“You have seen it with the numbers that turn up to live sites all over the country that the spotlight is on football and there is definitely a strong interest in the game,” Santo said.
“So it is really about converting those fans who walked away on Sunday morning thinking that was a great experience,and them understanding a lot of those players they watched on the screens ... many play in the A-League”.
Andrew Redmayne (Sydney),Garang Kuol (Central Coast),Craig Goodwin (Adelaide) and Matt Leckie (Melbourne City) will all play for their clubs this weekend.Credit:Getty
The A-League Men’s season resumes this weekend and all eight members of the Socceroos squad are expected to turn out for their clubs,including Kuol and Mathew Leckie,the man who scored the wonder goal against Denmark.
On Saturday night at Allianz Stadium,Leckie is expected to line up with Melbourne City teammates Marco Tilio and Jamie McLaren against Sydney FC,with Andrew Redmayne in goal.
On Sunday afternoon in Gosford,Central Coast Mariners are confident Kuol,Jason Cummings and Danny Vukovic will play against Newcastle. And Adelaide United manager Carl Veart said Craig Goodwin – the man who scored against France,assisted Mitch Duke’s goal against Tunisia and banged in the shot that led to Argentina’s own-goal – will play on Friday night.
Before leaving Qatar,Goodwin said:“We hope that what we have achieved can help grow the game back home. Because the A-League is better than it is perceived. The quality of Australian football is better than it’s perceived. It has been that way for a long time but hopefully,what we have achieved can put Australian football on the map and help the game grow.”
Turning Australians with an interest in world football into A-League fans has been an elusive goal for club and league bosses over the years,and even this year anexhibition featuring Barcelona in Sydney drew a crowd three times bigger than the A League Men’s grand final a few days later in Melbourne.
“The conversion is really about building awareness and our messaging,talking to the strong standard of the A-League,and the atmosphere. If you put on a good product,people will come,” Santo said.
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“If you enjoyed the experience of the live sites,you’ll love the real experience of the games.
“We are averaging over 22,000 so far this season and anyone who was at the Sydney derby a few weeks ago,they would say the atmosphere inside was second-to-none.
“We offer a great experience and a great standard,so anyone who enjoyed the live sites and haven’t been to an A-League game before,this is a great opportunity to come and watch the two most dominant teams over the last six or so years.”
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