According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, outdoor soccer was the second most popular organised sport for Australian children after swimming. It far outstripped the popularity of the three other football codes that are played in Australia- rugby league, rugby union and Australian Rules football.

Yet the soccer participation phenomenon in Australia is matched neither by the media coverage of the game in these countries, nor by the academic interest in the game. With a few notable exceptions in academic sports history, the game of soccer remains understudied in comparison with the...