AUSFIFA has grown into the biggest and best FIFA community in Australia. Regular competitions across all game modes and a website which continues to develop on a consistent basis has created an exciting future of endless possibilities for the community.
But where did it all begin?
Most of the community know who the man behind the creation is, but who really is Kani?
The creator of AUSFIFA was generous enough to put his coding and website development to the side and answer some questions, which provide a window into his passion for FIFA and his unique gaming creation.
Scaffaro: When people talk about AUSFIFA royalty, the great man Kani is mentioned. The father of AUSFIFA has kindly given up his time and provides an insight into this great community and the man behind the scenes. Firstly, how does it feel being a man of the people?
Kani: I’m flattered. I don’t really know how to answer that to be honest [Laughs].
Scaffaro: Now that AUSFIFA is nearly two years old, could you provide us some history of the community and how AUSFIFA came to be?
Kani: Well, most of the original members of the community will know that the Aussie FIFA community was divided. There was the PS3 community on Whirlpool, and the Xbox 360 community on ESGN. You also had competitive FIFA on various websites such as CyberGamer and VirginGaming.
Not many people know this, but around four years ago I had the idea of creating a website for Pro Clubs in Australia and Asia. I had already begun developing it, but after a while I lost the motivation and put it to one side.
A year later I received a message from Juzzo (one of the founders of AUSFIFA) on Whirlpool. He proposed the idea of creating a dedicated FIFA website for players in Australia. Initially I wasn’t too fond of the idea, as I was mainly interested in growing the Pro Clubs scene. I quickly changed my mind after realizing the potential. That’s when AUSFIFA was born. I spent roughly the next year developing it and we finally launched in June 2014. At that time I was in the second year of my Uni degree, so I was actually studying web engineering while I was building the website. The whole thing was a learning process for me personally.
Scaffaro: Over the past two years, the community has grown in masses and AUSFIFA now consists of nearly 4,000 members which is phenomenal. If you had to pick the biggest moment in AUSFIFA history, what would it be?
Kani: It would definitely be when Julian (ICY_au) mentioned AUSFIFA.com on live TV during his winner’s speech on the Fox Fans League. Seconds after he had name-dropped us, we had roughly 200-250 people simultaneously jumping on to the site, and there were new members signing up every few seconds. The forums were going crazy.
Scaffaro: Looking back at your time in the AVPL, you have played with a number of AVPL clubs. Is there a reason for the high number of transfers? In detail, which was your favorite club and why?
Kani: There are different reasons. I’ve had my fair share of issues at clubs but it has always been FIFA related and never personal.
The obvious answer to the favorite club question would be Klopp This since we won the AVPL that season, but to be honest I’ve enjoyed my time at most clubs. Klopp This was probably the most satisfying season since we won pretty much everything there was to win, as individuals and most importantly as a team.
Scaffaro: Having played competitive clubs for a number of years, what changes have you noticed in the competition from Season 1 to 5?
Kani: For both platforms we’re seeing bigger teams, more defensive players, and good defenders are actually getting a lot more recognition. It’s really refreshing to see CB montages in the videos section. In early seasons teams were only focused on filling their attack or midfield and letting the AI do all the defending, but that’s all changed now. Teams are taking a much more tactical approach to Clubs and it’s pretty awesome to see.
Scaffaro: When did you know that AUSFIFA was going to be as successful as it is?
Kani: I’d say probably after the first few competitions we ran. I didn’t really know what to expect, but we got some very good feedback from members about how enjoyable the competitions were and how they were very well run. That gave us the motivation to keep improving.
Scaffaro: As everyone knows, running AUSFIFA is more than a full-time job. What do you like to do in your downtime?
Kani: Play Clubs.
Scaffaro: Given the huge development of the site in recent times, where do you see AUSFIFA in two years?
Kani: AUSFIFA has been on a steady rise ever since it’s launched. Every day we’re breaking new records in terms of site activity. The community is only going to get bigger, and with that comes bigger competitions with better prizes.
With the recent announcement regarding a new competitive gaming division launching at EA, I’m hoping that EA begin to take eSports seriously and implement the features that are needed to turn it into a proper eSports title. This would do wonders for what we’re trying to achieve at AUSFIFA. It’s time to put the “Sports” back in eSports.
Scaffaro: With AVPL Season 5 in the early stages, what are your predictions for the coming season? Which clubs do you think will be competing for the title and which teams do you think will prove to be a hidden gem?
Kani: It’s honestly too hard to predict. There are just so many teams that are capable of winning it on both platforms. On the PS4 side you have the obvious favourites in Black Bull FC, Big Orses, The Empire and Pied Piper FC, but when it comes to finals you just never know what to expect. I’m going to predict a Big Orses vs Pied Piper FC final, with Big Orses finally breaking the AVPL final hoodoo and winning it after being runner-ups for the past three seasons.
HereForBeer FC on Xbox look like a quality side on paper, so I think they’ll be the team to beat with Faceless Men FC and La Masia CF probably being their closest rivals.
I wouldn’t say they’re really hidden, but I have a hunch that FKN WINRAR will be the dark horses of this competition. They can be very, very good on their day and if they can gather momentum going into the finals then I think they may just go all the way.
Scaffaro: Finally, AUSFIFA is something you are and should be very proud of. What do you love most about AUSFIFA?
Kani: Probably all the user-created content. Seeing members of the community put time and effort into creating videos and write-ups is probably the thing that motivates me more than anything else. Without the community AUSFIFA is nothing. I have a lot of time for people who clearly want the very best for the website and FIFA in Australia/NZ. I probably don’t say it enough but I’m very appreciative of all the people who make this community what it is.
On behalf of the AUSFIFA community I would like to congratulate Kani on his fantastic efforts on creating something that many people would consider impossible. The amount of effort and time that goes into running and developing a full-time FIFA website and community may be considered more than a full-time job.
The future of AUSFIFA is in good hands, and we are all excited to be part of this fantastic community and eagerly anticipate the next chapter of this ever-growing phenomenon.
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