Australia are unlikely to get their hands on the trophy

SYDNEY, May 17: Australia are unlikely to get their hands on the trophy this time but the Socceroos could still end up being one of the biggest winners at the World Cup.

Other countries might score more goals and collect more prize money but none stand to benefit more than Australia.

Soccer has always struggled for mainstream recognition in Australia where cricket, tennis, Australian Rules Football and rugby reign supreme.

Qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 32 years has, however, triggered a surge of interest in the game and officials are hoping it will mark the start of a new era.

''The World Cup gives us a fantastic boost and will accelerate the development of football in Australia,'' Geoff Parmenter, head of marketing and strategy at Football Federation Australia (FFA) told the Australian Financial Review.

''We needed something to make Australians proud about the Socceroos, and qualifying for the World Cup provided that.'' Australian soccer had long been plagued by financial problems and ethnic rivalries but everything changed two years ago when FIFA reversed their decision to award Oceania an automatic place in the 2006 World Cup.

BOARD SACKED

Soccer's world governing body criticised the way Soccer Australia was running the game and the Australian government responded by launching their own inquiry which recommended that the entire board of Soccer Australia be sacked and replaced.

Frank Lowy, Australia's second-richest man and a die-hard soccer fan, agreed to set up a company which was later renamed the FFA to oversee the development of the game.

He began appointing high-profile executives with experience and contacts in Australian business, including John O'Neill, the former boss of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), who in turn recruited many other ARU executives such as Parmenter.

The new board set about restructuring the sport and its finances, establishing an elite, eight-team A League and luring multinational sponsors.

The A-League exceeded everyone's forecasts, drawing bigger than expected crowds and strong pay-TV ratings but the most significant change was Australia's decision to ditch the 12-member Oceania confederation and join the 45-strong Asian confederation.

The move should help the game in Australia to develop at senior and all age-group levels with teams already taking part in Asian international and club competitions.

Their chances of getting to future World Cup finals -- where Asia currently has four places -- will therefore improve considerably while their move from Oceania will free up an avenue to the World Cup for New Zealand or even the smaller Pacific Island nations who have not been good enough to knock Australia off the top perch in Oceania for almost 25 years.

NATIONAL PRIDE

''Competing in the World Cup won't change the world,'' Parmenter said. ''We have to harness that, ensure the team's profile remains high in the lead-up to the World Cup and find a way to use national pride at a grassroots level.'' Reaching the World Cup finals this time was an unexpected bonus after years of agonising near-misses through a combination of bad draws, bad luck and bad play.

Australia regularly won the Oceania qualifying section only to slip in their final playoffs against Asian, European and South American opposition.

The most heart-breaking of all their defeats was the loss to Iran in the 1997 playoffs.

The teams finished 1-1 in the first leg in Tehran and Australia, under English coach Terry Venables, led 2-0 in the return match at home with just 14 minutes to go when they conceded two late goals to bow out on away goals.

There was more frustration in 2001 when they beat twice World Cup-winners Uruguay 1-0 at home then lost the second leg 3-0 away when they developed an untimely case of stage fright.

The ledger was squared last November when they overturned a 1-0 deficit from the opening leg in Montevideo to eventually win a penalty shoot-out and become the first country to qualify for the finals in Germany on penalties, kick-starting their new era in emphatic fashion.

REUTERS