued that it is fitting for Canberra United’s semi-final to be played at the larger, more prestigious GIO Stadium and it will make it easier for die-hard soccer fans to see both matches.

Surprisingly I haven’t seen anyone complain that the table-topping women playing in a semi-final are playing a curtain raiser to an ordinary round match between two lowly ranked men’s sides. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

The Mariners play Adelaide United at 5pm. Why not schedule the women’s game for immediately afterwards so that it’s the men who are playing the curtain raiser? Probably organisers felt an 8pm W League game was too late on a Sunday [we contacted Capital Football on Tuesday to ask whether they’d considered this and have yet to receive a response]. I’m guessing it’s also that eternal problem that women’s sport tends to attract smaller crowds due to leaner promotional budgets (well, leaner budgets all round).

On that note, it’s exciting to see the AFL investing in women’s sport with both netball and women’s AFL set to benefit in 2017.

AFLW

The AFLW starts this Friday with another of Canberra’s adopted teams (aside from the Central Coast Mariners, that is), GWS, among the competitors. You can catch every game on FoxSports, and find out more here.

GWS will field a team in the new Suncorp Super Netball national league from February 18, too, and they’re playing two home games in Canberra, at AIS Arena, at 1pm on both March 19 and May 14.

Giants Netball

Go United! Go Mariners! Go GWS!

Will you be heading out to the soccer on Sunday? Which of the two matches matters most to you?

Should the W-League final between Canberra United and Melbourne City FC have been scheduled as a curtain raiser to Sunday's A-League clash at GIO Stadium?

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Well, the numbers are in and the only winners appears to be Melbourne City FC and the bean counters at the football federation who were hoping for a Canberra loss because a final played in Canberra isn’t good for ticket sales.

The overall crowd figure was reported as a shade over 5,000 but this didn’t say whether it was the total crowd for both fixtures. I know a lot of people who avoided the “main” match between the two bottom of the ladder A team teams and just turned up for the women’s semi-final game which went into extra time.

Looking at the women’s replay on TV late last night it was hard to spot any spectators at all.

I think the Canberra women were greatly disadvantaged by the actions of the people who run the business which is called “professional soccer”.

Chris Mordd Richards said :

dungfungus said :

dungfungus said :

Mysteryman said :

Surprisingly I haven’t seen anyone complain that the table-topping women playing in a semi-final are playing a curtain raiser to an ordinary round match between two lowly ranked men’s sides. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

No. Not unless the women’s team attract a larger audience than the men’s team, and I’m willing to bet they don’t.

That does not bode well for Canberra having a men’s team in the A league then.

I mean if more Canberrans are more interested in two low ranking men’s A league teams from out of town than an existing Canberra premier national soccer team they obviously don’t care to have another Canberra contender, do they.

The few people I know going to the double header (and are paying $35 for a ticket) are only staying for the women’s match.

The women’s game is now being played at 8.00pm, after the “main” game.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/soccer/saturday-serve-canberra-united-the-losers-in-ffa-decision-to-move-wleague-kickoff-20170203-gu5ab9.html

Completely reactionary and about as well handled now as last years census.

I missed that question in the census about the timing of soccer matches.

Chris Mordd Richards2:17 am 04 Feb 17

dungfungus said :

dungfungus said :

Mysteryman said :

Surprisingly I haven’t seen anyone complain that the table-topping women playing in a semi-final are playing a curtain raiser to an ordinary round match between two lowly ranked men’s sides. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

No. Not unless the women’s team attract a larger audience than the men’s team, and I’m willing to bet they don’t.

That does not bode well for Canberra having a men’s team in the A league then.

I mean if more Canberrans are more interested in two low ranking men’s A league teams from out of town than an existing Canberra premier national soccer team they obviously don’t care to have another Canberra contender, do they.

The few people I know going to the double header (and are paying $35 for a ticket) are only staying for the women’s match.

The women’s game is now being played at 8.00pm, after the “main” game.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/soccer/saturday-serve-canberra-united-the-losers-in-ffa-decision-to-move-wleague-kickoff-20170203-gu5ab9.html

Completely reactionary and about as well handled now as last years census.

dungfungus said :

Mysteryman said :

Surprisingly I haven’t seen anyone complain that the table-topping women playing in a semi-final are playing a curtain raiser to an ordinary round match between two lowly ranked men’s sides. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

No. Not unless the women’s team attract a larger audience than the men’s team, and I’m willing to bet they don’t.

That does not bode well for Canberra having a men’s team in the A league then.

I mean if more Canberrans are more interested in two low ranking men’s A league teams from out of town than an existing Canberra premier national soccer team they obviously don’t care to have another Canberra contender, do they.

The few people I know going to the double header (and are paying $35 for a ticket) are only staying for the women’s match.

The women’s game is now being played at 8.00pm, after the “main” game.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/soccer/saturday-serve-canberra-united-the-losers-in-ffa-decision-to-move-wleague-kickoff-20170203-gu5ab9.html

Mysteryman said :

Surprisingly I haven’t seen anyone complain that the table-topping women playing in a semi-final are playing a curtain raiser to an ordinary round match between two lowly ranked men’s sides. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

No. Not unless the women’s team attract a larger audience than the men’s team, and I’m willing to bet they don’t.

That does not bode well for Canberra having a men’s team in the A league then.

I mean if more Canberrans are more interested in two low ranking men’s A league teams from out of town than an existing Canberra premier national soccer team they obviously don’t care to have another Canberra contender, do they.

The few people I know going to the double header (and are paying $35 for a ticket) are only staying for the women’s match.

Surprisingly I haven’t seen anyone complain that the table-topping women playing in a semi-final are playing a curtain raiser to an ordinary round match between two lowly ranked men’s sides. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

No. Not unless the women’s team attract a larger audience than the men’s team, and I’m willing to bet they don’t.

Chris Mordd Richards11:16 pm 02 Feb 17

1. Women’s game will be the more exciting one to watch, they have some excellent players on both those teams.

2. Canberra 1st Grade premier teams often play 1pm matches on a sunday, I have been an assistant referee for many of those games when I actively reffed as a teenager, this is not a factor for the players, only something spectators worry about really.

3. Will be hot yes, higher than Saturday now, but they could be playing in a sun shower now, chance of rain has gone from 10% to 30% over past 3 days now:

Sunday: Min 18 Max 37 Partly cloudy. Slight (30%) chance of a shower in the afternoon and evening. Light winds becoming northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the evening. – courtesy Bureau of Meteorology website.

4. 8pm is a very late start for a game like this, although for a team this level playing under lights is not off the norm, but most fans would probably not want to spectate that late with a 10pm finish on a Sunday night (as opposed to a Saturday night).

5. Home ground advantage – not a factor. Increased crowds will give them more advantage than the difference in grounds, works for them not against them. Again something spectators question a lot, not so much something elite sports players worry quite as much about.

Since no-one else will say it: Good luck to all the Referees and Assistant Referees who will be working as well on Sunday to do these matches, women are the unsung heroes of football in Aus, but the refs are even more unsung. I’m blind, i’m deaf, I am a football ref!! 😛

Seems pretty clear Canberra United should be playing at McKellar – with the option to push the game back to 5pm (still at McKellar!).

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