Australian soccer’s latest club-versus-country fight is actually a sign of progress

October 22, 2026 — 2:00am

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It didn’t take long for the new A-League season to trigger an existential crisis. It took just one game: last week’s stinker of a Sydney derby, which prompted a series of sky-is-falling takes about the quality of the two clubs and the overall direction of the competition.

Just a few days later, we’re already up to existential crisis No.2.

In a classic club-versus-country row, Sydney FC have decided to block Akol Akon from playing for Australia in next month’s FIFA U-17 World Cup. Cue the predictable outrage about self-interested clubs damaging our national teams, and how Australian soccer continues to cut off its nose to spite its face.

It’s tempting to frame Sydney FC as the big, bad, privately owned villain here, working against the game’s broader interests. That would be unfair.

Here’s a thought: maybe this is a good thing, actually. Rather than being a symptom of a sick code that can never get anything right, perhaps it is a sign of the growing maturity of our footballing ecosystem.

Sydney FC may not have made the right decision here – that’s open to debate – but as the club responsible for Akon’s day-to-day development, they should have the right to make whatever decision they like.

The........

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