Uzbeks show how to be good neighbours
With clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kygryz in Kyrgyzstan to the east, a raging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan to the south east, and a country that until recently was run as a cult in...
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Road to World Cup begins in Cambodia
The World Cup trophy is pictured in front of a FIFA logo prior to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. AP Photo/Keystone, Patrick B. Kraemer. For many countries the World Cup starts in June 2014, but...
View ArticleNadeshiko shows the virtue of patience
When Nadeshiko took the FIFA Women’s World Cup, it was a great boost for women’s football in Asia. The impressive thing was not so much the trophy, but how they got there. It is a lesson in development...
View ArticleThailand’s adhoc football development
The War Elephants’ recent performance against Australia and Oman certainly raised eyebrows in a number of quarters. The surprising thing is less that the Thais can play football, but more that football...
View ArticleIn the face of danger, Afghanistan’s football continues to emerge
Early in December, India took the South Asian Football Federation Championship in New Delhi. That the Indians won their sixth title was hardly a surprise. The fact that their title opponent was...
View ArticleThe A-League needs organic growth
Questions as to the location of a future A-League licence has been filling the blogosphere of late. However, we are asking the wrong questions. We should be asking where the next National Youth League...
View ArticleAFC must do more for struggling clubs
Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan renowned for its stunning mountain backdrop, succulent peaches and wide, tree lined streets. It is also the host for the 2012 edition of the AFC Presidents Cup. The...
View ArticleThe power of football in Afghanistan
It is in all likelihood the greatest “feel good” football story of the year. The winner of the 2013 South Asia Football Federation Championship, is none other than Afghanistan. In December 2011,...
View ArticleO-ringen: With a map and a compass
In late July 13,000 people, including my good wife and myself, gathered in Boden, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. Nestled among spruce and birch forests strewn with moss covered boulders, it was the...
View ArticleFFA and the Socceroos need to embrace all of Australia
March 2005 was a time of change for football in Australia. Australia had been accepted into the AFC that month. The NSL had collapsed a few months earlier and no national competition was in place as...
View ArticleAFF Super League is an opportunity for the Top End
Momentum is gathering for the establishment of the AFF Super League in 2015. The AFF’s desire is for two Australian teams to join the competition. One of them should be from Darwin. The AFF Super...
View ArticleWorld Cup qualifiers: The Great Game continues in the former USSR
As June rolls towards us and the A-League toilet seat is hung up next to the bar in Melbourne, Asia is getting ready. The new World Cup qualification format means more meaningful games for more teams...
View ArticleChina syndrome: Why it’s better to be great than rich
While Bangladesh and Australia fought it out in the dust of Dhaka, many in Asia were tuning in to what would normally be little more than a novelty match: Hong Kong versus China. In early September,...
View ArticleNorth Korea: For the love of the Great Successor
North Korea has earned the moniker ‘The Hermit Kingdom’ for good reason: less is known about this nation than any other on Earth. More is known about middle-ranking leaders of ISIS and Al Qaeda than is...
View ArticleOFC and AFC seek to improve cooperation as relations warm
In May of this year a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) seeking to improve cooperation to enhance...
View ArticleUkraine: Testing FIFA’s principles
FIFA promotes the principle of football being above petty issues such as politics. Clearly they haven’t spent much time in Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine which erupted in 2014 in the wake of the...
View ArticleWhy we let the FFA down
It is being reported that both FIFA and the AFC are looking to have the FFA change the way that they operate. Given the process used to elect our current Chairman and committee, they may have a point....
View ArticleMighty Angst, and the Socceroos
Angst, cloaked in her darkened shroud, woven of table positions and embroidered with player statistics, slips once more into the heart of the ardent Socceroos supporter. Denial is her meat, ignorance...
View ArticleKiribati: Forgotten by FIFA, but not by KIFA
In the middle of the Pacific, straddling the equator and punching a hole in the International Date Line, lies one of the planet’s more enigmatic countries: Kiribati. It is a vibrant country, passionate...
View ArticleDepth: Time for the fringe Socceroos
The Germans delighted and wowed an international audience after showing not only their incredible depth but also their brazen willingness to test fringe Mannschaft players in a high-profile tournament....
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