The World Cup has shown Australia that our national identity is about diversity not uniformity.
The chatter in a café in the Canberra suburb of Harrison suddenly fell silent as the Socceroos prepared for the penalty shootout against Egypt. For a few tense moments, every eye was fixed on the television.
Only moments earlier, my friends and I had been debating players, tactics and our favourite teams. One supported England, another Brazil, another Argentina. Outside the World Cup, we followed different clubs and different national teams.
But when the Socceroos played, none of that mattered. We all wanted Australia to win.
It was a simple moment, but it reminded me of something I have come to understand after more than three decades in Australia. Belonging is rarely built through speeches or slogans. It grows quietly through shared experiences that bring people together.
This World Cup gave Australians many of those moments. Across the country, people gathered in homes, cafés, clubs, pubs and public squares. In Canberra, supporters watched together in Garema Place and in neighbourhood cafés. For a few weeks, Australians from every background celebrated the same goals, worried over the same missed chances and shared the same disappointment when the Socceroos’ remarkable campaign came to an end.
Football achieved something that often seems difficult in our public debate. It reminded us that we have far more in common than the headlines sometimes suggest.
Public discussion about multiculturalism is often framed around difference. We hear arguments about cultural division, social fragmentation and whether Australia has become too diverse. Yet those debates rarely reflect the Australia that most people experience every day.
The Australia I know is one where neighbours help one another, volunteers work side by side, parents stand together at school sporting events and communities rally around those in need. It is an Australia where people from different backgrounds build friendships not because they are the same, but because they share common experiences and common values. Football simply makes those connections visible.
The Socceroos themselves embody modern Australia. Their family histories stretch across many continents, yet when they pull on the green and gold, Australians see only one team. Nobody asks where a player’s parents were born before celebrating a goal or applauding a tackle.
That offers an important lesson. Strong teams are not built by making everyone identical. They are built by creating trust, shared purpose and mutual respect. Nations are no different.
As someone who migrated to Australia in 1992, I have witnessed that spirit. Through volunteering, community leadership and countless conversations with people from every walk of life, I have learned that belonging cannot be legislated. It grows through everyday encounters, working together, celebrating together and sometimes even sharing disappointment together.
Australia has never been one story. It has always been many stories woven together.
That diversity is not a weakness to be managed. It is one of Australia’s greatest strengths. Our different histories, cultures and experiences enrich our communities while our shared democratic values give us a common foundation.
The World Cup reminded us that national identity does not require uniformity. For a few unforgettable weeks, millions of Australians stood behind the same team. We celebrated together, we suffered together and we hoped together.
We did not stop being different. We simply remembered that we belonged to the same team.
Perhaps that is the Socceroos’ greatest legacy from this World Cup. Not only the football they played, but the reminder that a strong and confident Australia is one where people from different backgrounds can unite around a shared purpose without giving up who they are.
Long after the final whistle, that will remain my lasting memory of this World Cup.
Mainul Haque
Mainul Haque OAM is an economist and former senior Australian public servant with nearly 30 years’ experience shaping and analysing policy across government, academia, and the not-for-profit sector. He is a community leader, board member and non-executive director, and former ACT Multicultural Ambassador. He writes on social cohesion, migration, and public policy, grounding his analysis in practical experience.Mainul has held numerous board and advisory roles across Canberra’s community, education and multicultural sectors, and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his significant contribution to the ACT community.