At the back end of last year, stretching into the early part of this, the AFF Suzuki Cup, the biennial showpiece of Southeast Asian football, did what it always does: deliver unscriptable drama, unparalleled entertainment, and shine a spotlight on the emerging talents within southeast Asia.
The names of Thailand’s Supachok Sarachat, Indonesia’s Alfeandra Dewangga or Malaysia’s Safawi Rasid might not be familiar to fans here in Australia, but they shone in Singapore and are the sort of talent the Australian Professional Leagues, now in charge of the running of the A-League Men’s competition, will be hoping to attract to Australia with the proposed introduction of the ‘plus one’ rule for the competition.
The ‘plus one’ rule has been widely adopted across Asia but stubbornly rejected time after time in Australia, with one former A-League club owner insultingly suggesting it would “ ... compromise the product we provide”.
The rule sets aside one foreign place specifically for a player from an AFC member nation to encourage greater movement of players within the continent, with the APL proposing to change to A-League Men’s quota from five foreigners to four plus one.
Its implementation across Asia has opened up a whole host of opportunities for Australian players across the continent from Japan to the Gulf and everywhere in between, but to date the open door has not been reciprocated.
Quite why it has taken the clubs this long to jump on board, especially after the resounding success of the AFC Asian Cup in 2015, is a question only they can answer.
But, better late than never.
“One of the unique selling points of our sport is that if you think about the DNA of football, the game in this country has been built on migrant populations coming to the country and assimilating into the community through football,” APL chief Danny Townsend told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“That being the case, why aren’t we leveraging our near neighbours who have a significant cohort of migrants in our country and are football first countries?”
Why indeed.
But there is more to it than just signing players. If the clubs want to unlock the league’s true potential, they engage these communities. Both here and further abroad they must approach that mission in a holistic manner. It cannot be done by just signing any one player. While important, that must be one piece of a much larger puzzle; one which requires a long-term vision and mindset.
The J.League has set the blueprint for how to engage with the region. It involves the league and clubs showing a commitment to developing links within the respective countries, not just pillaging their best talent. The J.League has created a dedicated department within its operations that is solely focused on their international outreach.
On the back of the success of Thai trio Chanathip Songkrasin, Theerathon Bunmathan (who won the J.League under Ange Postecoglou at Yokohama F.Marinos) and Teerasil Dangda, the league created a Thai-language Facebook page, with content curated specifically for a Thai audience, that has grown to a touch under half a million followers. It is no surprise that Japan is seen as the pinnacle destination in Asian football.
In the case of Australia, which has at times had a difficult relationship with our nearest neighbours, showing sincerity and commitment is even more important. It demonstrates a willingness to be a good citizen of the region, and ultimately Australia stands to benefit from an increase in quality.
Finding the right player who can not only contribute on the pitch but also aid ambitions off will not be easy. It requires scouting, connections and know-how, all stuff that takes years to curate. We are also competing for talent against the J.League, and now the K League, both of which are more developed and have stronger reputations across Asia.
It also requires patience. Despite what some may think, getting players, especially from Southeast Asia, to take the plunge and move abroad is not an easy task. There are strong familial ties and cultural barriers keeping them in their homelands.
For example, Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Hai, who shone against the Socceroos last month, is arguably the best player in southeast Asia and yet, despite reported interest from abroad, including in Japan, no one has yet been able to prize him away from the vice-like grip of his club, Hanoi FC. The club and league who do tempt him away – if anyone can – will benefit enormously, like the J.League has done from the success of Chanathip.
To do so that club will need to sell a vision, a pathway for the player to bigger and better things. In the example of Chanathip, after five years establishing himself as one of the league’s better attacking talents, he has this year signed for defending champions Kawasaki Frontale and will be playing in and challenging for the AFC Champions League – the pinnacle of club football in Asia.
As Australia tumbles down the AFC club rankings and risks falling out of the AFC Champions League completely – a topic for another day – the question we need to ask ourselves is simple: what is the vision we are selling a player like Nguyen Quang Hai?
