WHEN 95,446 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for Liverpool’s clash with Melbourne Victory in 2013, it turned plenty of heads in Australia about the power of the Reds.

And it wasn’t just Australians blown away; Liverpool’s hierarchy paid very close attention too.

Merchandise sold out within three days, and then came the outpouring of passion, which reached a crescendo with a stirring rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone at the MCG.

The Premier League giant sensed an opportunity.

The club says they have some 771 million followers worldwide, with an estimated 397.3 million in Asia and Oceania. They dug a little deeper and saw the traction their website and social media channels were getting from Australia.

Fast forward a couple of years and the iconic club have announced the establishment of an academy in Australia, which will open at Southern Cross University in Lismore.

Northern NSW is a long way from Anfield, but according to one of the key players who worked on establishing the relationship, the tribal passion many Australians have for Liverpool hasn’t gone unnoticed. Australia now holds a dear place in the EPL club’s heart as well.

“I think they’ve developed a nice love affair with Australia and its people,” David O’Keefe, from Football Focus International, explained to foxsports.com.au.

Steven Gerrard of Liverpool claps the fans at the MCG. Source: Getty Images

“Melbourne blew them away and genuinely opened their eyes in terms of football development and their fan base and once they started to do the analytics, they saw how well supported they were in Australia despite the club not winning an EPL title since inception yet their fan base continues to grow globally year on year.

“So they came back to Brisbane and Adelaide in 2015 and had another fantastic experience on/off the field so they made a conscious decision to escalate their presence on the ground in Australia — they know they need to invest more than they have in the past ensuring they are constantly engaging with their fans and the corporate community while they’re here — “they’re definitely here to stay long term.”

O’Keefe, a lifelong Liverpool fan, says the Anfield club hadn’t really taken the idea of opening an academy or starting a more concerted relationship Down Under too seriously. That was until that night at the MCG.

The club has footholds in various countries across the world, but the Fenway Sports Group, which bought the club in 2010, is looking at more innovative ways to engage with supporters across the globe.

Steven Gerrard of Liverpool claps the fans. Source: Getty Images

“Their aim is to ‘extend’ their Liverpool family’ — that’s the club’s No. 1 priority,” O’Keefe said.

“From that, there’s an opportunity for them to spread their football message in and around “The Liverpool Way”. They’ve said to me, if we find the next Steven Gerrard or Harry Kewell in Australia that’s great — but that’s like finding a needle in a haystack. If we do however that would be a magnificent bonus for us.

“The club’s main priority however is to provide an opportunity for all players involved in their programs to have a great experience so that they continue to support the club from afar and potentially even pick up some new supporters.

“They want everyone involved in their academies to have the same experience they would have as if they were at the Liverpool Academy in Kirkby.”

He added: “They’re being a lot more innovative than they were 5-10 years ago. They now recognise their fan base extends well beyond the UK — how do they win them over?

“They realise having people on the ground will make a positive impact to their global fan base in Australia. It was never on their radar until they came here in 2013 — Then they realised wow, there’s an opportunity here.”

Aligning with a university isn’t necessarily about an elite pathway; Liverpool is looking at “opening the door for opportunity” for boys and girls at all levels of ability, not to mention coaches who also want to get on board across the various programs they will be running out of SC University, and, O’Keefe says, choosing a large regional centre like Lismore was to provide an opportunity to communities of people that probably haven’t had much available to them up until this point.

“We are keenly aware of the great responsibility we have in delivering Liverpool Football Club’s first full time program in Australia,” a club spokesman told foxsports.com.au.

“Initially our programs will involve short duration clinics in various locations around Northern NSW and a full time academy at our Southern Cross Football Centre in Lismore. Our hope is to commence delivery of these programs around August this year.

Liverpool defender John Arne Riise of Norway (R) and winger Harry Kewell of Australia. Source: Getty Images

“The mission is authenticity so the locations where we offer programs, the timing of delivery and ultimately the spots on offer will depend on our capability to deliver at a level of quality that reflects the expectations of the club and their fans.

“We are confident of achieving that standard for 60 to 100 young players joining the Lismore Academy program in year one and we will consider academy programs in other centres including Sydney once we are confident in being able to do so at the required standard.”

Brad Smith of Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp manager of Liverpool. Source: Getty Images

And of course, with presence comes the opportunity for the club to continue to grow its foothold in Australia.

One of the club’s ambassadors — such as Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler or Luis Garcia — will likely be in town for the launch. So while the work is being done to create a branch of the Liverpool brand in Australia, it also will provide more opportunity for the club, and sport, to capture attention.

“Every time someone’s out here it creates a bit of interest and discussion, it helps LFC, it helps the code in Australia by association and more importantly it gets everybody talking about football which surely has to be a positive thing,” O’Keefe said.