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Football (soccer) in Australia is governed by Football Federation Australia (FFA) which is directly responsible for, among other duties, the Australian national football team and the domestic Australian football competition, the Hyundai A-League. The game is commonly known as soccer in Australian English, although official organisations have adopted "football" (a term also employed by other codes) as the preferred name.

History

The game was probably first played in Australia by English immigrants during the 1860s, following the formation of the Football Association in London in 1863, and the circulation of its rules, from that time onwards. However, the first recorded club was Wanderers, founded by a school teacher named John Walter Fletcher at Parramatta in 1880. The first game known to have occurred in Australia under FA rules took place the same year, when Wanderers played the Kings School rugby football team at Parramatta Common on August 14. However the oldest existing club is Balgownie Rangers, founded in 1883, which still competes in the Illawarra regional league.

The early governing bodies of the sport in Australia had to distinguish themselves from Australian rules football and rugby football, rival sports which had became very popular in the various Australian colonies during the 1860s and 1870s. The New South Wales (NSW) association was founded by Fletcher in 1882 as the English Football Association (later to become the Southern British Football Association); NSW and the neighbouring Colony of Victoria played each other for the first time in 1883. A Victorian association, the Anglo-Australian Football Association was founded in 1884; the Queensland British Football Association followed in 1889; the Western Australian British Football Association in 1896 (renamed the Western Australian Soccer Football Association in September 1925); the South Australian British Football Association in 1902; and a Tasmanian association in about 1910-1912. The first Australia-wide body was the Commonwealth Football Association, formed in 1912, although this folded two years later.

While native-born Australians overwhelmingly played and watched Australian Rules or Rugby, football (soccer) was highly popular with the various British and Southern European immigrant communities, all of which expanded rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s: the English, Scottish, Greek, Italian, and Croatian communities gave rise to most of the largest clubs. At the time, the game served as a bonding force within those ethnic communities, and as a point of identity amongst them and the wider Australian community. A similarly increasing number of British migrants also retained an interest in the sport. Johnny Warren, who was a member of the national team at their first World Cup appearance, in 1974, entitled his memoir Sheilas, Wogs, and Poofters, giving an indication of how the wider Australian community viewed "wogball" in the 1970s.

League System

National Football League

The National Soccer League (NSL) was established in 1977 and was arguably the first truly national "football" competition in Australia. This league, along with Soccer Australia, was disbanded in 2004, and was replaced by the A-League and by Football Federation Australia respectively. The first season of the new league began in August 2005, and has acheived very respectable crowds - the average attendance for the inaugural season almost tripled the highest average attendance for the NSL.

State Football Leagues

The following state federations are responsible for administering local football league systems:

• Football Federation Victoria
• Football Queensland
• Soccer New South Wales
• Soccer Tasmania
• Football Federation of South Australia
• Football West
• Capital Football (ACT)
• Football Federation Northern Territory

The Australian National team

The Australian national football team is nicknamed the Socceroos, although FFA now refers to the team simply as "Australia". Nevertheless, the name Socceroos is still popularly used. The women's national team is nicknamed the Matildas.

On November 16, 2005, the Socceroos defeated Uruguay 4-2 in a penalty shootout to secure a place in the

, the first time Australia has been in the World cup since 1974. Prime Minister John Howard asked employers to turn a blind eye to workers turning up late for work the following day, highlighting the widespread interest in the match.

Futsal

Futsal (futebol de salão) activities in Australia, including the National Futsal Championships, are organised by a National Futsal Commission.

The following Futsal State Federations are members of the National Futsal Commission:

• ACT Futsal Inc
• Soccer NSW Futsal
• QLD Futsal Association Inc
• South Australia Futsal Commission

Note: Not to be confused with other forms of indoor football such as five-a-side football or indoor soccer.

See also

• Football (soccer) in South Australia
• Football (soccer) in Tasmania
• Football (soccer) in Victoria
• Football (soccer) in Western Australia

• Football (soccer) in Australia