When Arsenal won the UK Premier League a few weeks ago, over a million people flooded the streets of North London for the victory parade. It was a massive celebration, 22 years in the making.
Now imagine the same thing happening in Sydney or Melbourne for the team that wins the Australian A-League title. A bit harder to picture, right?
If you're an international student in Australia, the sports culture here might surprise you. Back home, soccer (or football, as it’s more commonly known) might be the number one sport. Here, it has to compete for attention with AFL, rugby, cricket and netball. So does Australia actually care about soccer? Let’s find out!
Soccer Is the Most Played Sport in Australia
Here's something many people don't know: soccer is Australia's most played team sport! In 2024, almost 2 million Australians played football through clubs, schools and community programs. There are over 3,300 clubs across the country, and nearly half of all Australian kids aged 6-13 have played the game at some point.
So yes, plenty of Australians play soccer, but the number of people who follow the professional league is another story.
The A-League vs. the AFL
Australia's top soccer league, the A-League Men, averages around 9,000 fans per game. The biggest match of the 2024-25 season, the Sydney derby, drew about 33,000. Not bad, but not quite a sellout!
Compare that to Australian rules football (AFL). In 2025, the AFL averaged over 38,000 fans per game, with some matches drawing close to 100,000. The AFL Grand Final fills the MCG every single year in September. In Melbourne especially, AFL is a way of life, with club loyalties passed down through generations.
Soccer is still building that kind of connection with Aussie fans. The A-League is growing (attendance has risen for three straight seasons), but it's still a long way behind AFL and rugby league.
The Matildas: changing the game
If anything has shifted the way Australians feel about soccer in recent years, it's Australia’s national women’s team, the Matildas. Matildas fever hit its peak at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which Australia co-hosted with New Zealand.
The Matildas made the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time ever, beating France in the longest penalty shootout in World Cup history. Ask any Aussie you know - they’ll remember where they were when they watched Cortnee Vine score the winning penalty! Their semi-final against England became the most-watched TV broadcast in Australian history, averaging 7.13 million viewers and peaking at over 11 million.
The impact of this success was felt straight away. In the year following the World Cup, over 20,000 more women and girls signed up to play football across the country.
How to get involved in soccer in Australia
Whether you're a football fanatic or a total beginner, here's how to be part of the beautiful game in Australia:
Join a club or uni team
With thousands of clubs around the country and social competitions at most universities, it's easy to find a game at any level. Find your nearest club at Play Football, or visit your uni website to join a team on campus.
Watch the Socceroos at the World Cup
Australia will be competing at the upcoming FIFA Men’s World Cup, starting this week. Follow the Socceroos on social media for match schedules and check out Fanzo for pubs and bars showing the games. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, so get ready to set an early alarm or two! Depending on the match, kick-off times can range from the middle of the night to early morning, with the Socceroos match vs the USA starting at 5 am AEST.
