Nearly half of Australian children are choosing to play soccer over football with soccer rising in the last ten years as the sport of choice. A feasibility study has shown that 360,400 Australian children aged between 5-14 are choosing soccer as their game of choice, with only 235,000 opting for footy.
Australia is experiencing ‘soccer fever’ as the world game seems to be taking over the nation. As a sport, soccer is soaring in the suburbs, with 21 per cent more women signing up to play the game in this year alone. The number of registered soccer players in Australia is almost double that of Aussie rules.
But the rise in soccer comes at a cost as grounds in Victoria are being used for soccer instead of football, threatening junior football teams in Australia. Moonee Valley Junior football club faces extinction as Ormond Park – their home ground – may be expanded to accommodate Essendon Football Club. The football club has been at Ormond Park for 79 years and is not going down to soccer without a fight. Members of the Aussie Rules team have written to the council pleading with them to allow their football club to keep playing on their home turf.