About 'Football Continent' and Introductions

Hi there, and welcome to my football blog. I have blogged on and off over the years about various things but found myself struggling for content and meaning. There really didn't seem to be a great reason to justify spending hours writing about an experience when probably a handful of people at the most read and appreciated the articles. The predecessor to this blog, albeit with a different domain, was a travelogue largely focused on my travels through the Philippines and Japan. I intend to continue my affinity with the Asian region through this blog, Football Continent. Football Continent hopes to provide and provoke discussion and debate about topical football issues from around the vast Asian Football Confederation; from club football to international football, from Australia to Japan to Saudi Arabia, from supporters issues to the negotiations at AFC headquarters.

There are indeed a lot of places on the internet for football fans to engage in lively, well-informed, and respectful discussion and debate regarding football matters. I already spend a lot of time writing about football on the internet through forums and comments on media. Through this blog I hope to further articulate my football opinions and create an organised space for them.

Football is the world game, and this means trying to listen to and appreciate a lot of opinions and styles, but above all trying to understand everything in a global context. I value football as a mechanism of understanding and co-operation between people and governments. It goes without saying though that things don't always end amicably in football circles.

Australia's historic move into the Asian Football Confederation, for instance, received far less attention than it deserved in the Australian media in light of the economic, political, and social (identity) ramifications for Australia. It will irrevocably change how Australia is viewed throughout the Asian region.

For the sake of transparency perhaps it would be wise to inform you that I am Australian, a supporter of Melbourne Victory in Australia's A-League and indeed the Australian national football team. Any perceived bias of preference for content regarding Australian football matters in particular largely reflects the superior knowledge I possess of Australian football issues and the Australian football media. Nevertheless, I shall endeavour to cover as much football as I can from every corner of Asia.

To my Japanese speaking friends, Football Continent will one day be available for reading in Japanese. The content and complexity of ideas featured in the Japanese articles will in the meantime, however, be decidedly less than what is offered in the English articles as I continue to grapple with the Japanese language.

Thanks for checking Football Continent out, and please feel free to comment on anything you see in the blog or send me an email. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated.

Clinton Moore