Why an Australian football Netflix series is needed

Netflix boast just under 200 million subscribers worldwide and have released several sports documentaries over the last few years. However, we are yet to see an Australian football Netflix series – an opportunity that should be taken advantage of.

There is a market for these types of documentaries as Netflix is not the only streaming service that features sport docuseries. Amazon Prime has produced also produced documentaries on Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

One of the most popular football docuseries has been Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die. The show which provided a behind the scenes view of the club was one of the most watched programs on Netflix in the UK during the week of the release of the second season.

Sunderland has received global recognition off the back of the popularity of the show.

Stewart Donald, owner and former chairman of Sunderland told ChronicleLive that there are lots of reasons why the documentary is good for the club.

“My initial thought with it was, there aren’t many football clubs that can have a global brand, but if you’ve got a Netflix documentary and it goes right, you can get that out to the world and maybe you might get a few people who come along and get emotionally involved in Sunderland who otherwise wouldn’t have,” he said.

“If our name goes out to 20 or 30 million people on Netflix, or however many it might be, that can only be good for the club.”

There are several possibilities for an Australian football docuseries. The show could follow a single A-League club’s season, in the same vein to the Sunderland or Manchester City programs.

Other documentaries have focused on a season of a series or championship as a whole. Netflix’s Formula 1 docuseries Drive to Survive involves several different teams and features a different storyline each episode.

One million households streamed Drive to Survive within the first 28 days of season two’s release according to research agency Digital-i.

An A-League version of this could cover the biggest storylines and moments of the season.

Documentaries have also focused on the national team of a sporing organisation such as Amazon Prime’s The Test which documents the Australian cricket team’s redemption following the ball tampering scandal in 2018.

A series that follows the qualification process of an Australian team for a FIFA World Cup would be a particularly interesting documentary series given the high stakes involved.

The exposure gained from an Australian football Netflix series could be a great opportunity to either introduce people to Australian football or reinvigorate their love for the game.

Drive to Survive has seen an increase an interest for the sport in the US, which is not a traditional market for Formula 1.

Earlier this year Renault Formula 1 Driver Daniel Ricciardo appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah where he discussed the impact that Drive to Survive has had in the US.

“I definitely feel F1 is becoming much more of a thing here in the States. Drive to Survive put it on the map,” he said.

“I spend a bit of time in the States, and up until a year ago, not really anyone would say ‘Hi’ to me – not in a bad way, but they wouldn’t recognise me for being an F1 driver.

“And now it’s all: ‘We saw you on Netflix, it was great, Drive to Survive.’ We wear helmets, so not many people can see our faces a lot of the time.

Given the younger demographic of streaming service users, a docuseries could create a new generation of fans for football in Australia. Depending on the success of the series, it could even inspire more young Australians to play the world game.

At an event for 188Bet in March 2020, F1’s Managing Director of Motorsport Ross Brawn, said that the Netflix series had seen positive impacts for the sport.

“What we’ve discovered is it’s been very appealing to the non race fan: in fact it turned them into race fans,” Brawn said.

“Some of the promoters in the past season have said they’ve definitely measured the increase in interest in F1 that has come from the Netflix series.

“And while Netflix in itself wasn’t for us a hugely profitable venture, in terms of giving greater coverage for F1, it’s been fantastic.

While Football Federation Australia, the A-League and its clubs would not be able to demand the millions of dollars that other clubs and organisations are paid for their participation in a documentary, it could provide a cash boost for the organisations.

Ryan Reynolds has partnered with fellow actor Rob McElhenney to purchase Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, who compete in the fifth tier of English football, the National League.

Part of Reynolds and McElhenney’s takeover bid involves plans for a documentary series that follows the events of the team.

Bloomberg spoke to Ampere Analysis analyst Richard Broughton, who said that it would not be unreasonable for a streaming service to pay several hundred thousand pounds per hour for the broadcast rights to a show.

An Australian football Netflix series would be extremely beneficial for the sport in this country.

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PIF Strengthens Ties with FIFA

FIFA has announced Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) as an official partner of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

The long-term partnership between PIF and FIFA sees the former named as an official partner of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup, kicking off a broader collaboration aimed at boosting youth participation and supporting grassroots football development.

Details about specific programs and initiatives are expected to be announced soon.

The deal was revealed a week before the tournament began in the U.S. on June 14.

While full information is still limited, an official statement from FIFA and PIF described the partnership as a reflection of their shared goal to grow global participation in sports by creating new opportunities, encouraging innovation, and connecting with fans worldwide.

The announcement also emphasised a focus on young people, noting that the partnership will help support FIFA’s grassroots efforts to engage and inspire the next generation of players.

PIF is the latest organisation to join the roster of Club World Cup partners, alongside established FIFA sponsors like Adidas, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Hisense, Lenovo, and Qatar Airways—all of which already have ongoing relationships with FIFA.

PIF also owns a majority stake in Al Hilal, the only team from Saudi Arabia competing in this year’s tournament.

FIFA’s Chief Business Officer Romy Gai welcomed PIF as a partner for the 2025 Club World Cup, emphasising their shared vision to globalise football and the vital role partners play in both the tournament’s success and the broader development of club football.

“We are delighted to welcome PIF as a partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025,” Gai said in a press release.

“Together, we look forward to delivering a historic tournament that inspires and unites fans from around the world.

“The partners of the first-ever 32-team FIFA Club World Cup believe in our vision to make football truly global.

“Their support of the tournament will not only be integral to its success but will underpin investment in supporting the development of club football everywhere.”

The partnership between FIFA and PIF marks a strategic alliance aimed at elevating the global profile of club football while fostering youth engagement and grassroots development through the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup.

AFC signs five-year scouting partnership with Hudl

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced a five-year scouting rights agreement with Hudl, one of the top names in sports performance technology and video analysis.

As part of this collaboration, the AFC’s match footage and data will be available on the Hudl Wyscout platform—the world’s largest football video and data database.

This will provide coaches, analysts, scouts, and player development professionals with access to in-depth insights across all AFC-organised competitions.

Hudl, which has supported over 8 million sports professionals worldwide with its advanced video and performance analysis tools, will carry AFC content for the next five seasons.

This includes major tournaments like the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26, the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027, and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026.

The agreement also covers AFC’s youth tournaments, such as the AFC U23 Asian Cup and multiple editions of the men’s and women’s AFC U20 and U17 Asian Cups, along with the continent’s top club competitions—the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, and the AFC Women’s Champions League—through the 2024/25 to 2028/29 seasons.

AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John said the partnership with Hudl will strengthen the AFC’s data capabilities and give coaches and technical staff deeper insights to improve analysis and scouting.

Data analytics and technology have become an integral part of modern football in recent years, and the AFC is pleased to sign this scouting rights agreement with Hudl,” he said in a press release.

“This strategic arrangement will not only enhance our data and statistical collection but will also empower our coaches and technical staff with access to more detailed and in-depth information, which in turn will elevate their analytical and scouting capabilities.”

Hudl’s Elite Partnership Manager Mateo Bourrut Lacouture said the agreement marks a significant advancement by giving clubs and national teams across Asia full access to high-quality video and data on Wyscout.

“This agreement is a major step forward for clubs, national teams, and analysts across Asia and beyond,” Lacouture said in a press release.

“With the AFC overseeing all top club competitions and the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ in the region, having full coverage on Wyscout ensures that teams can access high-quality video and data for both scouting and in-depth performance analysis of the AFC Competitions.

This will empower clubs and federations to make more informed decisions, enhance player development, and elevate the level of competition.”

The AFC–Hudl partnership marks a transformative step in Asian football, ushering in a new era of data-driven scouting and performance analysis set to elevate the game across all levels over the next five seasons.

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