IT is the richest game in Australia, and despite leeching money off the community through pokies, the AFL keeps getting handouts.
Today the Victorian Government announced a $10.5 million package for nine Victorian clubs to help improve their facilities.
That money is just a little helping hand to the clubs that already make do with a paltry share of a $196 million per year TV deal.
And you may have seen The Age’s revelation that AFL clubs are taking an estimated $110 million annually from punters and problem gamblers.
Giving a handout to rich clubs, who are taking money hand over fist from their loyal but gullible supporters is ridiculous.
Most of the venues that have been handed this cash were abandoned years ago and are now simply money pits to honour the bygone days of suburban football.
Meanwhile ask your local football (soccer) club about the facilities they’re making do with.
Reports abound of crowded, overused pitches… crappy changing rooms… and a lack of purpose built football grounds across the country.
Today the Victorian Government announced a $10.5 million package for nine Victorian clubs to help improve their facilities.
That money is just a little helping hand to the clubs that already make do with a paltry share of a $196 million per year TV deal.
And you may have seen The Age’s revelation that AFL clubs are taking an estimated $110 million annually from punters and problem gamblers.
Giving a handout to rich clubs, who are taking money hand over fist from their loyal but gullible supporters is ridiculous.
Most of the venues that have been handed this cash were abandoned years ago and are now simply money pits to honour the bygone days of suburban football.
Meanwhile ask your local football (soccer) club about the facilities they’re making do with.
Reports abound of crowded, overused pitches… crappy changing rooms… and a lack of purpose built football grounds across the country.
That’s not to mention the lack of changing facilities for women’s teams.
Yes the State Government is funding the construction of a purpose built stadium, but that's a white elephant best discussed another time.
As Fat Cat AFL Administrators frantically build their levies as the tide of football support grows, expect more of these meaningless handouts from populist politicians.
2 comments:
globally sport is an opiate to society...whether you look at the upper classes of western decadence or the ignored plight of developing nations sport receives way too much attention and funding. sports in europe and the u.s. benefit from a much larger population and therefore sponsorship support and probably still are recipients of some sort of government support. but i'm sure if you go and investigate their grassroots they'd have the same complaints as local sporting clubs here. in australia afl, rugby league and union are the most watched contact ball sports and because we don't yet have the corporate might behind these sports they do need government funding.
Am amazed no one else picked this piece of news up. Was going to write something myself but you seemed to have covered what i was going to talk about anyway.
Would like to see them match the $10.5million and give to it the FFV to share amongst the VPL teams. That's just over $800,000 (i haven't included the AIS as they have great facilities) each. That money could go a long way to improving pitches and clubrooms and even grandstands.
I have been to a few local games this year and what is most obvious is that most teams don't have the monies to maintain their pitches especially in these rainless days and thus its affecting the quality of play that these teams are producing especially their youth and junior teams which are the future of our game.
Keep up the good work.
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