Australia had not had a national futsal competition since the National Indoor Soccer League of the early 1990s which had enjoyed large crowds, sponsorship and television coverage. Despite this Australian futsal continued to grow through state-based competitions and the National Futsal Championships which were held annually. Australia continued to compete internationally as the dominant nation in the Oceania Football Confederation however failed to qualify for the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil with their qualification path made more challenging by a switch to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006.