The Rise of Australasia

Chapter 794 -594: The Grandeur of the King’s Cup_1

In 1924, there were two major sports events worldwide: one was the Summer Olympic Games held in Paris, France, and the other was the football King’s Cup held every four years in Sydney, Australasia.

Although the history of the Olympic Games far exceeds that of the King’s Cup in football, with top powers like Britain-France-Australia having hosted it and attracting dozens of countries to participate, bringing together more than 2,000 athletes to compete in the Games.

But if one starts from the perspective of fame and the richness of the prize money, the current King’s Cup in football is not inferior to the Olympic Games and even slightly exceeds them in terms of attention.

This is no joke; in 1920, the cost of holding the first King’s Cup in football was over 3.78 million Australian dollars, and the prize money for the competition was around 500,000 Australian dollars.

Apart from the cost of hosting and competition prize money, at least 2.5 million Australian dollars were spent on publicity, which is also the reason why the King’s Cup in football rapidly became a world-famous sports event.

Especially in Australasia, the champion of the King’s Cup in football could receive an audience with Arthur, which proved to be a fatal attraction for the Australasian Football Association, and an irresistible reward for those Australasian football athletes.

In order to ensure that the King’s Cup in football was attractive to various countries, there was no favoritism in the hosting of the first Cup. It was fundamentally fair and just.

However, at present, European Nations and Powers still have the advantage in the field of sports events. After all, only the citizens of these countries have enough funds to engage in sports.

For most people, engaging in sports is not just about interest; basketball requires a court, football requires a football pitch, and even running requires the respective professional training facilities, if not just a common pair of sneakers.

Especially since participating in the King’s Cup in football requires a nation’s official football Association, it’s naturally impossible for some small and medium-sized countries with unstable political situations to establish an official football Association.

This resulted in only 22 countries signing up to participate in the first King’s Cup in football, with the champion ultimately being the non-favored Australasian football team.

After all, Australasia had the advantage of fighting on home turf, saving the time expenses of travel. Additionally, since Sydney hosted the Olympic Games, the country has given considerable attention to sports, investing a portion of funds each year to subsidize various athletes and constructing respective sports facilities and venues, pushing the training level of Australasian football athletes ever higher.

With the wisdom of hindsight, Arthur knew a principle well: that before expecting the people to achieve results in a certain area, one must first create a corresponding stable development environment for them.

If one wants Australasia to achieve results in football, the establishment of football fields and corresponding training facilities and ensuring the people have enough time to watch sports events and cultivate an interest in sports is most crucial.

Fortunately, at present, the citizens of Australasia still have a certain amount of leisure time, which has laid a solid foundation for the thriving development of the sports industry in Australasia.

Furthermore, with the current sports Associations and Sports Departments grading and registering athletes, those who are registered and recognized by the nation can receive high subsidies from the country, making athleticism a substantial job and increasing the public’s attention to sports events.

Even amateur athletes who are not officially registered can receive subsidies from the official body, provided they achieve certain results in an event or make a certain contribution to sports events.

The format of the second King’s Cup in football this year doesn’t differ much from the previous one, given that there are only so many countries that can participate in sports events at this time.

It’s the same old rules, registration closes this May, and June to July is reserved for assembly and training.

At the end of August and the beginning of September, the preliminary rounds will start, followed by group matches and knockout stages, with the true champion emerging in October.

This schedule conflicts with the Olympic Games; however, since the Olympic Games will be opened in May, by the time the King’s Cup officially starts, the Summer Olympics will already be drawing to a close.

This year’s Olympic Games will be held in Paris, France, and it’s the first time the Olympic motto of Faster, Higher, Stronger has been introduced.

Hosted by one of the Powerhouses, the Paris Olympic Games attracted more attention and focus than Antwerp’s, and together with Australasia’s King’s Cup in football, they are acclaimed as the two major sports events that changed the world.

Of course, a large factor is the publicity expenses of Australasia. Had it not been for the substantial investment in advertising, the King’s Cup in football would not have been able to compete with the Olympics in such a short time, considering that the Olympics have only been held eight times thus far.

As time reached May 1924, aside from the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris, France, Europe was also about to welcome the coronation ceremonies of three new Monarchs.

Arthur held his only brother-in-law Dmitry in high regard and decided to attend his Coronation Ceremony personally.

Finland was the strongest among the three newly established Monarchies, and it could be considered a benefit gained by Australasia from the struggle between Britain and France.

Arthur, however, felt no embarrassment in the slightest, not only deciding to personally attend Dmitry’s Coronation Ceremony but also to take Queen Mary and the little ones with him.

Dmitry’s coronation was scheduled for June 19th, which also meant that at least by mid-June, Arthur needed to arrive in Finland to prepare.

Fortunately, it takes only about a month for the fastest warship of Australasia to reach Finland, and even less than twenty days to reach France and Spain.

It just so happens that Arthur also plans to use the opportunity of attending Dmitry’s coronation ceremony to once again pay a diplomatic visit to some European nations, after many years.

I remember the last time I went to Europe was for the funeral of Edward VII, at that time Germany was the second major power in the world, but now things have greatly changed.

Once Australasia was a pseudo-power that needed the help of other countries to secure its position among the world powers, but now it has become one of the strongest nations worldwide.

Although it does not have the strength to compete for the title of world superpower just yet, it is certainly capable of vying for the third-place throne after the UK and the US.

France and the Island Nation are Australasia’s competitors, with France’s industrial strength damaged, its industry no longer compares to that of Australasia.

Due to natural land area limitations, the Island Nation may be able to maintain its status among the powers, but becoming a top power is far too difficult.

On June 14, 1924, Arthur’s family successfully arrived in Helsinki, Finland, and received a warm welcome from the Government of Finland and Grand Duke Dmitry.

The welcoming party waited in the Harbor of Helsinki for over two hours, and as soon as Arthur and his party arrived, Dmitry immediately came forward, looking very respectfully at his sister and brother-in-law.

"Dmitry, how do you find Finland?” Arthur asked with a smile.

"As cold as Russia Nation, but the Finns are more passionate than I imagined,” Dmitry gratefully replied, “Thankfully, because of the weapons and equipment you provided, the Grand Duke Guard’s training is more than half complete, and the situation in Finland has stabilized.”

"Dmitry, you’ve grown thin with hunger!” Queen Mary, holding the two little ones by the hand, said with a touch of sorrow as she looked at her brother.

"Finland’s financial situation isn’t great, and as the Grand Duke of Finland, I naturally should cut down on living expenses,” Dmitry explained with a smile. “But thankfully, I like the lifestyle here, and I love these kind and lovely Finnish people.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Nicholas John Fitzgerald, the acting Prime Minister of Finland, stepped forward very respectfully and said to Arthur and Queen Mary, “Your Majesty Arthur, Her Highness Queen Mary, welcome to Finland!”

Arthur nodded indifferently as a response to Nicholas’ greeting.

Arthur didn’t have much affection for such a self-interested politician, especially since Nicholas was the first small country politician to dare to make demands of Australasia; naturally, he felt no fondness for him.

Had it not been for the sake of Dmitry’s position and reputation in Finland, as well as a test for Dmitry, Arthur would have already allowed the Australasian Government to cleanse Finland.

Under the control of a powerful nation, a small country cannot guarantee true independence.

Especially since Britain, France, and Australia had already made an agreement, the political landscape in Finland was merely a word away from Arthur’s decision.

But now we have entered the 1920s, and compared to the power of a Monarch, the stability and transmission of Monarchism are more important.

Although with Arthur’s help, Dmitry might be able to obtain absolute power in Finland, such power isn’t guaranteed to last, nor is it certain to be inherited by future Grand Dukes of Finland.

Instead of looking forward to the consolidation of monarchal power in Finland, it is better to hope for the continued spread of Monarchism in the country.

At least during the reign of Dmitry and his children, over the next few decades, the relationship between Finland and Australasia can be secured.

Arthur declined the invitation of Prime Minister Nicholas and instead went to the Palace of the Grand Duchy of Finland with Dmitry.

The history of the Grand Duchy of Finland can be traced back over a hundred years. Although it was a vassal of Tsarist Russia, it still maintained its own independent government and Palace, even though the Palace rarely housed a ruler.

Upon arriving in Finland, Dmitry did not engage in a power struggle and did not propose any plans to improve or expand the Palace, which at least did not engender dislike among the Finnish people.

In addition, Dmitry’s arrival brought further cooperation between Finland and Australasia, allowing Finland to receive assistance from Australasia including some industrial infrastructure and electricity equipment.

While these have not yet made a significant change in the lives of the Finnish people, some of the infrastructure projects assisted by Australasia have begun hiring, providing more job opportunities for Finns, and thus, this gratitude has naturally extended to Dmitry as well.

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