Asking too much?

If soccer can not capitalise on current fever pitch excitement to take a slice of other sporting codes’ dollars, what chance does cycling have, asks Anthony Tan?

On Friday, the only sporting code that has a greater country participation than that other four-yearly sporting event, the Olympic Games, begins in South Africa.

In terms of participation at all levels, no other sport can match the ubiquity of soccer, er, I mean football.

The state where I live when not chasing men on two wheels around Europe or Asia, NSW, boasts more than 200,000 active players.

The national women's team, the Matildas, defied pundits last week by winning the Asian Cup in truly inspirational, nail-biting style, defeating North Korea in a penalty shoot-out.

For a second consecutive occasion, Australia has qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals and excitement is at fever pitch, where the Socceroos are due to face off against Germany, semi-finalists at the 2006 event, next Monday, 14 June.

The top-tier national men's competition, the A-League, is healthier than ever, thanks in large part to Australian-Israeli businessman Frank Lowy, chairman of Football Federation Australia, founder of property giant Westfield and a man with a lifelong passion for the sport, who has underwritten much of its development.

Now comes the disconnect.

Despite a tripling of dollars in the past five years through brands including Hyundai, Qantas, Schweppes and Sony, annual sponsorship is an estimated – wait for it – $24 million, according to research group Sweeney.

$24 million a year. A considerably lower figure than that of Australian Rules Football and rugby league. In cycling terms, that will get you one year at ProTour level, and you'll be scraping the bottom of the barrel by the time the Vuelta a España comes around.

And despite the ubiquitous nature of soccer and a handful of big-name brands supporting an improved domestic competition, the code shares a similar predicament with cycling: it cannot retain its blue riband stars in Australia.

In cycling as in football, past the AIS, it's impossible to develop "generation next" without going abroad. Europe is the heartland: it's where the Grand Tours are and always will be, it's where the Classics are and will be, and that will never change.

I'm not saying cycling at all levels can't continue to grow in Australia or elsewhere outside of Europe. The United States is a prime example.

But to support an Australian owned and operated ProTour team that fans can regularly see in the flesh, as much as I'd like to see that happen, is a little overzealous and expecting too much.

With the Socceroos' past World Cup success firmly in mind, the 2010 edition imminent and a realistic bid to host the 2018 World Cup under way, the potential for soccer to take on other sporting codes has never been greater.

However if a man like Lowy can't make that happen, what chance does cycling have to be viewed by most as anything other than a second-class sport, in a country of just 22 million people?

Soccer's A-League will never become greater than the English Premier League or UEFA Champions League, just as cycling's National Road Series will never eclipse the UCI ProTour or the Historical Calendar.

In cycling and soccer, perhaps we should simply celebrate Australians' success – truly prolific so far this season – whatever colours they wear, and the odd occasion when they do get together in the green and gold, cheer that little bit more.

Especially this September, when for the first time ever, the world road championships will be held in our own backyard.