Australia’s Dr. Hunter Fujak believes that the Australian Football League (AFL) is practically unassailable in its position at the centre of Australian football culture. Despite AFL’s supremacy, Code Wars does not attempt to say which football code is the ‘best’ or ‘worst’, but it looks at the uniqueness of the Australian sporting landscape and considers issues such as:
- Why the Melbourne and Sydney sporting cultures are so different.
- Why Wagga Wagga has produced so many elite athletes of multiple sports.
- Will the AFL ultimately crush its competitors.
- Whether concussion will one day wipe out contact football altogether.
- Impacts of globalisation and technology on soccer
- Unique sporting market in Australia
- City and regional comparisons for Victoria and across Australia
- How grassroots engagement is key to future success
- Growth in women’s support of Rugby League
- The top down approach of Rugby Union
- Broadcasting rights and streaming war
Fujak says the book is for those whose interest in football and sport extends beyond what goes on on-the-field, and what shapes that which goes on off-the-field.
Based on data from Fujak’s PhD dissertation, Code Wars translates academic scholarly research into something tangible – and no doubt highly debatable – for the real world. Dr Hunter Fujak is a Lecturer in Sports Management at Deakin University in Melbourne. His PhD was awarded by UTS in Sydney and explored consumer behaviour in sport.
Code Wars is published by Fair Play Publishing and is available in direct from the publisher or from bookstores at A$34.99 or digitally as an ebook.
