In Australia, the national representative team of many sports has a nickname, used informally when referring to the team in the media or in conversation. These nicknames are typically derived from well-known symbols of Australia. Often the nickname is combined with that of a commercial sponsor, such as the "Qantas Wallabies" or the "Telstra Dolphins". Some names are a portmanteau word with second element -roo, from kangaroo; such as "Olyroos" for the Olympic association football team.
The oldest nicknames are Kangaroos and Wallabies for the rugby league and rugby union teams; these were first applied by British newspapers to Australian touring sides in Britain.[1] Similar animal nicknames exist for other national rugby teams (e.g. the South AfricanSpringboks, the British and Irish Lions). The other names are more recent, mostly invented to help publicise sports not traditionally popular in Australia. Among the longer-established sports, the cricket, Davis Cup tennis, and netball teams have no common nickname. Cricket Australia surveyed supporters in 1998 about a possible nickname: the consensus was opposed to adopting any, partly because the best names were already taken by other teams.[2]
In 2005, Football Federation Australia, the national governing body for football (soccer) in Australia, announced that the nickname The Socceroos would be phased out with the team simply referred to as the Australian National Football team. However, there is no certainty that the general public and common usage will follow the wishes of FFA and a sponsorship deal with Qantas means that the nickname will still be used in the short term.
Encyclopedia
top
