At the weekend we heard an interesting story whereby the sports editor of one of Western Australia’s leading news outlets allegedly claimed that football, the world game, was ‘not a mainstream sport.’
We feel we cannot possibly believe that the person concerned could have said that, when there are 208 member nations in FIFA, more than there are in the UN. You can’t get more mainstream than that!
As for “novelty football” come on, it is played seriously in one country, you can’t play for your country, and it is a novelty to tourists who have never witnessed such a game. There is nothing wrong with the game itself and those who play it are supreme athletes but to compare the two, it simply can’t be done.
You can’t even compare “Novelty football” with the two codes of rugby, union and league, as they too allow you international opportunities.
He must have been misheard!
