The move will not come into effect until 2014, however, after Communications Minister Stephen Conroy accepted Football Federation Australia's pleas that to do so now would cost them millions of dollars in penalties from their existing deal with Fox Sports.
Conroy said: “We will be placing the Socceroos matches on the anti-siphoning list in the near future; however, there is a significant financial penalty for FFA if this overlaps with the terms of its contract with Fox Sports.
“The listing will only come into effect at the end of the existing contract. Socceroos World Cup qualifiers are of national importance to Australians. Like the Wallabies, Kangaroos, Ashes cricket Tests and Australian Open tennis, these matches should be available to all Australians”.
The FFA’s seven-year, A$120 million deal with Fox Sports for the exclusive rights for all Socceroos home qualifying matches and A-League matches helped secure the game's short-term future when it was signed on the eve of the 2006 World Cup. The rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups have already been sold to SBS directly by Fifa.
