The media plays an important role in the Australian sports scene, with many sporting events broadcast on radio and television free of charge. Many TV shows, radio programs and magazines are devoted solely to sports.
As a country, Australia competes in many international events, including the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The country has also hosted the Summer Olympics once in Melbourne (1956) and once in Sydney (2000), in addition to the Commonwealth Games on five other occasions.
In this episode of Australia Explained we talk about a few of the most popular sports in the country, Australian Football, Rugby League, cricket and tennis, and explain some of the rules of each. Listen to the episode here:
Rugby League
Once known as Australia's working-class game, this status has changed over time. It’s one of the most important sports for contributing to the unification of the multicultural communities across Australia.
For spectators, Rugby League is the second most popular sport and competes with the AFL for most watched on national television. This game is most popular in New South Wales and Queensland.
Sydney-based performance analyst Marc Leabres has been working with Cronulla Sharks, one of the NRL teams in NSW, for the past eight years. He shares his love for rugby league and explains the differences between rugby union, rugby league, football and soccer.
Marc Leabres (right photo) proudly donning Cronulla Sharks' uniform; In right photo, Marc Leabres in his last rugby game in the Philippines in 2013. Source: Supplied by Marc Leabres
Australian Football
Australian Rules Football, also known as AFL or ‘footy’, is the most popular national sport in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
For these states, the AFL is one of the main topics of conversation at nearly every social event and is often an ongoing, yet enthusiastic, competition between colleagues and friends.
One of the most important AFL events is the Sir Doug Nicholls Round, which celebrates and recognises Indigenous players and culture. It was named in honour of Sir Doug, the first Indigenous person to be knighted. He played 54 games for Fitzroy, before becoming Governor of South Australia.
Strangely enough, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is the home of footy.
Central Coast mum Jezalyn Jham Mendoza plays for Northern Galaxy's Over 35s in northern Sydney. Jham started playing football at the young age of 9. She fondly shares how happy she is being part of her local football club and her 6-year-old son also now plays football too.
Cricket
Jezalyn Jham Mendoza (kicking the ball) plays for the Over 35s of her local football team Northern Galaxy in northern Sydney. Source: Northern Galaxy as supplied by Jham Mendoza
Australia has an international reputation in cricket and for many Australians is the sport defining every summer. More than one million Australians participate in cricket competitions or programs, according to 2017-18 National Cricket Census data.
More than two million people attend cricket matches each summer, with numbers increasing every year.
Current female participation in cricket is at 30 per cent, with six out of 10 newcomers to the sport being female.
A whole family playing cricket at their backyard, Source: Getty Images/Peter M. Fisher
Tennis
Melbourne is host to the first Grand Slam tennis event in every calendar year – the Australian Open.
Although tennis is only the ninth most watched sport in Australia, it appears in the third most-played sport after fitness and golf. About one million Australians, aged 15 or over, play tennis.
Dexter Chung, an IT professional from Sydney, shares his love for tennis and its benefits along with other Australian sports.
Regardless of our cultural background and interests in life, sport and its clubs in Australia give its fans a common identity with millions and a sense of belonging to a community. Sport in Australia has its own world and has a great role in establishing cultural pluralism and strengthening the bonding of its members with one another.
Australia Explained was originally created by Maram Ismail for SBS Arabic24. You can also listen to the podcast in Mandarin, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Thai and Turkish.
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