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What does record Asian qualification for Qatar 2022 mean for the region?
For the first time in World Cup history, a tournament will play host to a record six teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The achievement follows on from Russia 2018, where the previous record was set by the five Asian teams (Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia) who qualified for that year’s tournament.
On a surface level it appears that the qualification of six teams to Qatar 2022 wholly reflects the region’s growing stature within world football. However when viewed in the context that Qatar is obviously assured a spot as hosts and that Australia’s result on penalties against Peru glosses over what was undoubtedly a campaign dominated by pragmatic thinking over possible effective utilisation, one must ponder the impact Asian teams as a whole will have on the tournament, particularly when looking at past editions.
According to Soccerment, an analytics platform focusing on accelerating the adoption of data analytics by a wider audience of football fans, Asian teams struggled most with shot accuracy (15% against a 29% tournament average) in Russia four years ago. In addition, it appeared Asian teams valued long balls the most of any continent in the tournament as well as hitting a collective average top speed of 27.7 – the lowest at the tournament that year.
Of course, one has to comparatively look at the squad composition, subsequent utilisation and ultimate effectiveness of these five sides versus the teams in their respective groups. Furthermore, the flaws and generational situation of their opponents and the consequential effect has to be taken into account (exemplified best by South Korea toppling a regressing Germany). It is fair to even potentially play down Japan’s progression to the Round of 16 due to accruing fewer yellow cards than Senegal, but as a whole, teams from Asia fared far better in 2018 than in 2014 where they accumulated a total three points out of a possible 36 between four teams in the group stage (Japan, South Korea, Iran and Australia). By contrast in 2018 Asian teams secured 15 from of a potential 45 points, an 18% increase in points amassed.
Furthermore, viewing the Russia 2018 results through the context of where these teams are at ahead of Qatar 2022 is arguably ignoring the impact of the changes that have been made since. Of the six teams to have qualified only one side have retained the same coach across qualification campaigns, this being the tournament hosts Qatar, who have kept Félix Sánchez ever since his taking over the side when they were last in their qualifying group for Russia 2018 and who went on to win the 2019 Asian Cup on home soil.
The current ‘big six’ of Asia have qualified for the tournament, and perhaps it is just reward for Asian football’s increased investment into the sport over the past few decades. In saying that, a set of countries’ ambitious development efforts does not necessarily reflect a whole region’s shared emphasis. For some nations, the development, alignment and tailoring of resources serves as a challenge they’re unwilling to take – irrespective of the passionate and parochial fan base of some club teams. When one looks at Indonesian side Persib Bandung’s nearly 20 million total followers across social media platforms and impressive crowd numbers matching the likes of mammoth Iranian sides like Tractor S.C, it feels like more could be done to improve Indonesia’s international standing as a footballing nation.
In terms of the development of top-tier players in domestic Asian leagues, the infrastructural foundations need to be laid outside of the likes of South Korea and especially Japan, where for example J-League sides select youth players from age 11, a factor which has hugely contributed to their consistent youth production line.
Often the determinative factor of a region’s influence on football is the number of names plying their trade in top-level overseas – mainly European leagues. And by this measurement, Asian football is at an all-time high with representatives from across the continent making a name for themselves at the top level of the game. When considering that 92% of the teams that reached the quarter-finals in the last three editions of the FIFA World Cup were from Europe and South America, it will be interesting to see if an Asian team pushes beyond the Round of 16 with the greater base of players based in Europe especially.
From the 2026 World Cup onwards, an increase from four to eight direct slots alongside an extra spot via the intercontinental playoffs affords Asian teams a greater chance to shine on the world stage. It is more likely than that the jointly hosted 2026 edition will provide greater evidence of Asia’s elevated levels of competitiveness when facing far better developed footballing nations.
The reality is we simply do not know how the Asian confederation’s representatives will fare until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar plays out. But nonetheless, the strides being taken by sections of the AFC region to improve their infrastructure and to foster a distinct identity will have massive long-term benefits in a manner quite possibly akin to Japan in terms of youth development. Time, as always, will tell.
The A-League has just lost a Victorian club. The death of Western United and the suspension of its license by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) on August 10th was inevitable. The club says it wants to rebuild and eventually return to the competition. That is unlikely to happen considering the search for new owners has to begin.
But one day after the announcement from Western United, South Melbourne stepped forward. The four-time NSL winners announced their intention to begin formal discussions with the APL about joining the A-Leagues. They believe the timing is right. Their argument is understandable. Their football credentials and history are stronger than most A-League teams.
But there is a problem. South Melbourne may have the history. It may have the supporters. It may even have one of the most attractive potential derbies in Australian football. But that does not mean it will get an A-League licence.
In fact, the more realistic prediction from my perspective is that South Melbourne will once again be told no.
South Melbourne has never been better placed
There is plenty to like about South Melbourne’s position. The club is not simply relying on its history. South Melbourne returned to national competition through the inaugural Australian Championship in 2025. It did not merely participate. South Melbourne won it. The club defeated Marconi Stallions 2-0 in the final to become the competition’s first champion.
That achievement matters. The Australian Championship was created to bridge state-based football and the professional game. Whilst it is seen as a second tier, there is no promotion and relegation with the A-League. But it has also continued to perform on the national stage. In the 2026 Australia Cup, which South Melbourne qualified for, they reached the final rounds and then produced one of the biggest results of the tournament.
Adelaide United came to Lakeside Stadium. South Melbourne won 2-1. Adelaide had won the Australia Cup three times. South knocked them out in front of its own supporters. They’re now into the quarter-finals of the 2026 Australia Cup.
South Melbourne celebrating the Australian Championship Image Credits: South Melbourne FC
The club also has a much bigger story to tell than its recent results. Alongside its four NSL victories, the club also won the 1999 Oceania Club Championship and represented Oceania at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. The club has a dedicated supporter base and the history to deserve a place.
The club says its Oceania Professional League participation has helped make it Australia’s 13th professional football club. It has more than 150 businesses supporting it in 2026 and a long-term arrangement at Lakeside Stadium, in the heart of South Melbourne.
On paper, it is difficult to argue that South Melbourne is not ready. The problem is that readiness and admission are two different things.
Third time’s the charm?
South Melbourne’s current push is not new. It has been here before. The club was pursuing an A-League return almost immediately after the NSL disappeared. In 2007, South announced its interest in becoming the second Victorian A-League club.
Then came the 2008-09 process. South Melbourne backed the Southern Cross bid for the second Victorian licence. The club proposed a new team based around the redevelopment of Bob Jane Stadium and involvement from the broader Victorian football community.
It lost. The Melbourne Heart bid won the race and eventually became Melbourne City. That was South Melbourne’s first major warning. Its football heritage was not enough. Its second major attempt came almost a decade later.
The 2017-18 expansion process produced the most serious South Melbourne bid yet. South made the shortlist for an expanded A-League licence. It ultimately lost to Western United. Bill Papastergiadis has since explained that he did not genuinely expect South Melbourne to win in 2018, despite believing strongly that the club belonged in the A-League. He also reflected on the barriers facing a traditional club trying to enter the existing Victorian professional football ecosystem.
That is important context for today’s bid. South Melbourne is not entering negotiations without understanding how difficult the politics and economics of the Victorian football market can be. The club has tried the direct route twice. Neither time worked.
The Western United lesson
This is where the current situation becomes complicated. In isolation, adding South Melbourne would be fantastic for the A-League. Imagine South Melbourne against Melbourne Victory. The atmosphere would be enormous.
There is a genuine football rivalry waiting to happen. South itself points to the potential for ready-made derbies and commercial interest. But the argument that Melbourne should simply have three A-League clubs because Melbourne is a huge city ignores what has just happened to Western United.
Western United was supposed to represent Melbourne’s rapidly growing west. Its original vision centred on a major project in Geelong. The club eventually moved into Ironbark Fields in Tarneit in 2024.
Yet the geographic separation never became as clear as the original concept suggested. Western United was not a Geelong club. It was not a regional Victorian club in the traditional sense. It was a western Melbourne club based and that matters.
The A-League already has Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. Adding South Melbourne would give the competition three clubs operating within the same metropolitan football market. It is not necessarily brilliant for the business model, which has already lost a club operating on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The NSL offers an interesting historical comparison. The Falcons provide an even more striking Victorian example. They became the first and only regional Victorian club to play in the NSL, reaching the finals in 1996. The distinction is important.
A national competition can expand its footprint by adding genuinely new markets. That is different from adding another club inside an existing Melbourne metropolitan market. That was what was envisioned for Western United, and it failed quickly.
Will the APL see South Melbourne as a safe investment? Despite the fact they’re a well-established club, I’d argue the answer is no.
Promotion and relegation is the only realistic route
There is one scenario where South Melbourne could eventually force its way into the A-League, and that’s the great missing piece of Australian football. Promotion and relegation. South Melbourne would not need somebody to decide that Melbourne suddenly has room for another licence. It would simply need to earn it.
They would have done just that in 2025, winning the Australian Championship if the football pyramid was open. Football Australia originally designed the National Second Tier with the possibility of promotion and relegation being considered once the competition matured.
The format connects NPL clubs and established foundation clubs with national competition. It does not provide a sporting pathway into the A-League. South Melbourne can win the Australian Championship, NSL and Australia Cup but none of those achievements automatically produce an A-League licence.
South Melbourne in the Oceania Championship Image Credits: Oceania Championship
Opening the pyramid is far more complicated than simply announcing promotion and relegation. Australia’s football calendar is fragmented. The A-League operates primarily through the summer months. The NPL operates through the winter and early spring. For the 2026-27 season, the A-League Men runs from October to June, while the NPL begins in February and finishes in September.
That creates an enormous structural problem for a fully connected pyramid. The clubs below the A-League would need to operate at a level capable of supporting professional football. If the A-League aligned with the NPL and the lower pyramid, it would compete in a football calendar that already has to coexist with Australia’s other major winter sports. That is a difficult feat against bigger leagues such as the AFL and NRL.
Beyond that, clubs lower down would need travel budgets and to survive commercially would take real sacrifice from all parties to make that work. The A-League’s existing clubs also have something to lose. They have invested heavily in their licences and their businesses.
Historically, A-League licences were extended through to 2034, while those licence arrangements have included provisions allowing promotion and relegation to be introduced. But the existing clubs will do everything in their power to block it. Promotion and relegation removes certainty. An A-League club can finish last in the current system with no threat to their place. Under relegation, its place is no longer guaranteed.
That is a major commercial change for clubs that have invested in securing their position in the competition. It is therefore difficult to imagine the A-League opening the door. The A-League’s licensing system gives the competition enormous control over who enters, and for South Melbourne historically they’ve been left out in the cold.
South Melbourne deserves the conversation.
The frustrating part is South Melbourne has probably never had a stronger argument. It has history, supporters, infrastructure, commercial support and most importantly, ambition. Beating A-League clubs in national competition proves the capability is there.
It deserves to be in the conversation. But being in the conversation is not the same as being selected. The Western United experience should be a warning. If the A-League could not make the Western United project work, it is difficult to see why it would suddenly decide that another Melbourne club is the answer.
South Melbourne may be the better football story. It may even be the better football club. But the A-League is not simply selecting the best football story.
It is selecting a professional competition, and until Australia embraces a genuine promotion and relegation system, South Melbourne’s path back to the top flight will remain dependent on someone handing it a licence.
That is the part of the dream that looks unrealistic. South Melbourne can keep knocking and it should. They always say third time’s the charm. But unless the pyramid is opened, I expect the door to remain closed.
Socceroos winger Nestory Irankunda has completed a move to Portuguese champions Sporting CP for a reported fee of up to $32 million, making it one of the largest transfers involving an Australian footballer.
Irankunda who most recently played for Watford in the English Championship has signed a 5-year deal with the Portuguese giants.
Following a successful World Cup campaign there were a number of European clubs circling the 20-year-old Australian.
The prospect of playing UEFA Champions League football was a major factor in Irankunda’s decision to join the Lisbon outfit
“Any child or person who loves football dreams of playing in the UEFA Champions League. Having this opportunity will be fantastic and a dream come true”
Irankunda becomes the second Socceroos player to complete a major European transfer this window, joining Lucas Herrington in securing a high-profile move.
Sporting announced the signing with a social media video featuring Michael Jackson’s Bad. A nod to Irankunda’s well-known admiration for the pop icon as the Australian begins the next chapter of his career.
The move continues Sporting’s tradition of recruiting and developing emerging talent, with the Lisbon club renowned for producing players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Luís Figo and Nani.
For Australian football, Irankunda’s move represents another significant milestone, highlighting the growing reputation of Australian players in Europe.
Reinforcing the increasing demand for Socceroos talent across some of the continent’s biggest clubs.
