Reflections on Race, Regionalism and Geopolitical Trends via Australian Soccer

Asia's Land Down Under: the Socceroos and the 2015 Asian Cup

“…According to Carniel (2012Carniel ( : 2410, 'Despite the elasticity or vagueness of the term Asia, it remains difficult to extend its meaning to incorporate Australia'. Indeed, Carniel argues that 'Both Australia and Asia require a significant shift in their thinking -to see themselves as belonging to the same neighbourhood, if not family -in order for regional relations to progress positively'.…”

“…In the case of the latter, how things had changed since the days when it was an 'anxious nation' confronted by the rise of Asia in the years between 1850 and 1939 and when considerable energy was invested in establishing that the country was neither Aboriginal nor Asian (Walker, 2012). Indeed, 'Australia's racial and spatial anxiety has manifested itself in various ways but none appears more focused on Asia than its notorious White Australia policy' which was formalised in the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 (Carniel, 2012(Carniel, : 2408. Official and popular attitudes towards the Oceanic nations were no better.…”

“…How significant is the Asian Cup triumph in terms of Australia's relationship with Asia in general and the countries of East Asia in particular? One significant obstacle to further progress lies in the fact that 'nations from both central Asia and the Middle East belong to the AFC, and… new iterations of anti-Asian and now anti-Arab sentiment undoubtedly affect Australia's reputation in dealing with these nations' (Carniel, 2012(Carniel, : 2410.…”

“…For example, as Milner and Johnson (2001: 13) have argued, 'The question that must concern Australians is where we are positioned in the context of the contending ideas of "Asia", which are emerging in the region today'. The question is difficult if not impossible to answer for the simple reason that as Carniel (2012Carniel ( : 2406) notes, 'Historically, Australia has had an ambiguous relationship with Asia both as a concept and as a region'.…”