Putting a Square Peg into an Oval Hole

Phill Chadwick reports, Lebanon is coming to town with the SACA announcing recently that an Asian Cup match will be held at the Adelaide Oval this August.

Amid great fanfare and self-congratulation, the South Australian Cricket Association recently announced that Australia will play Lebanon in an Asian Cup Qualifier in Adelaide this coming August.

Do Lebanon play Test cricket, I wondered? Paying closer attention, I realised they were talking about football.

Then I had another look. The South Australian Cricket Association was announcing it. What? It turns out that the SACA had negotiated a deal to have the match played at their iconic Adelaide Oval.

My first reaction was to celebrate with the Adelaide football community the fact that a significant full international match was coming to our fair city.

Then, along with my excitement at the prospect of the match, came dismay at the thought of watching it at the wrong venue.

Don't misunderstand me, Adelaide Oval is a magnificent sporting venue. Beautiful surroundings, 34,000 capacity, quality playing surface. But the playing arena is 191 metres long, 127 metres wide, and elliptical in shape. Mark out the biggest football pitch allowed for internationals in the middle of that and you end up with a whopping 40 metres between each goal line and the fence, and 26 metres clear on each side.

On top of those long sight lines for the lucky few to be sitting at the fence, the grandstands slope back quite gently and those at the back of the stands will be a long, long way from the action and without much elevation to help them.

The cold financial logic of crowd capacity; 34,000 Adelaide Oval vs. 15,500 Hindmarsh Stadium, makes this an irresistible deal for the organisers. But I fear an equally cold atmosphere will greet the Australian players.

This is a full international, an Asian Cup Qualifier, one of the most significant and important football matches ever played in Adelaide. Our team needs all the help it can get. A full Hindmarsh Stadium, its capacity boosted to around 20,000 with temporary stands, would provide a far better atmosphere than a full Adelaide Oval.

And, at the Adelaide Oval, the southern and northern mound areas, a significant proportion of the capacity, would be empty unless FIFA and the AFC allow standing areas, or else their own temporary stands are erected.

Oh well, the FFA, bedazzled by the cash offered by SACA, has chosen to have the match at the Oval. So be it.

Let the Lebanese come. This match is one of the first major outings in our new Asian incarnation, and may be a defining moment.

All Adelaide football fans should be clamouring for tickets, rolling out to support our boys, and providing as much noise, song, and atmosphere as we can achieve at this less than perfect football venue.

In Melbourne this week the friendly match between Greece and Australia will be played at the MCG. Another football match at a cricket ground. While the discrepancy between the pitch dimensions still is far from ideal, at least the grandstand configuration will help to develop the atmosphere, as will the crowd size.

We will see 92,000 crammed into the cauldron of the MCG stadium. That will no doubt provide a stirring atmosphere. The shape of the venue is not ideal, but the steep geometry of the stands creates a concentration of noise.

Unfortunately, many Australians are sure to be supporting Greece in this match, a concept I find puzzling. Sure, expatriate Greeks, temporarily here, or recently arrived can be forgiven for supporting their homeland.

But how can Australians, albeit of Greek heritage, those born or raised here, support a foreign team? I was born in England, and must admit to a sentimental attachment. But when Australia plays England, my heart and voice is squarely with the Aussies. This country is my home, where my heart is, and how could I prefer another country in a football match?

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