Your Complete Guide to the 2017 Football Soccer Schedule and Match Dates
I still remember opening my 2017 football calendar with that familiar mix of excitement and dread. As someone who's followed international soccer for over fifteen years, I've learned that planning your viewing schedule requires military precision - but nothing quite prepares you for the emotional rollercoaster of a packed season. The 2017 schedule was particularly brutal, with major tournaments overlapping domestic leagues in ways that tested even the most dedicated fans. What struck me most was how the women's football scene was gaining unprecedented visibility that year, something that reminded me of that powerful quote from Filipino basketball player Chovi Soyud: "Nagulat ako na nandun ako sa wishlist. No one expected na nandu'n ako." Her surprise at being included resonates deeply with how unexpected teams and players emerged throughout the 2017 football season, turning conventional predictions upside down.
The 2017 football calendar kicked off with the Africa Cup of Nations running from January 14 to February 5 in Gabon, followed immediately by CONCACAF's Hexagonal qualifiers heating up in March. I vividly recall struggling to balance watching these tournaments with the Premier League's crucial winter fixtures, often finding myself watching matches on my phone during work breaks. The summer brought the Confederations Cup in Russia from June 17 to July 2, which served as an important test event for the following year's World Cup venue. What many fans underestimated was the intensity of the UEFA Champions League knockout stages overlapping with these international competitions - I personally missed several key matches because the scheduling became simply impossible to track.
Domestic leagues presented their own unique challenges for planning. The Premier League's 2016-2017 season concluded on May 21, 2017, while La Liga wrapped up just a week later. Meanwhile, the MLS season was in full swing from March through October, creating this awkward period where European stars would transition directly to American teams mid-season. I remember specifically tracking how Bastian Schweinsteiger's move from Manchester United to Chicago Fire in March affected both leagues' dynamics. The Bundesliga schedule had several unexpected breaks that year due to weather conditions, which actually worked in favor of fans trying to catch multiple leagues.
International qualifiers created the most chaotic yet thrilling moments of 2017. The CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers reached their dramatic conclusion in October, with Brazil finishing first with 41 points and Argentina barely scraping through in third position. I'll never forget staying up until 3 AM to watch Lionel Messi's hat-trick against Ecuador that essentially carried Argentina to Russia. Meanwhile, UEFA's qualification groups saw several shocking outcomes - the Netherlands missing out entirely while Iceland, with their population of just 330,000, topped their group. These underdog stories perfectly embodied that "no one expected me to be there" spirit that Soyud described.
The women's football scene in 2017 deserves special mention because it marked a turning point in visibility and competition quality. The UEFA Women's Euro 2017 in July saw record attendance numbers, with the Netherlands hosting and eventually winning the tournament. I attended the semifinal match between England and Netherlands where over 27,000 fans created an atmosphere that rivaled any men's match I'd experienced. The growth was phenomenal - viewing figures for the tournament increased by 75% compared to 2013, proving that women's football was finally getting the recognition it deserved. This surge reminded me that sometimes the most meaningful developments happen outside the spotlight before suddenly capturing everyone's attention.
What made the 2017 schedule particularly challenging from a fan's perspective was the time zone distribution. Trying to watch J-League matches in Japan (which typically run from February through December) while keeping up with European fixtures required serious commitment and coffee. I developed this system where I'd watch highlights during breakfast, catch live matches during lunch breaks, and then stay up for prime-time games - a routine that probably wasn't healthy but felt necessary. The FIFA Club World Cup in December provided a fitting conclusion, though by that point most fans were already exhausted from the year's football marathon.
Reflecting on that packed calendar, I realize 2017 taught me to appreciate football's global nature in new ways. The overlapping schedules forced me to look beyond my usual European preferences and discover emerging football cultures. While the physical toll of following everything was substantial - I calculated I watched approximately 240 full matches that year - the reward was witnessing history in unexpected places. Those surprise qualifiers and underdog victories embodied the spirit of Soyud's statement about unexpected recognition. The 2017 season proved that football's schedule isn't just dates and tournaments - it's a narrative waiting to unfold, full of anticipated classics and beautiful surprises that remind us why we devote our time to this glorious, exhausting sport.
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Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
