Football Belongs: Australia's Football Identity

Three years after we first launched the award-winning Football Belongs podcast series, Matilda Emma Checker is our guest and author Fiona Crawford reprises her role in this special bonus episode. They join series inspiration and author John Didulica and our host David Davutovic as they discuss the revolution that has swallowed Australia throughout the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™. After an earlier...

The incredible limited series from Optus Sport, Football Belongs , hosted by David Davutovic and authored by John Didulica, and featuring a host of prominent sporting personalities in this country, has been nominated for two awards in the upcoming 2021 Australian Podcast Awards: Best Sports Podcast Best Indigenous Podcast If you haven't yet taken the time to soak up the depth of this series, here...

Former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, Matildas great Kate Gill and journalist Francis Leach are our special guests, as we close out the Football Belongs podcast series. They join series inspiration John Didulica and our host David Davutovic in a passionate discussion on: Looking forward to the future of the game in Australia The event that could create a new path How will the game and its peopl...

In the penultimate episode of the series, former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, Football Australia chairman Chris Nikou and sports reporter Richard Hinds join John Didulica and David Davutovic to discuss football in this country through the lens of a particular match. This episode looks at: The incredible 2015 Asian Cup campaign and gripping final between Australia and South Korea A concept tha...

Matildas greats Kate Gill and Tal Karp plus current star Tameka Yallop, along with esteemed writer and academic Fiona Crawford, join John Didulica and David Davutovic for a strong-hearted discussion about the gulf that was (partially) bridged after a brave move by a group of Aussie football players. In this episode: The match between USA v Australia in Detroit, Michigan in September 2015, and why...

Esteemed football historian & author Roy Hay and researcher & blogger Paul Mavroudis join John Didulica and David Davutovic for the latest instalment of Football Belongs. The match in focus is a day in 1964 when the VFL All-Stars took on Slavia-Port Melbourne, in front of tens of thousands of fans at Olympic Park. Some incredible stories feature in this episode, including: How the game of...

There are still four incredible episodes to come in the limited edition Football Belongs series, in which John Didulica and David Davutovic will be joined by a host of engaging personalities to speak on these truly important topics. If you haven't already, here's your chance to catch up on the first six episodes, as well as make your way through the chapters that have been compiled by John Didulic...

Ros Moriarty and Travis Dodd are the special guests on this episode of Football Belongs, as they join John Didulica and David Davutovic to have a powerful conversation about: The outrageous notion of Aussie football superstar John Moriarty being selected to represent his country - before being allowed to vote An unheralded role football and its migrant communities played in embracing the First Nat...

Cultural cringe: it runs through our entire cultural and political zeitgeist in Australia, and as former Socceroo Paul Trimboli and broadcaster Francis Leach join John Didulica and David Davutovic, they discuss this in detail, including: The 81 minute 'classic' between Australia and AC Milan at Princes Park in 1993 How cultural cringe played a part in Ange Postecoglou's shock 2017 Socceroos exit W...

Australia has been shaped by a persistent - often irrational - obsession with borders. As an accompaniment to the next chapter in the Football Belongs series: "Borders", which you can read at https://sport.optus.com.au/, John Didulica and David Davutovic are joined by broadcaster and Socceroos great Craig Foster for a deep and moving discussion on: The early days of the fledgling National Soccer L...

The Legend of ANZAC sits in the awareness of most Australians. But why is it that football seems to be left behind in the conversation, when the game has such a rich history with the ANZAC spirit? John Didulica and David Davutovic are joined by Socceroos legend Ray Baartz and Victoria University academic and author Ian Syson to discuss: The Socceroos' 3-2 win over South Korea in the final of the 1...

David Davutovic and John Didulica are joined by Socceroos legend John Aloisi and Australian public policy academic and author Andrew Wear to continue the conversation on multiculturalism. In this episode, the focus is on one particular game: that epic 2006 FIFA World Cup match between Australia and Croatia. HEAR: The dilemma a large contingent of Croatian-Australians faced How one match showed the...

David Davutovic and John Didulica are joined by renowned football media personalities Andy Harper and Tracey Holmes to set the scene for the series. The group discuss multiculturalism in Australia, ask why the world game has struggled to gain a foothold across the country, how British colonialism adversely affected its impact, and they touch on seminal moments including: The Socceroos' 2006 FIFA W...

Arriving 4th December: Optus Sport's new instalment of the Football Belongs title: a podcast series charting the cultural threads of Australian society through the lens of nine football matches. Produced & edited by Lucas Perry, Optus Sport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.