A month to remember

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Whether you believe the hype about the future of the round ball code in Australia or not, you'd have to admit things have come a long way in Australian football in a very short time.

Juventus decision to play a game in Melbourne in late May is the latest coup for a sport which is making the most of its international advantages over the other codes. The four weeks between the Socceroos' May 23rd game against Ghana and the June 22 game final qualification game against China will be a football extravaganza rarely seen before in this country.

Not only will the national team play five games during that time, but there will be at least two other high profile friendly games, the one between the Victory and Juventus on May 29 as well as a match featuring French legend Zinedine Zidane in Sydney on June 1. Sydney will also play host to the FIFA congress in the preceding week with the eyes of the footballing world on Australia during that time.

The Socceroos efforts at both the World Cup and Asian Cup will always be the biggest influence on the growth of the game but in the alternate years, the challenge of FFA will be to ensure that football gets its time in the sun.

The concept of June as a regular 'festival of football' month is one with plenty of merit. The Socceroos are close to the No.1 national team in Australia. The Australian cricket team has a significant image problem, the Wallabies don't have the profile they need, while neither rugby league or AFL have a real international presence.

Football has an advantage in that kids can see their heroes trot out against the world's best in Europe every week and then watch them in person when they come back for international football. While it has never been officially designated so by FIFA, June has become the month for international football (which is what makes the AFC's decision to play the Asian Cup in July last year so confusing) around the world. Euro 2008, even without England, will be a massive event, only eclipsed by the Olympics in terms of viewers this year.

In the increasingly packed sporting world, codes have had to stake out their windows of highest prominence. In Australia, September is the domain of AFL and NRL finals. November is home to the Melbourne Cup and the Spring Racing carnival, Christmas-New Years is the domain of the Boxing Day Tests and New Year's Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. The A-League appears to have taken February as its time for finals. In the US, October means the MLB playoffs, and January means the NFL playoffs and the Superbowl. July is always Wimbledon in tennis, while the Australian Open's January timeslot has been so iconic, that while the players don't like it, it may remain because it is so popular with the fans.

Golf in Australia has suffered significantly from the fact it can't find a place on the sporting calendar, and it is constantly being shuffled about depending on the whim of the US and American tours.

If FFA can map out June as the month every year where they give fans their fill of international football then it also would also take some of the pressure off the higher-profile players coming backduring their domestic seasons to play. If the players can commit to that four-week period, then their clubs can feel a lot more comfortable that they won't lose them for chunks of the season. After June, the players could have a well-deserved rest to freshen up for the next season.

Underpinning that, off-season European club teams could be encouraged to tour, as Juventus have, but instead of playing just one match, they could play several matches in different cities and make the most of Australia's excellent sports facilities. The A-League teams will get some much-needed exposure, both on and off the field, and give them a sound basis to launch their membership campaigns.

All of this in a month which is traditionally the lower ebb of the AFL and NRL seasons. AFL tends to take a week break around this time, while NRL State of Origin is usually in full swing, meaning fewer club games. It's a great chance for football to grab the spotlight.

Ultimately, it would strengthen Australia's case for hosting the World Cup in the future. And that would be the ultimate.