In its first Budget presented in May 2008, the Rudd Government wisely cancelled Commonwealth funding promised by the Howard Government for a Rugby League Hall of Fame and a National Rugby Academy. They were luxuries and hardly essentials for a Government needing to exercise fiscal restraint. Unfortunately, in the 2011-12 Budget, the Government has committed to supporting football (i.e. soccer) in the lead up to the 2015 Asian Cup (from Budget Paper no. 2, p. 287):

The Government will provide up to $38.0 million to the organisation and staging of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup and to ensure the sustainability of football in the lead up to the event.

A taskforce will also be established within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet at a cost of $4.6 million over five years to coordinate the Commonwealth’s role in supporting the 2015 Asian Cup and to work with the Football Federation Australia (FFA), the LOC, Commonwealth agencies and state and territory governments.

This raised eyebrows at the Adelaide Advertiser, which linked the funding to concerns about the viability of the A-League:

The Gillard Government did not elaborate how the sport was to become sustainable, but soccer has struggled financially in recent years with successful A-League teams such as Adelaide United and Brisbane being taken over as club owners by the governing body because new investors could not be found.

The Federal Government’s generosity towards soccer has caused consternation among rival bodies such as the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League.

It’s a pity this funding measure got through the Government’s Expenditure Review Committee, the so-called razor gang. The Commonwealth Government should keep out of sport and focus on the big issues of managing the mining boom, population growth, water and the environment.