The most important trophy to Australia is …
By old goalie, 10 Aug 2008 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
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As a tax payer for some time now I believe I’m entitled to a say in where my tax dollars are being spent in terms of sport funding.
According to the Athletics Australia website: “in the financial year 2006/2007, the Australian Government had committed an unprecedented amount – $204.549 million – to the Australian Sports Commission.”
That’s a lot of moolah.
It also says: “Of this figure, a total of $125.457 million was committed to high performance sport in 2006/2007.”
Now I think I’m okay with $125 million being directed at high performance sport. I’m hoping that means sports most of us participate in, watch and play it.
What worries me is that $125 million is going to non high-performance sport. What in blazes does that mean?
I’m funding walkers? Or archers? Or the redevelopment of Brookvale Oval?
So if I’m going to have my say in where my money, and your money is being spent, I think it should go to the trophies most important to Australia.
But what are the most important trophies to Australia?
I’ve made a quick list and divided them into trophies we don’t have (and therefore are the highest priority) and trophies we have won but must retain regularly.
Let’s start with those we’ve won.
The Ashes is obvious, but it’s safely within our grasp for the foreseeable future, bar the occasional and unlikely upset. Maybe a little bit to fund the original urn’s travel to Australia, and a little ornate building to house it in, somewhere in the Botanical Gardens.
The Bledisloe Cup is one trophy which has to be won and also retained for extended periods. Some money would be well directed with the aim of retention. While the Rugby World Cup is arguably more prestigious, the winning of it doesn’t quite match the feeling of beating the Kiwis at the game they define themselves by.
All four tennis Grand Slam trophies must be a high priority – in particular the Australian Open – as well as the four Golf Majors, starting with the Masters.
Olympic track and field Gold Medals, especially a Men’s 100 metre sprint Gold Medal, is worth a go.
A men’s or women’s Marathon Gold is achievable.
A men’s heavyweight boxing Gold Medal would also look good in the national pool room.
But the trophy we should go after the hardest, and direct most of our resources to, has to be the Football World Cup.
The Jules Rimet Trophy is undoubtedly the most prestigious trophy in the world, and the winning of it should be our nation’s top priority.
About one hundred million a year should do it.
And then whatever is left over goes to the kiddies.
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jimbo said | August 10th 2008 @ 6:12pm | Report comment
Old Goalie,
spot on, if you took a poll of all the sports administrators from every country around the world about which trophy their country should spend the most resources to win and lift their country’s international sports standing – the FIFA Football World Cup would undoubtedly come out on top.
Australian football has the most number of international teams, the most number of registered players/participators and the biggest worldwide potential, yet FIFA effectively gets a miserly 3M per year from the government.
What a pity some Australian sports administrators are so parochial, biased, racist, narrow minded and self centred that they couldn’t even be bothered to move their fixtures a few days so we could have a decent pitch for our international football team to play on – in their quest to win the world’s most prized sporting trophy.
Spiro Zavos said | August 10th 2008 @ 6:30pm | Report comment
My guess is that Australia could spend $200 million on football and not win the Football World Cup within the next 20 to 30 years. The Rudd Government, in fact, is pouring many tens of millions of dollars into football, at the detriment to pledges already made by the Howard Government to AFL, rugby league and rugby union. This is on top of the $30 million football got for implementing the Crawford Report reforms on the game.
The Sports Minister, Kate Ellis, is a know-nothing from Adelaide who did not know the difference between rugby league and rugby union and has allowed sports policy to be dictated to her by Kevin Rudd et al who know nothing about Australian sport but know something about the political power of the multicultural lobby and businessmen like Frank Lowy.
Redb said | August 10th 2008 @ 7:07pm | Report comment
More dribble from ‘some’ in the soccer fraternity in their never ending quest to squash all other football codes in the name of the soccer World Cup. All you soccer people do is polarise fans of other sports with these sentiments.
Never forget who are we as a nation. Homogenising this country into one football code will just turn us into a FIFA ranking.
We are all tax payers, so i’m interested to know that all football codes get the support they deserve and we dont have our PM driving a self serving international statemenslike agenda to further his Mandarin speaking skills.
For the record, the Federal Government refers to AFL as Australian football. Go look it up.
As a tax payer, I’m Ok with some money going to provide support for the Socceroos in ther quest to qualify and one day win the World Cup. Should it be the all consuming preoccupation of the nation?….Looking at Federal Government funding I believe the round ball game is getting its fair share. To increase that funding further would only be to the detriment of other sports in Australia.
Redb
Midfielder said | August 10th 2008 @ 9:04pm | Report comment
Redb
Touchie, touchie ……… maybe your reading to much into the article ……….. never ending quest to squash other codes …….. well lets see who that could be ………
Lets not get back onto funding all codes have benefited …….. AFL & NRL most of all with stadiums alone.
On the name thing as I see it in many ways its has settled itself, union is called union these days, league is called league, AFL is AFL, and football is either football or soccer …….. don’t see the issue anymore TBH.
Michael C said | August 10th 2008 @ 9:57pm | Report comment
I’d never ever heard of the ‘name’ of the soccer world cup………..means nothing what so ever to me. Not that I’ve gone out of my way NOT to know it’s name – - but, perhaps I’ve known more rugby diehards than I have soccer. Perhaps – the fact that Australia has NEVER been in realistic contention for it – means, that to the Australian population it has zero historical significance – - the trophy itself that is………..I reckon the ‘notion’ of the FIFA WC is more highly rated – - but, given that we’re speaking of trophies in particular.
The Ashes is a stand out………….some of the rugby trophies probably mean something to a few people in NSW and Qld.
Knowing that NSW represents over 50% of participants over the age of 15 (a valid point here when talking taxes) in RL, RU and Soccer in Australia (whilst only representing 33% of the national population) – - – let’s then be careful about people applying to great a Sydney attitude towards the trophies that mean something to the ‘nation’.
btw – does a trophy need a name? nickname? or can it just be a ‘cup’?
btw – the old mug – - y’know, the America’s cup – - that meant something once upon a time.
The Green jacket?
and, the Ashes – - shouldn’t they be housed out at Rupertswood at Sunbury?
G MASTRO said | August 10th 2008 @ 10:12pm | Report comment
Spot on SPIRO.
Out of interest I wouldn’t imagine other countries have to dip into their taxes to prepare for a world cup would they. Just grab your best players, all highly paid, maybe spring some extra cash for a quality international coach and presto.
Typical shoddy piece from a soccer blow hard
G MASTRO said | August 10th 2008 @ 10:14pm | Report comment
Midfielder what if I dont play in the AFL but do play Australian Rules Football. What would i call the sport i play
Midfielder said | August 10th 2008 @ 11:07pm | Report comment
GM
Aussie Rules I guess………. I was refering to the overall terms that seem to becoming generally accepted …… AFL or Aussie Rules both the same …….. don’t seem to bother me to much, as I said before football is either football or soccer.
MC
Its not called the soccer world cup simply for years as just the world cup and everyone knew what was being played.
More recently other codes have adopted a world cup format and put their name in front of it.
Foolish rant to say the world cup means nothing to Australians outside Sydney. But I am not bothered I understand football current position in Australian sport, further understand where football is headed, and feel happy that we are heading in the right direction.
Redb said | August 11th 2008 @ 7:55am | Report comment
Midfieler,
how so? my comments were directed at ‘some’ in the soccer sphere who have this dream to make the game number 1 in Australia. Part of the agenda is to see other sports like Australian football die out so that more players are available to the pool of Australian soccer talent in its quest to win the World Cup in the future.
You can’t seriously tell me these people don’t exist in soccer in this country.
Redb
Towser said | August 11th 2008 @ 9:25am | Report comment
I guess this is a two tiered point of view.
One being factual based on cold hard facts & two based on Australians personal emotional attachments.
The cold hard facts are that in the broader world (& have some have said already we do live in it & globalisation means that no country is isolated from it) football & in particular the FIFA WC is streets ahead of its nearest competitor in being recognised as THE TROPHY to hold aloft. Even in this country this fact can be upheld & recognised by the TV ratings for the 2002 WC in particular when many matches were in our time zone & the 2006 WC ratings for Socceroo matches,which even though in the small hours of the morning attracted peak viewing type audiences on SBS that commercial channels would give their eye tooth for.
However the process of football being recognised by many Australians as “traditionally” being on a level of “The Ashes” will take a little more time & success on the world stage. But it is happening & Australian governments(of whatever political persuasion) are recognising the growing importance of football to the nation as a whole.
There will always be in any country “Noses out of joint” but it is of little matter if the majority dont need plastic surgery in order to see a bigger picture.