From Détente to Distrust: Soccer's Place in Post-World War I Melbourne

Abstract

Immediately after WW1, soccer had acquired a small but secure place in Melbourne sports culture. Soccer's commitment to the war effort potentially gave its adherents entry to the foundations of a new national mythology. Increasing migrant numbers in the 1920s grew the number of soccer's participants and supporters. Perhaps counterintuitively, this growth was accompanied by a growing distance between the game and notions of Australianness. This paper traces the cooling of soccer's welcome in Melbourne between 1920 and 1934 to the point where the game was cast to the margins of Australian identity.