Season 2026 begins. What, already? Yes.

The most important thing right now about the Oceania Pro League - HOW TO WATCH IT!
In order to watch our matches in the Oceania Pro League, you will need to download the FIFA+ app on to your phone. As far as I'm aware, there will be no other broadcast channels available to Australians to watch this thing. The good news for those who, like me, hate downloading yet another app, is that you can cast the stream to your TV, and even better, it doesn't seem like you need to sign up to anything to watch the streams.

I also had to download the Futbol24 app, which I've otherwise done without the past year or two, because it automatically adjusts kickoff times to my current timezone. 

Several other less important things about the Oceania Pro League
This Oceania Pro League business is strange on many levels, but especially its quietness. The lack of hype, promotion, and social media spectacle in comparison to its utterly gauche opposite (in the form of the Australian Championship) is there for all to see. But rather than spend a lot of time writing about what to expect from this Pro League business, I was invited by a podcaster to give a South fan's perspective on the matter. I thought it came across OK, but as always, it is just one South fan's point of view, not the view of all South fans.

The first half of the podcast begins with South Melbourne general manager Strati Xynas explaining how South fits into this new league - including some details about the regional sporting diplomatic angle - as well as hinting towards the broader strategic direction the club is looking to take. It's actually rather encouraging to see one of our people talking openly and at some length, and without too much PR guff, about what the club's strategic direction actually is.

As for my contribution in the second half of the episode, it's the usual thoughtful, well-considered, and utterly lacking in personal grandstanding content that you've become accustomed to over the years, both on here and in person. 

But one of my brothers said I came across as smug! Can you believe such a thing? Me? Smug!

Anyway, you can watch this podcast here or Spotify or on Apple podcasts.