The World Cup and football are the main focus on this show.
Australia’s Socceroos have qualified for their fifth consecutive World Cup Finals in Qatar, and congratulations to the players and the team. The timing could not have been better as this week authors Trevor Thompson and Nick Guoth launch this week their new book “Burning Ambition – The Centenary of Australia-New Zealand Football Ashes.” June 17th being the day that this match was played and why this Podcast is going live today. We catch up with Nick and hear the tale of that first match and how the two teams contested the Ashes. Nick also reveals the impact it had on Australian football and how it lead to a number of firsts in World Football of which both nations can be proud. The good news is since the interview it has been announced that there will be two games played to commemorate this anniversary.
In our topics under discussion Ashley looks at Australia’s World Cup qualification, which was far from pretty and definitely not convincing. (World Cup Qualification Money Must Be Spent on the Next Generation). He asks whether in playing terms they deserve to be on the biggest stage at the World Cup Finals. How much has the expansion to 32 teams contesting the finals impacted on the quality and also the ability to watch the whole tournament. While the Australian game benefits from the money for qualifying how much damage could heavy defeats in Qatar impact the game? How much is the quality being diluted and what impact will Gianni Infantino’s expansion to 48 teams in 2026 impact on the World Cup Finals?
John looks at the future of World Cups and asks is the gloss going off what should be a sport’s pinnacle event. He argues that there is just too much International sport. Using Cricket as an example having three versions of the same game are you diluting the privilege of playing for your nation? The conversation meanders into is there too much sport on too many platforms, and why are so many sports obsessed with having their own platforms, yet fail to invest in managing it and marketing it?
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