The Big Deal Weekly: AFL goal blunder fallout, Women's World Cup analysis, players blast Rugby Australia, Comm Games compensation, Messi and Neymar compared and more
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The Big Deal Weekly: AFL goal blunder fallout, Women's World Cup analysis, players blast Rugby Australia, Comm Games compensation, Messi and Neymar compared and more
Newsletter no.47, 22 August 2023
Welcome to this week’s sports business wrap.
FIFA confirmed what we already knew - Best. Women’s. World. Cup. Ever. And we’ve got all the numbers to prove it.
The tournament will have a last impact on women’s sport in Australia, and the ramifications are bigger than soccer.
Meanwhile, what next after THAT score review blunder that cost the Crows their season?
Tune in below, and scroll down for the key points.
Listen to the wrap and subscribe for free now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
AFL GOAL BLUNDER: WHAT NEXT?
Boy, oh boy.
The Adelaide Crows drew the short straw with the footy gods on Saturday night with Ben Keays’ shot on goal wrongly declared a behind, ending their finals hopes.
The AFL responded quickly on Sunday through outgoing CEO Gillon McLachlan, apologising for the error.
In live view, it looked as if it had hit the post, but upon seeing the replay, there was a clear gap.
The AFL has handled this far better than it had the Luke Shuey ducking incident which saw Port Adelaide exit the finals early in 2017.
The Crows were measured as no-one wants to annoy the AFL, while club chairman John Olsen went hard.
Adelaide should expect some form of peace, love and harmony from the AFL - could the Crows’ home Showdown be played on the Friday night as the solo fixture?
Regarding the ARC and goal line technology…
The system is FAR from good enough, as for two consecutive weeks, a result which has decided the fate of multiple teams, has been left up to it and it has failed.
Look at football - while the VAR system is heavily scrutinised, it is far more effective than the ARC. And their goal line tech? Superb.
TREDDERS’ TALKING POINTS FROM THE AFL
In the audio wrap, Tredders also talks about:
Damien Hardwick’s contract at Gold Coast
Is Luke Beveridge safe at the Western Bulldogs?
West Coast’s win puts North in the Pick 1 race
Equal prize money - AFLW and AFL men’s finals teams to earn $1.1m
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ANALYSIS
The FIFA Women’s World Cup has finished, with Spain claiming a 1-0 win in the final over England.
It has smashed records, not only in Australia, but the world.
The total attendance is 1,978,274, which is compared to 1.1m in 2019.
The Matildas’ semi-final loss to England was the biggest streaming event in Australian sports history, and the most watched TV program ever.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino called it the best Women’s World Cup ever, and they’ve broken even for the first time, generating the second highest income of any sport.
Across the world, European broadcasters, who were nearly blacked out of the Women’s World Cup, have arguably benefited the most.
For the UK, the final drew 12 million viewers on BBC One - which made it the most-watched women’s soccer match in UK history, and second most-watched event for the BBC this year.
The first? King Charles III’s inauguration.
In Spain, 5.6 million watched the final, and it peaked at 7.4 million viewers.
Even better is the data saying 56.2% of the Spanish television audience were male.
Back home, and the hysteria has been absurd.
First, the call for a public holiday if the Matildas won the Women’s World Cup, and now the Queensland Government has announced plans for a statue of Sam Kerr.
Imagine being a Diamond who actually won a World Championship…
DEFINING TIME FOR WOMEN’S SPORT AS WALLAROOS COME OUT SWINGING
“Wallabies WAGS get more funding than us.”
The Wallaroos have gone off, and rightfully so. They’re pushing for better conditions from Rugby Australia, with just about every player sharing an open letter on social media.
“You told us flying anything beyond economy was too costly. Then you flew the Wallabies business class on a trip shorter than ours,” the letter began.
“You told us full-time contracts were in the pipeline, that there wasn’t enough money to keep the men in the game, let alone us. Then you paid $5 million for an NRL player.”
Furthermore, the Australian Government is investing $200 million into women’s sports via the Play Our Way program, for improved facilities and equipment.
It’s long overdue, but still, the Tasmanian AFL bid has netted more government funding.
Priorities, eh?
VICTORIANS PICK UP TAB FOR COMM GAMES DISASTER
We finally have a number on what the Victorian Government is paying in compensation for the Commonwealth Games debacle.
And it’s a mammoth $380 million.
Premier Dan Andrews still claims he’s saved the taxpayer $4 billion. Don’t know about that one.
The deal is locked away under a non-disclosure agreement, so, no holding to account with the details.
BOOMERS READY TO EXPLODE
The FIBA World Cup starts this Friday, with the Boomers to tip off against Finland.
The Philippines has tried to squash security concerns, deploying 4400 police/armed forces into action at the event, which is also played across Japan and Indonesia.
Despite a shock loss to Brazil, the Boomers stunned France in a warm-up, but it may prove costly after losing Jock Landale through injury.
AUSSIE OPENERS TO PAIR UP AGAIN
The show must go on. Usman Khawaja and David Warner will remain partners, joining Fox Sports’ commentary team.
A smart move from both parties to open the door to a casual role while still playing.
ANGE WIN AN AUSTRALIAN FIRST
Another history making moment for Ange Postecoglou.
His Tottenham Hotspur side downed Manchester United 2-0 to make him the first Aussie manager to have a Premier League win.
There’s still plenty of movement at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to come, but despite a shaky start at Brentford and post-Harry Kane, it looks as if it’s coming together.
LEGACY MINDED MESSI …
Can this man get any better?
Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup over the weekend with a penalty-shootout victory over Nashville SC.
Tickets for the game were going for as much as $8000 USD.
Messi, along with former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, were instrumental in the win - all three converting their penalties.
Meanwhile, Messi himself took matters in his own hands for the first goal of the game.
The man is all class - he handed over the captaincy armband to the former skipper of the club for the trophy presentation.
Three clubs, and a boatload of trophies.
… NEYMAR LIVING FOR THE MOMENT
One part of the famous MSN trio is doing damage in the US, another is having a field day in Saudi Arabia.
Neymar’s deal sweeteners continue to come out.
A house with 25 bedrooms, huge pool, three saunas and five full-time staff.
A private jet at his disposal.
A Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DBX, Lamborghini Huracan with a 24-hour driver.
All bills for hotels, restaurants, services on his days off paid by the club
$850k per social post promoting Saudi Arabia.
Oh and his base wage. $4.8M AUD a week for his two-year deal.
Swimming in cash.
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