Sometimes sport gives you exactly what you want exactly when you need it.
Australian football fans can vouch for that after the Socceroos qualified for the FIFA World Cup round-of-16 for just the second time in their history on December 1 (AEDT) in Qatar.
Football Mid North Coast chairman Lance Fletcher now hopes the 1-0 win over Denmark will inspire the region's next generation of players in the same way the Socceroos' class of 2006 did.
No fewer than seven of Australia's 26-man 2022 World Cup touring squad have progressed through Australia's domestic competition.
"We've got to explain to our kids that there is a future and I noticed in a lot of interviews a lot of the players said they want young kids back home to follow in their footsteps," Fletcher said.
"A lot of Australian success in a lot of sport comes directly from the heart."
After a COVID-affected last two seasons, Fletcher said the timing couldn't have been better for the code.
"This will again put our grassroots football back on the map," he said.
When the Socceroos progressed past the group stages at Germany in 2006, player registration numbers soared for ensuing seasons.
Fletcher felt a similar sort of thing could happen ahead of the 2023 local season.
"The increase in numbers we had in 2006 was incredible," he said.
"Given where we've been with COVID the last couple of years, hopefully this will be the springboard to get a lot more kids involved in the game and off their PlayStations."
Fletcher also acknowledged the result highlighted there are opportunities for young players.
"Hopefully this will inspire more kids to want to aspire to play in High Performance groups," he said.
"It has a huge flow-on effect and on top of that with the Women's World Cup next year, it can only be great for our game."
The FMNC chairman even dared to dream of what might happen at 6am on Sunday morning (December 4) when the Socceroos face Argentina.
"I can see us doing really well on Sunday and [if] we win Sunday... the world is our oyster," he said.
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