We get some good discussions on here and I think it's because we have a diverse group of football fans wether that's the European league, the npl or the a league or just the socceroos.

Anyways I'm interested in what people think about football now and in the future. Two biggest topics are VAR and the added fixtures.

Club world cup is going to change football with all the matches played in that. World cup is expanded do you enjoy it? 

Re VAR: AAFC modelling was that the travel costs for a nsd were around 2-3 million

am I mistaken in thinking VAR costs the league 1.5 million? Why can't we have a nyl replace VAR in the budget

RE club world cup: real game changer. It will reverse the trend towards european football dominance. The south america clubs will benefit, but so will so many others

Re: socceroos. Hang onto your hats, A lot of good things are about to happen at once. The a league being financially stretched without the safety net of the fa are having to rely on the transfer market. To cover the salary cap you need a minimum of 1 transfer per club per year. If we do indeed expand to 14 oz based teams that means 14 players in europe every year. The last 5 years has seen the majority of our experts get a starting position in europe. So in a decade we could have over 100 players in europe in decent leagues if nothing else changes. Law of large numbers is that some of those will develop and go on to be better than expected. However, all things will not remain equal, the nst is coming which should accelerate the number of players we send to europe and send them to higher levels earlier. The dark ages of player development might be ending

Or Japan or MLS but yes to  14 to 20  players per year will build up quickly and as another side affect many who may drift to league or AFL in their mid teens may stay with Football....

In it's current implementation VAR is just awful from the fans POV. As a fan I'd be glad to see it go from our domestic game. However I reckon it might be beneficial to our players. If the WC (and any other NT comp) has VAR then it's stands to reason that it would be better if our players become accustomed to it as early in their careers as possible. For example, it would make sense that players in an environment where runs need to be millimetre perfect to avoid offside should develop better timed runs compared to players in an environment where the attacker is given the benefit of the doubt. 

I know everybody dismisses the idea of cultural football acceptance but one observation I can add to your discussion MCG is from my observation. Visiting Greece or Italy or France or Former Yugo countries in the past what strikes me as the most observable day to day thing is just how structured we are at football here... Yes all these countries have variations of they junior pathways we do, have a club system, academies, sports schools etc but I feel like the talent pool they have to select from is different....  Not so much in numbers perhaps but in make up of who is participating.

In the main, you watch Euro school kids walk down the street in groups and they are passing a crushed coke can between them, or dribbling a tennis ball and nutmegging their mates, or kicking a rock to each other.....Every social interaction revolves around sub-conscious football... a kid bouncing a football down the street attracts 10 other kids by osmosis almost and a pick up game, that can go for hours, starts immediately....  There is no financial barrier to football in most of the world, taleted kids from poorer backgrounds WILL be identified usually and funnelled into the "system" the rest just enjoy football as a natural outcome of socialising... Here, it seems, that football is a paid activity for our kids, a 2 or 4 or 6 hours a week tutoring session to be paid for and structured...  I see junior players juggling the ball or playing keepy uppy after training or when they are on the sidelines acting as ball boys for senior games but DONT see that outside of the club structure anymore....   just a thought :)

Ok so here's my dribl :)........

VAR needs clearer and improved parameters/guidelines as been discussed in other threads.
A poofteeth of an elbow or a nose length or the red line 2mm's of the shoulder IMO are not fair to call offside that there is an advantage........
Get this cleared up I think I could accept seeing the replay decision fine line.

FA/NST and below, whole eco system to have a clearer directive for all to see, re development and local ground improvements getting up with the times and ahead pronto, we are living with 50+yr old grounds/facilites in many areas/regions.
The Feds be far more aligned on the same paths and  And how about looking to introduce a National Futsul/or indoor/Australia Cup style Club Comp for all to U18. (not sure there is one)
Will help improve skill/touch.
Re local grounds, for eg Sydney's wettest seasons in a long time, our Association has suffered 6 wash outs to date, my 10 team comp been a mess how it goes but $400 no one gets a refund right.
I'm not fussed but Jnrs/fam's with 2/3 kids that hurts today big time, Councils do not refund any of the local Clubs.
Therefore more SYN grounds are needed ahead even though grass pitch's are way better.

WCup expansion - yer I get it FIFA want to spread/venture into regions that have been neglected for an eternity and growth But FIFA only thinking of the $$$.
Money is needed and makes the world go round but commercialism is ruining/diluting the romance of the game in many ways.
Club World Cup same applies - when is too much too much.
So this is the future, like plastic surgeries or Franchise's left right centre - I think in time the bubble will burst for everything is spiralling.

 
 

Good points and this about the culture we lack and will never gain as other parts of the world.
My young days pre tech naturally after school there would be 30+ kids who rode your pushy's to the local oval.
Play football/in the cricket nets, do whatever importantly your outside, running/walking being active.
You'd get home before dark for dinner and get a clip across the ear hahaha
Bringing up our kids I noticed my wife starting to get into that, oh don't let them ride down the shops alone etc, they will get beaten up/kidnapped who knows what, like you serious ?
Sure anything can happen but we're not on the streets of Argenetina/Brazil/Uruguay etcetc.....
As times gone by the younger gen Mums its what on their mobile diary and the soccer mum evolves........

Hence my points getting local grounds up to todays needs, maybe more undecover areas so the kids can play even tough there's rain.
Indoor tournaments, need to get more time off the gamer culture and get them more active BUT the Mums like that extra freetime to do what they want.

Mate Im pretty sure you visit ANY single piazza in Italy at lunch time tomorrow and there are 2-3 kids kicking a ball around... if you join them they will start a game..... 
Play grounds and futsal courts are great but we need to get the appetite going first :) How that happens I have no idea.

I dont know you from a bar of soap but I can guarantee that you, like me (and most effniks of a certain age on here), growing up used every single Christmas, Easter, Birthday, backyard BBQ as an excuse to play Soccer in the backyard with your cousins and your koumpare and family friends kids.... no? Back-Yard Cricket was very very very rare, almost unheard of in my family....

could be a participation rate issue

we have a participation rate of around 8% of the country, most football nations around 25%. If all efforts were to build the participation rate then you have a huge foundation to build on

We are talking about two different definitions of "participation" in football mad countries participation is closer to 80 or 90% its just not all structured through clubs or formal approaches... Kids in the street ALL kick a football from nappies to the grave... THATS what I think we are missing to some degree... 

A goal frame painted on the wall appears in every single side street of most European, African and South American cities.... Our equivalent here is "6 and out" if its hit over the fence and "one hand of anything" ... 

Yep yep and yep re familia gatherings.
Eat and play ball - yer no cricket that’s for sure.
i dabbled in that purely to mix with my Aussie school mates who also first and foremost were good footballers.
My Dad and Zios with ciggies hanging out of their mouths we’d be juggling the ball contest not letting land on the ground then I’d pissed off for they sit back down to drink more vino haha 

Yep was in Milan last year with my 23yr old son, cafe bar across the road - we’d frequent and they got to know us, one of women there had her young teen son with a ball.
On the footpath they got my lad kicking around challenging each other with skills, great to watch.
Nothing like it here, people would whinge stop playing ball ya mugs. 

I was in Vietnam a couple of years ago and was amazed at how much park football was played. Wished I was young enough to join in. 

Your dead right about the Asian kids in the parks.... I think they are a huge untapped resource as most of them dont play any club football, nor do they, strangely have "effnik" clubs of their onw in the state comps... I had a kick about with a few Chinese boys and my lad t the local park on a couple of weekends ago, some seriously silky talent on display.. I asked them if the play at any clubs and they alls aid their focus was on Uni and weekly kickabout was their chance to catch up with mates and do a little exercise... 

Any NPL club or State league club with half a brain should reach out to their local parks and get some oif these kids involved... some are really good.

Always join in dude... football is life :)

3 or 4 days a week the reffos are playing in the park about 800m from my place. Sudanese, Rohingas, Iraqis and Syrians. All the women are down there sitting in a circle talking to each other. It's great.

so, we're seeing the newer/later migrants doing what occurred way way back.
Good can only be a positive.
MSC correct, uni guys and older here And sounds like we're ahead of the curve around my parts, I expect in other Sydney associations has to be similar by now.
10yrs+ at least we have quite a few full on all asian Club teams in the comps at varying Snr AA levels and O35/45's.
Yer some are damn skilful - like how they study they have practised alot.
My own team we have had 2/3 very good Asian players play with us for a few seasons unfortunately they went back to play with their fellow mates.
Good stuff Muz.
Charlied not surprised, the game is damn strong over there and elsewhere in my travels.

The Vics won't like this (re gayfl) I've said this in general discussion many times with friends over the years, a good % migrants of recent times and ahead will go play real football more than the 3 bigger codes of today, its a given sooner or later.
Add in the protective no contact future soccer mums and W football growth, - just hope our governance are getting ready to service the demands of the future.

Dont read the papers mate, not that many of the Sudanese boys are playing AFL down here... its just propaganda... they are all either playing football or basketball.

don't read the paper for a lonnng time, no need to.
All on the mobile but yer, like I said newer migrants will go football for sure, BB yes has its attraction more and more in todays markets another good mention.

I'm Australian born and grew up in Five Dock in the 60s and 70s. The largest population was Australian - but it was not a majority - plenty of Italians, Greeks and Yugoslavians. My experience was pretty similar with one exception. We did play cricket for the 6 weeks of the Christmas holidays. The rest of the year was football, before and after school until it was dark, lunchtime, walking to the shops. We always had a ball with us. In high school we used to use the small milk cartons as a ball or a tennis ball if need be.

I despair at the technique of players that continually put their shots into row z these days. However, they do seem much more tactically aware than we were at a similar age.

The little milk cartons.... hahahaha I remember doing exactly the same thing :)  Great to hear that you had a similar childhood mate... I guess there must be pockets of Australia where football is king... I speak ONLY from a Melbourne perspective.... 

heydays around your areas pj as you well know.
How that has changed the last 20yrs, many many of the early ethnics have moved on but thats for another storey.
Today technique compared to back then in numbers.
This is where the game has moved ahead, more so awareness, don't forget there was hardly any media those days, we only had Sunday night football for an 1hr.
There wasn't alot of support at local clubs or awareness to expand, it was not what you knew but who you knew.
The stand out players really stood out with touch and finesse very easy to see.
Last 20odd years coaching has spread, you can watch football 24/7, you sure would expect tactical awareness has spread through alot more and good stuff it has.

The thing that has disappeared alot is the "free football" at the local parks as mentioned barring these newbies starting up.
The use of the council steel bins been replaced by buying a small sided goals from rebel :)

Skydance robably buying out Para+ over the weekend would be interesting, I hope they like sports.