Peak sporting bodies back Olympic, Comm Games funding

Joanna Guelas | March 27, 2023

Australia’s Olympic and Commonwealth Games chiefs have united in demands for more government funding, saying athletes are struggling to make ends meet.

Olympic and Commonwealth sports are facing a $2 billion shortfall in government funding which puts medals at risk, according to the Australian Olympic Committee.

The AOC estimates $200 million a year over a decade is needed to 2032, when Queensland hosts the OIympics.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) have asked for a $10 million yearly investment ahead of the 2026 Victoria games.

This is on top of the $15 million given by the federal coalition government in 2018.

“Australia’s success at Birmingham 2022 was not the product of luck or a fluke,” CGA boss Craig Phillips said in a statement on Monday.

“It took years of preparation, certainty in funding and a broad commitment from the Federal Government and its agencies to invest in and support program sports and their athletes as they strived to win gold for Australia.”

The AOC wants the federal government to establish a dedicated department of sports to fight what it says is a chronic decline in investment.

“I’ve worked for two of the biggest sports – rugby and football – where they generate billions of dollars in broadcast revenue. Congratulations on them,” AOC CEO Matt Carroll told the National Press Club on Monday.

“But what I’m saying is, to make meaningful investments into sport … don’t just spend money in one spot without actually thinking about the whole strategy and the investment in sport across the country.”

The proposed structure by the AOC for a department of sports would merge existing agencies such as the Australian Sports Commission and National Sports Tribunal to provide centralised services.

A minister of sport would have direct access to the prime minister, therefore ensuring a sporting voice in government, Carroll said.

He cited the example of the Australian men’s volleyball team as one of many elite sports suffering.

In 2019, the Volleyroos were ranked 13th in the world and finished second at the Asian Volleyball Championships.

The team narrowly missed qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 due to limited Olympic places.

“The consequences? The dollar-starved Australian Institute of Sport assessed the Volleyroos as having no Olympic medal potential,” Carroll said.

Investment in the Volleyroos was cut from $1.4m to zero, leaving Australia with no prospect of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. They are now ranked 39th in the world.