Sleeping giant stirs a nation

Is the sleeping giant waking up? On Sunday morning thousands of Australians got out of bed early to watch their national soccer team take on Argentina at the men’s World Cup — and I cannot help but hope it’s a sign of things to come.

While the Australian cricket team played out an underwhelming Test match in Western Australia and the AFL scrambled for airtime by releasing its 2023 fixture at 6am on a Sunday, the Socceroos were able to achieve something more meaningful.

The boys in green and gold brought a nation together.

As a lifelong lover of soccer this felt like a turning point.

Always a forgotten sport and ridiculed by other codes, support for this team transcended the usual barriers and gave Australians a sense of international pride unlike any other time in recent memory, and in a way no other sport can.

For those two weeks it felt like Australian soccer was no longer some niche sport.

It was no longer a sport divided by those who wake up at 3am to watch the English Premier League and those who watch the A-Leagues or NPL.

It was the sport that reflects our nation better than any other.

A sport we all cared about. When else have thousands of people come together across the nation like they did on Sunday at 6am?

Or when Australia defeated Denmark, its second win of the tournament, last Thursday at 3am?

Even Shepparton — the diverse regional city we all call home — hosted a viewing site on Sunday and of course our own Garang Kuol played in the match.

While their exploits on the pitch will live long in the memory, the legacy of the 2022 Socceroos will be what happens off the pitch.

Will even more juniors turn to soccer as their winter sport?

Will attendances in local leagues rise?

Will all levels of government provide more funding?

While I don’t have a crystal ball, the 2022 World Cup campaign will have turned heads and the sport will only turn more.

Next year the women’s World Cup will be held in Australia and with Shepparton’s own soccer sensation Kuol making the move to England in January among other exciting developments — it is clear that the sleeping beast has awoken.