Australia’s national teams the Socceroos and the Matildas are frequently competitive with bigger and more established nations, but they need your help to go all the way.
It’s time to dedicate proper funding for grassroots facilities to meet the growing needs of soccer in order to boost the chances of the Socceroos and Matildas at the FIFA World Cup, the biggest prize in sport.
According to a report in the Herald Sun, soccer receives far less government funding than other codes like rugby union, rugby league and Aussie rules.
In fact, soccer receives just $37 per participant compared to $113 for rugby union, $110 for rugby league and $109 for Australian rules.
This chronic underfunding of soccer has led to a third of pitches having no lighting and almost half having no drainage and or irrigation.
This in turn has led to significant numbers of training sessions and matches being cancelled in bad weather due to poor availability, not helped by a lack of all-weather synthetic pitches.
Also, of significant concern is the lack of new pitches to cater for increasing demand with participation numbers for soccer rising every year, up by 50 per cent since the year 2000.
Female numbers are increasing by eight per cent per year but the lack of change rooms and even pitches to play on holds this figure back.
Sam Kerr celebrates in trademark fashion in the new Matildas kit. (Image: Supplied, Nike)
In total, bringing grassroots facilities up to standard would cost $500 million to fix these problems.
While this is no small number, I think that both major parties should commit to it in a bipartisan way to boost the chances of our national teams. The Matildas reached the quarter-finals of the last women’s World Cup and had a FIFA ranking of fourth in 2017, while the Socceroos made it past the group stage in 2006 and their highest ranking was 16th, back in 2009.
By investing in grassroots facilities, the number of players and the time they can spend on the pitch honing their skills will be greatly increased, giving our national teams the best possible chance of success.
We already have a whole range of exciting young players either in the pipeline or in the current squad such as Daniel Arzani, Awer Mabil, Chris Ikonomidis, Riley McGree, Denis Genreau, Ramy Najjarine, John Iredale, Moudi Najjar, John Roberts, Alexander Robertson, Cian Cuba, Tyrese Francois, Reno Piscopo, Nikodah Smith, Ben Folami, Milislav Popovic, Sebastian Pasquali and Dylan Collard.
But if you want to win the World Cup you need to really commit to it, and upgrading grassroots facilities across Australia will give us the best possible chance of doing that. To embark on this endeavour will not be easy, but going on our history of success in other sports I think that we are up to the challenge.
Daniel Arzani of Australia celebrates after scoring a goal. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Australia has won World Cups in rugby union, rugby league and in cricket. We’ve won major golf and tennis tournaments and the America’s Cup. In the Olympic Games we regularly place within the top 10 nations on the medal table.
But when it comes to the FIFA World Cup it’s something that continues to elude us and for a proud sporting nation like Australia it’s something that feels incomplete and we just can’t handle it. The greatest prize in sport is missing from our cabinet.
Whenever the FIFA World Cup rolls around our senators and representatives put on scarves to show their support for our teams in the parliament. But to unearth the players who could finally crack it they need money, not scarves. It’s time to give our legions of young players the full support they need.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, give our players the tools and they’ll finish the job.
Winning the FIFA World cup will be incredibly difficult, but that’s what makes it the great and prestigious prize that it is. We should set out to win it not because it is easy, but because it is hard. And with the help of our nation’s leaders, I think our players can achieve it.
c
Roar Rookie
chronic under funding of soccer - why ?
AR
Guest
Ok then. Aside from the trillions the govt is giving the AFL for its “push into China” (forehead slap)...let’s look at stadium funding in Australia’s 2 biggest cities: Sydney: All stadiums 100% govt funded...EXCEPT for Giants Stadium (which was a 3party chip in), SCG (which was part govt, part SCG Trust). And let’s not forget almost $2B of taxpayer money spent on 3 rectangular white elephants. Great stuff. Melbourne: Docklands - 100% private funding MCG - overwhelmingly MCCTrust funding (from AFL matches) AAMI Park - you guessed it...100% give funded. Who’s a “leaner”..? Ha.
Tyke
Roar Rookie
Yes I certainly don’t want encourage the idea of sinking more money into it by discussing feasibility.
chris
Guest
Too spread out? Russia just hosted the WC. The aussies travelled thousands of kms for their 3 group games. So no, not too spread out. Obviously existing facilities need to improve and new ones need to be built. We won't be getting a WC any time soon, so not much point discussing further
Tyke
Roar Rookie
WC requires lots of top quality football oriented fields, Olympics needs a handful or less, but much more smaller less expensive infrastructure for other sports. I suppose you have Suncorp (needs a better surface), GC titans stadium, Marvel stadium, Western Sydney stadium, a renovated SFS stadium, Allianz. Those are the good ones, is it enough? Especially with the WC set to expand. Are they too spread out?
chris
Guest
Thanks for your daily dose of AFL propaganda. But I'm not swallowing it. The AFL bleeds the govt for untold funds. In a society of lifters and leaners, the AFL is the biggest leaner of them all.
chris
Guest
We did the Olympics so we can do a WC. We wouldn't get our asses kicked as you say. No we wouldnt win it, but neither would 220 odd other countries going for it.
Tyke
Roar Rookie
If the A league was more involved in grassroots, foreign investment money would trickle down, and it would be in their interest to do so, fostering your future domestic players.
Tyke
Roar Rookie
It’s a bit funny, we don’t have the infrastructure and a facilities to take our domestic game to the next level, yet we think we could host an men’s WC? Isn’t putting the foot before the shoe, or however they saying goes, instead of flushing money down the toilet, invest it into the game so we can actually put in a decent performance at the WC, I’d prefer that to seeing us host and get our asses kicked anyway.
josh
Guest
They indirectly do by giving the AFL untold millions.
AR
Guest
“Not as much of a waste as funding AFL’s useless push into China. How many more years of this folly do the taxpayers have to put up with?” Oh my word. This is brilliant. chris, the government doesn’t fund one cent of the AFL’s...ahem... “push into China”. The AFL (and Port Adelaide FC) pay for the event. The AFL pays cash-strapped St Kilda to olay there. And everyone rolls up to grease palms, talk business and forge ‘relationships’. Let’s be clear - this is nothing but a massive Chinese investment cash grab by all involved. But let’s also be clear - you whining about the poor ol’ taxpayer proves you have no idea what you’re talking about. As you were.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Why does AFL get so much government subsides (for grounds outside AFL land), when they have no national team to be proud of? This is what we are complaining about; ‘soccer receives just $37 per participant compared to $113 for rugby union, $110 for rugby league and $109 for Australian rules. When football has the most prestigious national teams at world cups, Olympics & Geographic competitions that unites the nation.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Do you include England in Europe, The English migrants after WWII?
Mister Football
Roar Guru
The point is the government doesn't have to pay for any of it. Government doesn't subsidise indoor cricket, or golf, or dancing, and it shouldn't have to subsidise other sporting hobbies. Government schools can have a small budget to pay for sports equipment, and that should be where government subsidies start and finish for sport. Soccer participation is huge, costs families as lot of money (which in the present market, they are willing to pay), and therefore, clearly, does not need government subsidies, just as ten pin bowling and squash and ballroom dancing doesn't receive government subsidies.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
European migrants sustained Australian soccer for decades after WWII.
chris
Guest
"Like the $45 million FFA BLEW on the world cup bid. Now that was a waste!" Not as much of a waste as funding AFL's useless push into China. How many more years of this folly do the taxpayers have to put up with?
Waz
Roar Rookie
But your argument is totally flawed. Government is already investing millions in grassroots for AFL, League, Union etc ... all we’re srguing for is more based on massive participation If AFL needs more for grassroots it can use its bumper tv contract or can start charging $2k/kid
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
The registration fees at my club are $550!!!!! That's bullocks. We have about 600 participants which equals $330,000. We also have 800 members. Got to decide the naming rights for our stadium even though we don't own it. The pitch upkeep is handled by the shire. I doubt we pay much rent for the ground. We have a summer soccer comp that gets $650 per team, $65 per player. Equals about 65k. Robbing people and the council of money. #Twamleyout (Our president)
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Interesting to see that the most played sport in Australia is receiving not a lot of funding. I mean there was an article a few months ago about most played sport, those AFL numbers seemed false.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
"I am born of immigrant parents from Southern Europe, so we are very much a soccer family first and foremost". Sounds like you're saying all European migrant families are soccer families.